Sustainability In Action: Legal Frameworks for ESG&SDG's

We live in challenging times. The consequences of climate change, loss of biodiversity, and other problems related to sustainability are becoming increasingly visible. The call to combat those problems is getting louder, and the ambitions in this area are increasing. The European Union aims to be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and has set an ambitious policy for a fair and inclusive transition, a so-called just transition, attempting to enable a shift towards sustainable growth throughout different segments of society. Additionally, the UN SDGs provide a comprehensive framework aimed at addressing a broad range of interconnected global challenges. Achieving these goals requires profound legal transformations and behavioural changes from different actors, such as governments, institutions, and organizations worldwide. These changes influence multiple domains, such as environmental regulations, corporate governance structures, labour laws, and human rights protection. The legal landscape is continuously adapting to address these evolving demands, making it essential to understand how legal frameworks interact with and advance broader sustainability objectives. As sustainability becomes an integral part of regulatory and societal expectations, existing questions of how organisations are directed, how decisions are made, and how accountability is ensured are being revisited through the lens of environmental and social responsibility. This course examines the role of corporate governance and associated legal frameworks in influencing how organisations address sustainability challenges. Students will engage with foundational principles of corporate governance and the essentials of company law. The course will expand key theoretical perspectives introduced in Q1 theory courses, including agency theory and stakeholder theory, to facilitate a deeper understanding of organisational relationships and accountability. Building on this foundation, students will analyse various corporate governance structures, mechanisms, and instruments that are specifically designed to advance ESG-objectives and contribute to the realisation of the SDGs.