On 2 April 2026, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) adopted Guidelines on Sustainability Agreements and the Agricultural Sector in order to clarify the application of competition law to such agreements.
These Guidelines enable undertakings to better understand the steps to follow both generally in relation to sustainability and more specifically in the agricultural sector.
Firstly, the Guidelines reiterate that sustainability agreements may fall under the traditional rules of competition law, in particular Article 101 TFEU and Article IV.1 BCEL, if they restrict competition, whether intentional or not.
Secondly, under the Guidelines, the BCA sets out three categories of agreements:
- Sustainability agreements that are unlikely to restrict competition – the BCA has identified several categories. Firstly, there are agreements that merely seek to comply with clearly defined legal sustainability obligations. Also included are arrangements confined to internal organisational measures, for instance where insurance companies operating on the Belgian market jointly commit to reducing by half the volume of paper documents they use. Another category concerns cooperation agreements that are restricted to the sharing of sustainability-related information, including transparent and non-discriminatory scoring systems and agreements focused on raising consumer awareness without coordinated promotion or communication restrictions.
- Sustainability standardisation agreements that may fall outside the scope of competition law restrictions, provided that they do not pursue a restrictive object under the guise of standardisation and that the following six cumulative conditions are met: a) an open and transparent standard-setting procedure, b) voluntary participation, c) minimum rather than maximum requirements, d) information exchanges limited to what is strictly necessary and proportionate, e) effective and non-discriminatory access to the standard and f) no substantial impact on competition.
- Agreements that do not fall within the first two categories must be subject to a classical analysis to determine whether they restrict competition and whether they may, where appropriate, benefit from an exemption under Article 101(3) TFEU or Article IV.1(3) BCEL, provided that the required cumulative conditions are met. In this respect, the agreement must generate efficiency gains, any resulting restrictions must be necessary to achieve those gains, consumers must receive a fair share of the resulting benefits and the agreement must not eliminate competition.
Furthermore, the BCA provides specific guidance on sustainability in the agricultural sector. Due to this sector’s specific characteristics, it benefits from a distinct regime compared with other sectors of the economy. In this context, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 establishes a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, as amended (“CMO Regulation”), and provides for derogations from competition law. For instance, it allows for the joint marketing of agricultural products, enabling producers to coordinate certain activities collectively, notably within producer organisations.
In addition, another exemption mechanism exists under Article 210bis of the Common Market Organisation Regulation. This provision strengthens safeguards for farmers that engage in sustainability initiatives in the agricultural sector. The European Commission has also adopted guidelines on the application of this provision to clarify its scope and conditions of application, meaning that where competition is not restricted, no further assessment is required if the conditions of Article 210bis are met.
Ultimately, it is for undertakings and associations of undertakings to carry out a self-assessment of their practices to verify their compliance with competition law. In this regard, the various guidelines, especially those of the BCA, the Commission’s Horizontal Guidelines and those relating to Article 210bis of the CMO Regulation, constitute valuable tools to guide this analysis. While acknowledging that some uncertainties may remain, the BCA stands ready to provide further guidance through informal opinions, in order to assess the compatibility of envisaged agreements with competition law. For instance, in December 2025, the BCA published its President’s informal opinion on such a sustainability agreement between Comeos and Koffiecafe
