With less than a decade left to address the threat of climate change, the EU Commission has launched its Green Deal. And today, the EU Finnish Presidency conference on company law and climate change addresses the emerging consensus that businesses need to be held accountable for their contribution.
The recognition that sustainability in the EU and beyond needs to be embedded in corporate governance has led over 60 leading academics to endorse a statement that addresses the pressure and incentives for companies to prioritise short-term profits at the expense of environmental, social or even companies’ own long-term economic sustainability.
In order to clarify the obligations of company boards and directors and make corporate governance* practice significantly more sustainable and focused on the long term, the signatories recommend that:
The statement is signed by many highly respected voices in the fields of company law, corporate governance and management, including Robert G. Eccles (Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford and previously Professor at Harvard Business School), Simon Deakin (Professor at the University of Cambridge), Katharina Pistor (Professor at the Columbia University) and Rick Wartzman (Executive Director of the Drucker Institute), Marie-Laure Djelic (Sciences Po), Blanche Segrestin (Mines ParisTech) and Beate Sjåfjell (University of Oslo).
Contact:
The statement remains open for signing - interested parties are encouraged to contact us at:
Jeroen Veldman
Associate Professor, Nyenrode Business University
jeroen.veldman@gmail.com
Susanna Arus
Communications and EU Public Affairs at Frank Bold
susanna.arus@frankbold.org
*The EU Commission’s Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth published in 2018 outlined preparatory work on sustainable corporate governance in Action 10. See here.
Frank Bold co-organised the screening of the documentary “A Dangerous Game” as part of the One World Film Festival, the largest human rights film festival in the world. Organised by the NGO People in Need, it represents a major event in the Czech Republic involving 33 cities and attracting more than 100.000 viewers every year.
Social entrepreneurship has rapidly arisen as an attractive option for changemakers who embrace the idea of entrepreneurship for societal rather than primarily private benefit. They have adopted alternative business models including B-corporations, cooperatives, companies controlled by foundations, and the Belgian Social Purpose Company. Based on this premise, Frank Bold organised an event on the 18th of March to gather people who are committed to deep change to discuss the subject.
The Brussels office of the public interest law firm Frank Bold is currently recruiting an Events and Communications Intern to start in mid-March on a 3-5 day/week basis, for a period of three months, with the possibility of a three month extension.
