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“There are emerging tensions between E.S.G. and antitrust,” said William Kovacic, a former Federal Trade Commission chairman, referring to environmental, social and governance goals. “A vocal group of commentators say antitrust enforcement treats cartels very harshly and that unduly inhibits firms from pursuing environmental and social goals.”
Now, some environmental activists and industry advocates are pushing for a reassessment of competition policy, said Mr. Kovacic, now a professor at the George Washington University Law School. Some designers and retailers have proposed overhauling the fashion calendar to reduce waste, limiting sale periods and changing the length of seasons.
But those types of agreements risk violating antitrust rules that ban competitors from collaborating to fix prices and reduce production. This tension between environmental consciousness and competition policy is being felt across sectors.
Regulators in the Netherlands are updating antitrust rules amid the growing interest in net-zero carbon emissions. For example, last week, authorities endorsed rules to encourage sustainable agriculture, which would involve greater collaboration among farmers, wholesalers and supermarkets.
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