UK directors’ duties ‘include ESG responsibilities’ says legal expert
Memorandum warns that directors’ legal obligations under the Companies Act 2006 include consideration of environmental, social and governance factors.
Image: NPFire/Shutterstock
Debate over the precise implications of UK law on directors’ duties was given fresh legs this week with publication of a legal memorandum warning that failure to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors could constitute a breach of duty of care resulting in legal claims against a director.
The warning comes in a document produced by a company law expert at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and commissioned by the not-for-profit Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
According to Fiona Reynolds, chief executive of PRI, the memorandum—aimed specifically at private equity houses appointing non-executives to the
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