Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis the prevailing economic development model based on an assumption of unlimited resources and, therefore, unlimited growth has been increasingly put into question by academics, policy-making agencies and even industry leaders themselves. Climate change, general environmental and natural resource degradation, widespread inequalities, and systemic governance failures are pressing capitalism to renew itself to deliver sustainable outcomes for a broader base of stakeholders. This has become known in more practical terms as the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and responsible investment movements. The pressure to change how we organise ourselves as societies and economies has implications for how large and small corporations, public or private, are governed and to the benefit of whom. This Handbook offers a rare combination of pluralistic and multidisciplinary perspectives from law, economics, finance and management, as well as an interesting mix of latest academic thinking and practical recommendations on ESG for boards and executive teams.

Should companies be governed and managed for the benefit of their shareholders alone? Can companies be governed to deliver for shareholders as well as the broader stakeholder base? How can investors allocate capital to advance sustainability? Part I provides a pluralistic discussion of some of these fundamental questions besetting academics and practitioners alike while Part II examines recent regulatory developments and assesses what may need to change in terms of law and regulation to both hold companies to account for sustainability while enabling them to continue to provide vital goods and services. Part III of the book discusses how the different types of companies and investors are currently facing the sustainability imperative and incorporating ESG factors on how they operate and invest. The concluding chapter provides an overview of the key regulatory, ecosystem andboard-level gaps that require urgent and decisive action.

Part I - General aspects of ESG

1. Introduction: the multiples roles of corporate governance under ESG  (Paulo Câmara)
2. Sustainability as a game changer in corporate governance (Guido Ferrarini)
3. ESG and the shift on corporate purpose (Beate Sjåfjell)
4. Sustainability and European financial law (Dirk Zetzsche)
5. The duty of societal responsibility (Jaap Winter)
6. ESG and shareholder primacy: why they can go together (Luca Enriques);
7.  ESG and corporate interest (Erik Oioli)
8. ESG and performance (Miguel Ferreira)
9. The new ESG bond markets (green bonds, blue bonds) (Manuel Requicha Ferreira)
10. ESG in developing economies ( Sofia Vale)
11. The role of companies in promoting human rights (Ana Rita Campos)
Part II - ESG Regulatory developments
 12.  ESG and EU Law (António Garcia Rolo)
13. ESG and the role of financial supervisors (Gabriela Figueiredo Dias)
14.  ESG reporting (Julien Froumouth and Joana Frade)
15. The EU Taxonomy Regulation and its implications for companies (Rui de Oliveira Neves)
16. ESG and board duties (Sofia Santos)
17. ESG and business judgment rule (Bruno Ferreira and Manuel Sequeira)
18. ESG and remuneration (Inês Serrano de Matos)
19. ESG and compliance (Lara Reis). Part III - ESG in particular types of companies
20. ESG and new forms of purposeful companies (benefit companies, B Corps, community interest company et al) (Luís Amado)
21. ESG and listed companies (Abel Sequeira Ferreira)
22. ESG in Growth Listed Companies: Closing the Gaps (Filipe Morais, Jenny Simnett, Andrew Kakabadse, Nada Kakabadse, Andrew Myers and Tim Ward)
23. ESG and banks (Mafalda de Sá)
24. ESG and asset managers. The EU asset managers' different [and differentiating] tones of green (Tiago dos Santos Matias
25. ESG, State-owned companies and smart cities (José Miguel Lucas).