Proposed Guidance Note On Business Collaborations Pursuing Environmental Sustainability Objectives

In support of Singapore’s whole-of-nation efforts to achieve its climate change targets, CCCS proposes to issue a Guidance Note on Business Collaborations Pursuing Environmental Sustainability Objectives (“Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN”) to afford greater clarity to businesses on how CCCS will assess collaborations with environmental sustainability objectives. This guidance seeks to provide businesses with the information they need so that they can collaborate in pursuing environmental sustainability objectives in a manner that does not harm competition.

In issuing the Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN,^[1] CCCS is providing guidance on the application of section 34 of the Competition Act 2004 (the “Competition Act”) to collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives. This includes: (a) clarifying what are considered as environmental sustainability objectives; (b) providing examples of when such collaborations would typically not be harmful to competition; (c) stating the conditions under which competition concerns are less likely to arise from collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives; and (d) for collaborations where competition concerns may arise, explaining how CCCS would assess whether such collaborations may qualify for the Net Economic Benefit exclusion. The Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN also includes a section on the streamlined notification process that CCCS is considering adopting for assessments of collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives, which is designed to provide quicker decisions by CCCS, should businesses wish to seek more legal certainty through notifying their collaboration to CCCS for guidance or decision.

CCCS is now seeking comments and views on the proposed Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN. This document includes questions for interested parties to consider and respond to.

Responding to this public consultation

CCCS welcomes responses to this consultation from all sources, including the business community, trade associations and chambers, law firms, consultancy firms, government agencies as well as members of the public. Individuals responding to the consultation should provide an indication of any organisation(s) or interest(s) they represent or are affiliated with.

The consultation period begins on 20 July 2023 and ends on 4 September 2023.

Please submit your response by way of the Public Consultation Feedback Form.

We would be grateful if persons submitting responses could organise their submissions as follows:

(i) Cover page;

(ii) Table of contents;

(iii) Statement of interest;

(iv) Summary of major points;

(v) Comments and responses to questions;

(vi) Conclusion.

All submissions should be clearly and concisely written and should provide a reasoned explanation for proposed revisions to the Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN. Any supporting material for the submission sent may be annexed.

CCCS may publish a summary of the key comments to this consultation. Respondents may request that any part of their submission that they believe to be confidential or commercially sensitive be kept confidential. Any such information should be clearly marked together with the reasons for its confidentiality when sent to CCCS.

Next steps

Following this consultation, CCCS will review the responses provided and the amendments, if any, to be made to the Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN.

Consultation questions

In addition to inviting comments on the draft Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN, specific questions for the public consultation are set out below.

1. Are there other areas of information in relation to collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives that you think should be included in the Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN? If so, please state these areas and explain why they should be included.
   

2. Is there other information and guidance regarding CCCS’s proposed streamlined notification process for collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives that you think should be included in the Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN? If so, please state and explain why they should be included.
   

3. Are the examples provided in the Environmental Sustainability Collaboration GN sufficiently clear in providing guidance regarding collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives? If not, please highlight how they can be further improved.

^[1] This guidance note should be read together with CCCS’s Business Collaboration Guidance Note, which was issued in 2021 and which provides more general guidance on seven common types of business collaborations.