Until a few years ago, corporate transparency about their activities and their impact on society and the environment was still exceptional and non-committal. However, sustainability reporting is now for many companies a mandatory part of accounting for what they do, and has become common good. René Orij, who recently was appointed as full professor at Nyenrode Business Universiteit, has conducted important research in this area.

Today, René Orij was appointed as Professor of Corporate Sustainability Reporting at Nyenrode Business University. "With my future research, I want to hold up a mirror to companies and accountants: think about the importance of transparency about sustainability."

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) dominates discussions in the boardroom. The reason for the growing importance attached to ESG is that it will significantly affect the landscape in which companies and boards operate.

Is the recently updated corporate governance code still relevant and future-proof? According to Jeroen Veldman, Professor of Corporate Governance at Nyenrode Business University, this discussion calls for a strong plea: let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Read the full essay in Management Scope (in Dutch).

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is transforming ESG reporting. Starting from 2024, almost 50,000 companies are subject to mandatory sustainability reporting, including non-EU companies which have subsidiaries operating within the EU or are listed on EU regulated markets.

Not just companies, but governments and citizens too have a responsibility in making global value chains more sustainable. That is what Désirée van Gorp, professor of International Business at Nyenrode Business University, firmly believes. Global value chains represent processes in which goods and services are produced, processed, and delivered in different countries. Van Gorp: “Making these chains sustainable means, above all, taking solidarity as a starting point. What is good for us must also be good for people in the countries where we move our activities to, such as production processes.”

Major social issues continue to have an increasing impact, also on the business community. And these issues increasingly require corporate involvement. Remko Renes (member of the Nyenrode Corporate Governance Institute) and Auke de Bos (associated with the EUR and EY) elaborate on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors. They think about the meaning and the importance of ESG, and the influence of this topic’s focus and transparency on organizations and directors and the roles of supervisors and audits. Based on their insights, they give recommendations to directors, supervisory directors, advisers and accountants.

It is taking too long for companies to put well-being before profit. That is why a social duty of care must be enshrined in law. This is what Leen Paape says in his farewell speech as Professor of Corporate Governance at Nyenrode.