The Societal Company: Sustainability, Shareholder Value, and European Company Law
Many attempts have been made to reduce the harms caused by business and to make companies become socially responsible. This book approaches the subject from a new perspective arguing that reflexive law offers the best means to align the interests of large companies with those of society and that recent developments in European company law fit a reflexive model.

A reflexive company law, rather than trying to directly regulate companies, aims to affect internal decision-making processes to make companies responsive to outside interests and prevent them from operating as closed systems singularly focused on shareholder value. In this vein, the EU has recently imposed new obligations on companies to develop corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence processes as part of its objective to create a climate-neutral and sustainable economy.

This book presents an argument for how the 'societal company' – a company that has an internal culture of transnational responsibility to do no harm but that retains the autonomy necessary to be economically productive – can be established through reflexive law.

The book will appeal to researchers, policy makers and lawyers interested in corporate sustainability, regulatory theory, company law and EU law.

1147043037
The Societal Company: Sustainability, Shareholder Value, and European Company Law
Many attempts have been made to reduce the harms caused by business and to make companies become socially responsible. This book approaches the subject from a new perspective arguing that reflexive law offers the best means to align the interests of large companies with those of society and that recent developments in European company law fit a reflexive model.

A reflexive company law, rather than trying to directly regulate companies, aims to affect internal decision-making processes to make companies responsive to outside interests and prevent them from operating as closed systems singularly focused on shareholder value. In this vein, the EU has recently imposed new obligations on companies to develop corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence processes as part of its objective to create a climate-neutral and sustainable economy.

This book presents an argument for how the 'societal company' – a company that has an internal culture of transnational responsibility to do no harm but that retains the autonomy necessary to be economically productive – can be established through reflexive law.

The book will appeal to researchers, policy makers and lawyers interested in corporate sustainability, regulatory theory, company law and EU law.

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The Societal Company: Sustainability, Shareholder Value, and European Company Law

The Societal Company: Sustainability, Shareholder Value, and European Company Law

The Societal Company: Sustainability, Shareholder Value, and European Company Law

The Societal Company: Sustainability, Shareholder Value, and European Company Law

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$120.00 
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Overview

Many attempts have been made to reduce the harms caused by business and to make companies become socially responsible. This book approaches the subject from a new perspective arguing that reflexive law offers the best means to align the interests of large companies with those of society and that recent developments in European company law fit a reflexive model.

A reflexive company law, rather than trying to directly regulate companies, aims to affect internal decision-making processes to make companies responsive to outside interests and prevent them from operating as closed systems singularly focused on shareholder value. In this vein, the EU has recently imposed new obligations on companies to develop corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence processes as part of its objective to create a climate-neutral and sustainable economy.

This book presents an argument for how the 'societal company' – a company that has an internal culture of transnational responsibility to do no harm but that retains the autonomy necessary to be economically productive – can be established through reflexive law.

The book will appeal to researchers, policy makers and lawyers interested in corporate sustainability, regulatory theory, company law and EU law.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781509977741
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 11/13/2025
Series: Contemporary Studies in Corporate Law
Pages: 208
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John Quinn is Assistant Professor of Corporate Law at Dublin City University, Ireland.

Marc Moore was appointed to the Chair in Corporate/Financial Law at UCL Laws in 2019. Prior to this, he was Reader in Corporate Law and MCL Director at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Christopher Bruner is a Professor of Law at the University of Georgia School of Law.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Models of the Company
2. A Reflexive Company Law
3. The Development of European Company Law
4. Corporate Sustainability Reporting
5. Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence
6. International Effects Of European Company Law
7. The Corporate Purpose
Conclusion

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