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Will the EU Taxonomy Regulation Foster Sustainable Corporate Governance?

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  • Alessio M. Pacces

    (Amsterdam Center for Law & Economics (ACLE), University of Amsterdam, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), 1000 Brussels, Belgium)

Abstract

EU securities regulation has established a taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities. This article discusses, from a law and economics standpoint, the potential of this taxonomy to support sustainable corporate governance. Corporate governance can be an efficient way to channel investor preferences towards sustainability because the concentration of institutional shareholding has lowered the transaction costs of shareholder action. However, there is a principal-agent problem between institutional investors and their beneficiaries, which depends on greenwashing and undermines sustainable corporate governance. This article argues that introducing environmental sustainability into EU mandatory disclosure aligns the institutional investors’ incentives with the interest of their beneficiaries and may foster the efficient inclusion of sustainability in corporate governance. The argument is threefold. Firstly, the EU Taxonomy may curb greenwashing by standardizing the disclosure of environmental sustainability. Secondly, this information may become salient for the beneficiaries as the same standards define the sustainability preferences to be considered in recommending and marketing financial products. Thirdly, sustainability disclosure prompts institutional investors to compete for sustainability-minded beneficiaries. Being unable to avoid unsustainable companies altogether, institutional investors are expected to cater to beneficiaries’ preferences for environmental sustainability using voice instead of exit.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessio M. Pacces, 2021. "Will the EU Taxonomy Regulation Foster Sustainable Corporate Governance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12316-:d:674425
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    6. Alberto Barroso del Toro & Laura Vivas Crisol & Xavier Tort-Martorell, 2022. "Comparing the Impacts of Sustainability Narratives on American and European Energy Shareholders: A Multi-Event Study Analysing Reactions to News before and during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    7. Patrizia Tettamanzi & Riccardo Gotti Tedeschi & Michael Murgolo, 2024. "The European Union (EU) green taxonomy: codifying sustainability to provide certainty to the markets," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 27111-27136, November.
    8. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Esther Ortiz‐Martínez & Salvador Marín‐Hernández & Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán, 2023. "How does the European Green Deal affect the disclosure of environmental information?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2766-2782, November.
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