The Global Goals of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)—Are Arbitral Institutions Doing Their Part (at Least, with Respect to the Environmental Pillar)?

Stephan Wilske, FCIArb, Lecturer at Heidelberg University, Leibniz Universität Hannover, and the German University for Administrative Sciences Speyer and Owner at Gleiss Lutz, and Annemie Heubach, Former Intern at Gleiss Lutz and LPC student at The University of Law, have recently published a timely article titled, “The Global Goals of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)—Are Arbitral Institutions Doing Their Part (at Least, with Respect to the Environmental Pillar)?” Contemporary Asia Arbitration Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 1-30, May 2023.  In their scholarly work, the authors examine the environmental pillar of ESG as it relates to arbitration, what arbitral institutions are now doing to fulfill ESG goals, and the measures that may be taken in the future to reduce the environmental impact of the arbitration process.

The article abstract states:

This paper deals with the possibilities and arguably the responsibility of arbitral institutions to contribute to the fulfillment of Environmental, Social and Governance (commonly abbreviated as “ESG”) goals. In doing so, this article will focus on the environmental pillar of ESG. Considering the increasing importance of climate change and the increase of individuals acknowledging and thereby limiting their adverse contribution to the environment, why should arbitral institutions not have ESG goals as well? With the growing importance of ESG, it is likely that the three pillars of ESG will be a factor increasingly considered when actors of arbitration decide which institution to use for their proceedings. With this in mind, these authors will aim to evaluate whether arbitral institutions are aware of the need to improve their role with regards to ESG, what arbitral institutions are doing currently, and what can be done in the future to contribute towards fulfilling ESG goals. While there may not be a single global solution, arbitral institutions can adopt several measures to limit their adverse contribution to ESG matters and thereby do more than what is currently being done.

This and other research papers written by the authors may be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network.

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