In the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, the relevance of corporate law and corporate governance for a sustainable future has become the topic of debate. The European Union is taking a lead in this area, with its Sustainability Reporting Directive (the so-called Non-Financial Reporting Directive), the Sustainable Finance Initiative, the Circular Economy Action Plans, and now most recently, the Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative.
The project Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade (SMART, 2016-2020), funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, presented a number of research-based reform proposals in all of these areas.
In this SMART legacy event, SMART scholars set the scene for discussing the role of corporate law and corporate governance for a sustainable future. Why is change needed? What needs to be changed? And how can corporate law regulate and innovate corporate governance so as to shift business towards a sustainable future?
Programme
13.00-13.05: Welcome
13.05-13.25: Sustainable corporate law: why, what and how, by Professor Beate Sjåfjell, University of Oslo and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
13.25-14.30: Discussion
14.30-14.45: A short convenience break
14.45-16.45: Integrating sustainability into corporate governance
Brief interventions to stimulate the discussion:
- Corporate purpose and duties of the board, Professor Andrew Johnston, University of Warwick
- Sustainability due diligence, Professor Beate Sjåfjell, University of Oslo
- Disclosure, accounting and auditing, Professor Jukka Mähönen, University of Oslo and University of Helsinki
Discussion
16.45-17.00: Concluding remarks
Presentations
Beate Sjåfjell
Jukka Mähönen
Andrew Johnston