Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disputes: Litigation and Arbitration

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disputes, a book representing one of the first comprehensive analyses of ESG within the field of dispute resolution, serves as an essential resource for understanding the legal, procedural, and normative developments at the intersection of sustainability and adjudication, given that disputes touching on ESG concerns frequently cut across multiple areas of law and engage a diverse range of parties and causes of action. ESG has gained significant prominence in shaping the policy frameworks and procedural dynamics of contemporary dispute resolution. Across numerous sectors and jurisdictions, businesses are facing sustained pressure from institutional investors, regulators, and civil society to incorporate ESG-related obligations into contractual arrangements and ensure that these obligations are legally enforceable, particularly in cross-border contexts.

What’s in this book:

Encircling issues as diverse as environmental impact, climate change, human rights, corruption, financial crime, and corporate reporting violations, the contributors address the complex pattern of the ESG paradigm under five major headings related to legal practice:

• arbitration and arbitral procedure, including investor-State arbitrations
• climate change and sustainability litigation
• disputes arising in the course of major construction projects
• due diligence in identifying key ESG-related risks in the context of mergers and acquisitions, and
• grounds on which ESG responsibilities can be enforced and companies can be held accountable for ESG-related infractions

The relevance of ‘soft law’ instruments – such as the Equator Principles, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the IFC Performance Standards – has become increasingly prominent, as each plays a distinct role in shaping normative expectations and influencing legal and policy debates around responsible business conduct and sustainability.

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