APCEL at the CCCS-ESS Essay Competition 2022

This year, two of APCEL’s researchers – Sean Tseng (Adjunct Research Fellow) and Selene Tanne (Research Assistant) – participated in the essay competition jointly organized by the Competition & Consumer Commission Singapore and the Economic Society of Singapore (CCCS-ESS). Sean and Selene wrote essays entitled ‘Environmental Sustainability: The Role of Competition and Consumer Protection Laws and Policies’, which was the given topic of this year’s competition. For their essays, Sean and Selene clinched the 1^st Prize and 3^rd Prize respectively in the Open Category.

In a time when antitrust infringement has been cited for why companies are reluctant to do more about environmental sustainability, Sean argued for why such notions are unfounded and, indeed, counterproductive. In his essay, Sean maintained that competition law fundamentally is and can be compatible with environmental sustainability. This is so both in its normative core and practical application. By applying a sensible and nuanced approach, competition law can help to uphold agreements amongst undertakings which promote environmental sustainability, without ever compromising on its principles or policy goals. Sean also provides some suggestions on how these theoretical arguments can be translated into practice for the CCCS. This includes creating a regulatory ‘sandbox’ in which businesses can experiment with cooperative initiatives that advance environmental sustainability in a supervised environment.

Sean was motivated to take part in this competition by his desire to explore the various forms of corporate- and business-related laws to be used as levers for climate action – an area that Sean’s research focuses on. “Competition law is often overlooked as a means for environmental protection, and writing this essay was a good opportunity for me to canvass its potential,” Sean remarked. “This essay marks the beginning of my interest in this rather niche space.”

In her essay, Selene argued that competition and consumer protection regimes (i.e., laws, regulations and policies) can and should be instrumentalised by Singapore to push the economy-wide sustainability transition. Our competition regime should be an important driver in the background, while our consumer protection regime should take a more front-facing role in driving our economy-wide sustainability transition. To bolster our current consumer protection regime for the protection of consumers against greenwashing and regulate green claims, Selene also suggested that an expert group be set up to oversee standard-setting, implementation, and enforcement.

Recognising that climate change is an existential threat to humanity, Selene was motivated to explore the urgent question of how the law can and should push companies and commercial activities away from ‘business as usual’ and towards greater environmental action. This ties into her fundamental desire to find better ways of prioritising environmental care in the face of typical economic priorities, which underpins her research generally.

We are thankful for the opportunity to participate in this year’s CCCS-ESS competition. Click the following hyperlinks to read Sean’s and Selene’s essays, and click here to navigate to the official CCCS-ESS 2022 Competition results page. Both essays can also be found on the official competition page.

Selene receiving the 3rd Prize (Open Category) from ESM Goh Chok Tong

Sean receiving the 1st Prize (Open Category) from ESM Goh Chok Tong