Abstract
Pursuing sustainable development goals (SDGs) has become a central tenet of responsible consumerism and corporate practices in today's globalized world. The idea is simple: consumers and end-user companies should choose sustainably produced goods to promote sustainability within their own borders and across the interconnected web of modern production structures. However, enforcing these noble objectives encounters a labyrinth of challenges in practice.
This divergence enables lead companies in modern production structures to exploit the low production costs in the developing economies, all the while evading accountability for the adverse social and environmental consequences of production processes. While scholars have clamored for greater accountability among these chain leaders, the conventional contract law framework falls short of providing a feasible solution. In Proactive Contract Theory and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence—Empowering Victims and Enhancing Access to Remedy? Juho Saloranta and Anna Hurmerinta-Haanpää tackle the challenge of effective access to remedy as it relates to broader issues of corporate accountability. The authors discuss the access to remedy for victims of human rights abuses in the context of the European Commission's proposed Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. The authors employ the proactive contract theory and the functional approach as an analytical framework to explore the potential of due diligence planning and cascading. They argue that as human rights abuses typically occur in the upstream supply chains, using proactive contracting tools and processes can enable the companies to include themselves and their employees in the due diligence planning and implementation.
Sustainability, primarily through the lens of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, emerged as a powerful force driving corporate decision-making. Once seen as a peripheral concern, sustainability considerations are now at the forefront of responsible business practices, and they are increasingly finding their way into contractual agreements. This shift represents a fundamental transformation in how companies operate, collaborate, and contribute to a sustainable future. In this context, sustainability encompasses a wide range of issues, including environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and effective governance. Companies are realizing that their actions in these areas not only impact their reputation but also have real financial implications. As a result, many businesses are now embedding sustainable criteria into their contracts, whether in supplier agreements, partnerships, or investment agreements. In Towards Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chains: How Contract Management Can Help Companies in Their Transformation Journey, Suvi Hirvonen-Ere and Anu Bask consider the contract management process in the entire contract lifecycle to explore if it, as a contingency variable, has the potential to impact sustainability practices in supply chain relationship positively. While their initial findings show a modest impact on sustainable supply chain management, they offer parallel avenues to enhance the impact and move companies further down the sustainable transformation journey.
The contributions to the Special Section explore the necessity and extent of rethinking the conceptual framework governing commercial relationships and the role of international instruments. More importantly, they offer recommendations on the path forward that requires more in-depth theoretical exploration and empirical analysis.
