Antitrust attorneys are sounding the alarm over seemingly innocuous collaborations within industries to develop best practices and common standards related to environmental, social and governance issues.

Just as a trend toward greater industry collaborations on ESG initiatives is gaining steam, federal and state regulators are signaling they’re stepping up scrutiny over whether the arrangements constitute collusion and thus violate antitrust laws. Attorneys say companies could find themselves in hot water even for arm’s-length collaborations through industry trade associations.