Author: Rica Santos | UC Berkeley School of Law | J.D. Candidate 2019 | Posted: January 25, 2019 | Download PDF In October 2018, a study by the nonprofit Greenpeace in conjunction with the movement Break Free From Plastic made international headlines, calling out companies that are the biggest contributors to the worldwide plastic pollution problem.[1] […]
Plastic Pollution: Companies Must Help, and It’s Better for Business, Too
Standardized ESG Disclosure: European Union as Role Model?
An increasing number of companies disclose their ESG[1] strategy and related risks to investors and to the public. These disclosures, commonly referred to as sustainability reports, follow a rising demand by investors who see ESG as an important factor influencing the long-term performance of businesses. But since disclosure is not mandatory, a significant number of companies does not report. And absent common guidelines, voluntary sustainability reports are hard to compare and thus have less value for investors.
The Power of the Purse: The Role of VC Funding in Closing the Tech Gender Gap
Author: Julia Molo | UC Berkeley School of Law | J.D. Candidate 2020 | Posted: October 15th, 2018 | Download PDF. Venture capital (VC) funds play a critical role in determining the tech leaders of tomorrow. As such, closing the “gender investment gap” is one of the most talked about issues in the tech industry. […]
Kofi Annan’s Path to Corporate Sustainability
Author: Lukas Herndl | UC Berkeley School of Law | LL.M. Candidate 2019 | Posted October 8th, 2018 | Download PDF. Today, the idea of corporate sustainability is mainly associated with tech firms like Apple, Google and Salesforce, or with institutional investors like Blackrock or the Yale University endowment, which recently announced it would not […]
The Fall of Shareholder Primacy and the Search for a Solution
Author: Micaela Cervantes | UC Berkeley School of Law | J.D. Candidate 2020 | Posted October 3rd, 2018 | Download PDF. The perception of a corporation’s role in society shifted after Milton Friedman established his shareholder primacy theory in 1970.[1] Friedman wrote that the corporation’s primary purpose is to maximize shareholder profits.[2] Although, Friedman’s theory prevailed […]