| Abstract [eng] |
The Master's thesis focuses on the fiduciary duty of care and its relation to the integration of sustainability into companies' operations and the management of the risks associated with it. It emphasises that in the modern legal and business environment, the duty of care is not only about reasonable, informed, prudent and lawful behaviour, but also about the conduct of the governing bodies of companies, which includes the assessment of social, economic and environmental risks. This duty requires governing bodies to integrate sustainability considerations into the company's strategy and operations. The paper analyses how European Union legislation, in particular the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the mandatory European Sustainability Reporting Standards, establishes procedural patterns of behaviour that oblige governing bodies to integrate sustainability principles as an integral aspect of corporate governance, thereby fulfilling the fiduciary duty of care. However, it is noted that in Lithuania, the duties of the governing bodies with regard to corporate accountability are not laid down in detail and the implementation of the functions of the governing bodies in the area of sustainability in practice remains undefined. Except where this is foreseen by the companies themselves through internal sustainability policies, which partly detail how the governance bodies should act and manage sustainability risks in line with the duty of care. Finally, the paper analyses liability for breaches of sustainability requirements and the fiduciary duty of care of the management body. Through the Lithuanian and foreign case law discussed, it analyses how liability for these breaches could be applied to the management bodies. It also analyses real-life examples showing the relationship between the mismanagement of sustainability risks and the damage to companies and the liability of management bodies. |
