Hållbart företagande för börsnoterade bolag - Hur hållbara är hållbarhetskraven?

Sammanfattning: In January 2022, the Taxonomy Regulation entered into force. The regulation is part of the sustainability initiative, The European Green Deal, which is currently progressed within the EU to comply with the requirements of the UN Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement. The Taxonomy introduces a classification system, which establishes a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities. The Taxanomy is to be supplemented by two additional directives - Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. If the directives enter into force together with the regulation, large listed companies, which play an important role in the transition to a green economy, will face far-reaching requirements regarding sustainable business. According to the current Swedish corporate law, large companies must report sustainability in connection with the annual report. The report shall, inter alia, contain information about the company's impact on the environment and policy documents that are attributable to sustainability. In other respects, the board of listed companies is required to have sufficient knowledge of sustainability to be able to evaluate the consequences and risks of the business in relation to the environment. If the proposed directives are adopted, the requirements for the annual sustainability report will increase. The report shall include a description of how the company is to ensure that the business model and business strategy are compatible with the Paris Agreement and to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C. If the proposal for a directive on due diligence for companies on sustainability enters into force, large listed companies will need to integrate due diligence into all policies and identify risks to the environment and prevent or put a stop to said risks. To ensure compliance with the directive, the directive will have both sanctions and civil liability. The EU sustainability reform will directly affect listed companies in Sweden. There is a tradition of over 150 years that the company must have a business purpose to make a profit. It is debated whether it is permissible within the scope of the business purpose to consider other interests, such as sustainability. The purpose of profit has long been characterized by a norm of short-term profit maximization, even though there is no explicit rule on the time aspect of profit. Based on a reasoning that profit maximization can be allowed over a longer period and that a measure can be justified for financial purposes, other interests can also be aligned with the purpose of generating profit.