Corporate Law and ESG Issues

TAKAHASHI Mayumi

doi:10.15057/74230

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

会社法とESG 課題への対応：序論的考察 : 役員間のジェンダーバランスの問題を素材として
カイシャホウト ESG カダイエノタイオウ : ジョロンテキコウサツ : ヤクインカンノジェンダーバランスノモンダイオソザイトシテ

Search this article

Description

In recent years, corporate management, institutional investors, and regulators have increasingly recognized the importance of corporate profitability and sustainability of addressing ESG issues in all aspects of corporate activities. This is called the “business case” approach. The business case has led managers to rethink ESG issues, which have traditionally been considered matters outside of corporate law, as concerns to be addressed by management within the framework of corporate law. In his article “Recent Trends towards Emphasizing the Factors of ‘ESG’ and Corporate Law,” Professor Emeritus Hiroshi Noda discussed how ESG issues can be captured within the framework of current corporate law. Inspired by his article, this paper focuses on gender balance as an ESG issue and examines how the logic of the business case influences approaches to diversity in the boardroom. This paper not only serves as an introduction to the discussion on the relationship between corporate law and ESG issues, but, as the business case argument is still unclear in many respects, it also points out that relying on it solely is too simplistic to elucidate that relationship and will not successfully resolve ESG issues.

Journal

一橋法学

一橋法学 21 (2), 59-80, 2022-07

一橋大学大学院法学研究科