Beyond Compliance – Special Episode from SoS.25: Sustainability in Corporate Law

Recorded live at the Sustainability osapiens Summit 2025 in Mannheim

In this special episode, recorded live at the Sustainability osapiens Summit 2025, we explore how corporate law can evolve from a passive regulatory framework into an active driver of change. Our guests – Prof. Dr. Anne-Christin Mittwoch, Of Counsel at Graf von Westphalen and member of the Green Trade Team, and Dieter Overath, former CEO of Fairtrade Germany – bring legal insight and field experience to one powerful conversation.

Together, they examine how sustainability is reshaping the legal responsibilities of companies and where current approaches still fall short.

Prof. Dr. Mittwoch emphasizes that unsustainable corporate behavior is no longer just an ethical concern – it's a financial risk. Voluntary standards, she argues, are not enough. Instead, she calls for legally binding structures that enable enforcement, participation, and transparency. While instruments like the CSDDD could mark a paradigm shift in corporate law by including sustainability at the core of business obligations, she warns that current political compromises risk weakening their impact.

She also raises critical questions about labelling systems: while they aim to help consumers and markets make better choices, what happens when labels are misleading or lack enforcement mechanisms? Without real sanctions, transparency remains fragile.

From his decades of experience, Dieter Overath reminds us how sustainability wasn’t even a topic 30 years ago – and yet, some of the same injustices still persist today. He challenges whether legal frameworks truly address the root causes: "Is the law improving human rights conditions? Or are we still pushing responsibility further down the supply chain?" He questions the logic of a system where companies can shift accountability onto suppliers without consequence.

One key takeaway from Prof. Dr. Mittwoch: corporate decision-making can no longer happen in a black box. Stakeholders – not just shareholders – must be part of the process. Article 13 of the CSDDD draft illustrates this shift by proposing stakeholder participation from across the entire supply chain – including cocoa farmers. Yet recent changes, like those in the Omnibus proposal, risk cutting this scope back.

Both guests agree: sustainability needs structure, accountability, and courage – not just intention. And corporate law must become more than a box-ticking exercise; it must become part of the solution.

Listen now to find out how legal frameworks could evolve into tools for systemic change – and join the conversation on osapeers:

Are today’s laws really protecting the right people? Or just shifting the burden?