Right to a clean environment: Role of contracts and contract law

Abstract

This Report analyses the use of contracts and contract law to advance sustainability goals. It discusses the problem of planned obsolesence—the intentional manufacturer of products with shorter lifespans. In the area of contracts, the use and enforceability of contractual sustainability clauses is reviewed. The role of contracts in advancing sustainability is exami-ned at different levels: government-to-government through bilateral investment treaties, pu-blic-private contracts (government procurement) and in private green contracts incentivized by government policy and programs. The Report will then offer approaches to combatting the problem of planned obsolesence. It advances the argument that warranty law offers the best and most comprehensive approach to improving product durability.