05 June 2024
Happy World Environment Day Everyone
The Coming Change
When government can’t make business stop its abuse of the environment or other elements of the public interest, big business rules and the resulting damage can be severe. Government’s inability to force the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an obvious example.
To get out from underneath the rule of big business, we have two choices: strengthen governments to make them better able to control anti-social corporate behaviour or change corporations to make them more willing to sacrifice for the common good of all. It may be easier to do the latter.
Corporations exist because nearly identical laws all over the world provide for their creation and give them direction. The key to changing the way corporations operate is to change the duty of directors in those laws to make business more protective of the public interest.
The duty of directors to always “act in their company's best interests” needs boundaries. To start, I suggest adding eleven words "but not at the expense of severe damage to the environment."
It’s logical to ask, but if business can keep government from passing laws which would force reduced emissions, how can the law be amended to include the eleven words? That’s where we come in.
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