Company Law is Bananas

Abstract

While corporations wield tremendous amounts of power that can – in theory – ameliorate some of the global challenges that the world faces today, as things stand, the right incentives are not in place for the stakeholders to transform companies into socially responsible and environmentally conscious entities as a whole. While company law could be put forth as an instrument that incentivizes companies to be more socially aware and attentive to sustainability issues – in reality – relying on company law to change the true nature of companies and how they operate is akin to hammering a nail with a banana. While bananas are nutritious and delicious, they are not practical tools for a wide assortment of tasks. Similarly, although company law can serve a wide variety of purposes, it is not necessarily the instrument to change the incentives of corporate stakeholders to be more socially responsible in its present state.