GRI 206: Anti-competitive Behavior 2016
EFFECTIVE DATE: 1 JULY 2018
Introduction
GRI 206: Anti-competitive Behavior 2016 contains disclosures for organizations to report information about their anti-competitive behavior-related impacts, and how they manage these impacts. The Standard is structured as follows:
- Section 1 contains a requirement providing information about how the organization manages its anti-competitive behavior-related impact.
- Section 2 contains one disclosure providing information about the organization’s anti-competitive behavior-related impacts.
- The Bibliography lists authoritative intergovernmental instruments used in developing this Standard.
Background on the topic
This Standard addresses the topic of anti-competitive behavior, including anti-trust and monopoly practices.
Anti-competitive behavior refers to actions of an organization or its employees that can result in collusion with potential competitors, with the purpose of limiting the effects of market competition. This can include fixing prices or coordinating bids, creating market or output restrictions, imposing geographic quotas, and allocating customers, suppliers, geographic areas, or product lines.
Anti-trust and monopoly practices are actions of an organization that can result in collusion to erect barriers for entry to the sector, or to otherwise prevent competition. This can include unfair business practices, abuse of market position, cartels, anti-competitive mergers, and price-fixing.
These concepts are covered in key instruments of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: see the Bibliography.
1. Topic management disclosures
An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report how it manages each of its material topics.
An organization that has determined anti-competitive behavior to be a material topic is required to report how it manages the topic using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 (see clause 1.1 in this section).
This section is therefore designed to supplement – and not replace – Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3.
REQUIREMENTS
- 1.1 The reporting organization shall report how it manages anti-competitive behavior using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.
2. Topic disclosures
Disclosure 206-1 Legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices
REQUIREMENTS
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
- a. Number of legal actions pending or completed during the reporting period regarding anti-competitive behavior and violations of anti-trust and monopoly legislation in which the organization has been identified as a participant.
- b. Main outcomes of completed legal actions, including any decisions or judgements.
GUIDANCE
Background
This disclosure pertains to legal actions initiated under national or international laws designed primarily for the purpose of regulating anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, or monopoly practices.
Anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices can affect consumer choice, pricing, and other factors that are essential to efficient markets. Legislation introduced in many countries seeks to control or prevent monopolies, with the underlying assumption that competition between enterprises also promotes economic efficiency and sustainable growth.
Legal action indicates a situation in which the market actions or status of an organization have reached a sufficient scale to merit concern by a third party. Legal decisions arising from these situations can carry the risk of significant disruption of market activities for the organization as well as punitive measures.
Bibliography
This section lists authoritative intergovernmental instruments used in developing this Standard.
Authoritative instruments:
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 2011.