Sustainable Finance and the Public Turn in Corporate Law

For much of its history, corporate law in the United States has been diverging from its roots in public law in a way that has distanced the field and corporations themselves from questions of accountability beyond responsibility to advance the economic interests of shareholders. In recent years, however, shareholders have used the tools of corporate governance to advocate for a broader, more public vision of the corporation. These trends have emerged in response to rising awareness of the need for a sustainable finance transition and amid international efforts to encourage or require investors to take account of climate risk and other sustainability concerns. This chapter highlights how sustainable finance and the public turn in corporate law and practice are mutually reinforcing and identifies areas of research that may help better align corporate law with the demands of a sustainable finance transition.