UK company law: digging deeper


photo: jez coulson / jumblejet



Company law in the UK governs how UK-based companies report on their impacts on the environment and people all across the globe.

In 2010 ClientEarth published a major study of the UK law that governs company reporting on environmental and social issues, looking in particular at the extractive industries in practice.
 
 
 
 
Read the full text: Environmental and social transparency under the Companies Act 2006: Digging deeper
 
Executive Summary | Proposals | Main body | Annexes | Footnotes | Bibliography

In 2006, the new Companies Act was introduced in the UK.  It contained new requirements for public companies to report on environmental and social issues.  It also set up processes intended to make sure that companies complied with the law.

In ‘Digging deeper’, ClientEarth analyses the adequacy of this legal framework, finding a number of fundamental flaws in the system that the Companies Act 2006 established.  ‘Digging deeper’ sets out what ClientEarth sees as the best next steps to make the system work as it was intended to.

To request a hard copy of the book, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .


ClientEarth has also been looking at what the Companies Act 2006 is achieving in practice, and is pushing for enforcement of the law.  You can read more about what ClientEarth is doing to test the system here.

In June 2010, the UK government announced that it will reform the law governing company reporting, and look at further ways that company transparency and accountability can be improved.  You can read more about what the UK government is doing, and how ClientEarth is responding to it, here.