1.0Centre for Policy Developmenthttps://cpd.org.aucommunicationshttps://cpd.org.au/author/cpdinterns/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://cpd.org.au/2016/10/directorsduties/">New legal opinion and business roundtable on climate risks and directors’ duties | LEGAL OPINION and ROUNDTABLE | October 2016</a></blockquote> <script type='text/javascript'> <!--//--><![CDATA[//><!-- /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(d.addEventListener)e=!0;if(d.wp=d.wp||{},!d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){var r,a,i,s,n,o=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]');for(r=0;r<c.length;r++)c[r].style.display="none";for(r=0;r<o.length;r++)if(a=o[r],e.source===a.contentWindow){if(a.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;a.height=i}if("link"===t.message)if(s=l.createElement("a"),n=l.createElement("a"),s.href=a.getAttribute("src"),n.href=t.value,n.host===s.host)if(l.activeElement===a)d.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),d.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(!o){o=!0;var e,t,r,a,i=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),s=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),n=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content");for(t=0;t<n.length;t++){if(!(r=n[t]).getAttribute("data-secret"))a=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),r.src+="#?secret="+a,r.setAttribute("data-secret",a);if(i||s)(e=r.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),r.parentNode.replaceChild(e,r)}}}}(window,document); //--><!]]> </script><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://cpd.org.au/2016/10/directorsduties/embed/" width="600" height="338" title="“New legal opinion and business roundtable on climate risks and directors’ duties | LEGAL OPINION and ROUNDTABLE | October 2016” — Centre for Policy Development" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe>https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/RTtwo.jpg1358990CPD has released a new legal opinion on the extent to which Australian corporate law permits (and indeed requires) company directors to take climate change into account when making decisions about company strategy, performance and risk disclosure. The opinion was commissioned by CPD in partnership with the Future Business Council, and provided by Noel Hutley SC and Sebastian Hartford-Davis on instruction from Sarah Barker and Maged Girgis of Minter Ellison Lawyers. CPD and FBC convened a high-level business roundtable in Melbourne on 21 October to discuss the opinion and its far-reaching implications for boards and directors. Legal opinion: directors’ duties and climate risk  The legal opinion shows that the bar for directors is rising as the links between social and environmental factors and financial risks and performance come into sharp focus. It demonstrates that directors who fail to consider the impact of foreseeable climate change risks on their business properly could be held personally liable for breaching the duty of due care and diligence they owe to their companies. Key findings of the opinion include: Climate change risks would be regarded as foreseeable by courts, and relevant to a director’s duty of care and diligence to the extent that those risks intersect with the...