The Jigsaw Puzzle of Sustainability

We are entering a new era in the discussion of how to best regulate companies and markets. Although much energy is currently spent on how to promote growth and “business as usual,” there are inspiring indications of a broader perspective. This is crucial, as getting back on the “business as usual” track is a very certain path towards a very uncertain future. If we are to secure the very basis of existence for ourselves, our children and their children's children, there is no way around thinking in a new and more comprehensive manner about regulating companies, these all-important components of the market economies that we depend so heavily on. This editorial of the 2012 special issue of European Company Law on CSR and SRI moves on from a presentation of arguments for a comprehensive approach, including company law, in regulating for sustainability, to an overview of the inspiring and thought-provoking articles included in the special issue