Expert advice on Consol buying power of used glass

In a unique prohibited-practice case, the largest glass manufacturer in South Africa, Consol Glass, faced allegations of co-ordination and abuse of buying power relating to arrangements put into place to achieve environmental objectives by facilitating higher levels of glass recycling. This was also aggressively contested by one of the glass manufacturers' suppliers of cullet (i.e. used glass).

Genesis provided extensive economic analysis and advice to Consol in this matter, investigating the extent to which buyer power would be likely to result in competitive harm and impact on the interaction between environmental objectives and competition requirements.

Consol's supplier ultimately abandoned its complaint and the case was settled with the commission.