The introduction sets out the parameters of this book, which brings together contributions from experts from a range of academic disciplines, with legal scholarship at the core of the volume. It presents the context for the book’s focus upon sustainable value creation and explores how this might be developed inside the EU and through the EU’s institutions. The volume is positioned within a research-based concept of sustainability, defined as securing social foundations for humanity now and for the future within planetary boundaries. This provides the basis for the analyses of the potential for sustainable value creation in the EU. The introduction goes on to identify a number of mileposts that have shaped the progress of the EU and its relevance for value creation, including the EU’s ambitions, the financial and debt crises, Brexit and the urgent challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the broader environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. The contributions of the volume are briefly introduced, before the chapter concludes with hope and optimism, setting the tone for the critical and constructive analysis to follow.

The conclusion higlights continuing challenges for the EU and the rest of the world and how the future humanity faces is uncertain. Yet an optimistic message is also presented. Noting that shareholder primacy is increasingly coming under question and a growing interest in the concepts of corporate purpose and sustainable value creation, the conclusion draws upon the suggestions made among the chapters throughout the book to highlight the potential for corporations to be a force for good if supported by more effective legal and regulatory reforms and operating with more innovative structures and technologies. More stable, resilient and democratic institutional structures are necessary too as is the inclusion of active political and entrepreneurial women. Also fundamental to change is setting sustainable value creation within planetary boundaries as an overarching purpose for business, with mandatory rules to ensure that sustainability is integrated into the governance of business across global value chains. In a policy coherence for sustainability perspective, the book concludes by positioning the research-based reform proposals for business and finance within broader European Union laws and policies, underlining the necessity of reform also of other related areas, including circular economy policies, competition and state aid law and public procurement.

The German system of company law and corporate governance is often referred to as a ‘stakeholder value system’ which places it in opposition to Anglo-American ‘shareholder value systems’. This characterisation suggests more scope for the promotion of corporate sustainability. This chapter analyses to what extent key aspects of German company law and corporate governance constitute barriers and create opportunities for sustainable development. These include the question in whose interest German public limited companies (Aktiengesellschaften) are run, the co-determined supervisory board in the two-tier board system, the fact that the executive remuneration structure should be aimed at the ‘company’s sustainable development’, shareholder rights and mandatory nonfinancial information disclosure. It is argued that there is, contrary to the prevailing perception, little scope in German company law and corporate governance for the promotion of the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.