Business Transformation and New Corporate Forms: A New Comprehensive Legal Framework for Sustainable Companies

The 2030 Agenda represented a fundamental change of paradigm for international policies on sustainable development, which can only be achieved thorough a strong cooperation between governments, the private sector, and civil society. In this context, the importance of the business sector as a force for social change is indisputable. The issue of sustainability has therefore taken centre stage in the debate on corporate governance of business companies, and the discussions on the managerial and legal concept of “corporate purpose” have intensified.

Using the comparative law method, the project aims to study appropriate policy solutions to help the development of ‘sustainable’ companies, and the new ‘fourth sector’ of the economy, in particular investigating the development of dual-purpose companies characterized by a blended or explicit dual legal purpose, profit-making and public benefit. Dual-purpose companies differ from traditional business corporations in entity purpose, directors’ accountability (they are required to pursue the social and environmental objectives included into the company agreement), and transparency (the need to assess and disclose the company’s impact on the society and the environment), but not in taxation.

The project’s specific objectives are to elaborate a comparative law study on existing dual-purpose company statutes and to design a model law for national legislators willing to regulate them and a comprehensive and coherent legal framework to foster their growth. It also examine sustainable and resilient supply chains, a legal framework to support the development of purpose-driven organisations in the UK, and the harmonisation of dual-purpose companies at the European Union level.