The DORDA Sustainability Day 2024 took place on 5 June 2024 following the motto "ESG in times of crisis". The event offered high-class presentations and discussions on current sustainability topics in the legal sector.
Keynote speech and panel discussion focused on "ESG in times of crisis".
Martin Stenitzer (Austrian Federal Financing Agency) opened the event with a keynote speech on "Sustainable Finance: Navigating the Current Landscape". In the following panel discussion, Elisabeth Dal-Bianco (IKEA), Peter Eitzenberger (VBV-Vorsorgekasse) and Martin Rohla (Goodshares) moderated by Andreas Zahradnik (Co-Head of the DORDA Sustainability Group) analysed the challenges and opportunities of ESG in times of crisis.
Presenting the 2024 Sustainability Law Award
Another highlight of yesterday's event was the presentation of the 2024 Sustainability Law Award, which is presented together with MANZ Verlag. This prize honours outstanding academic work in the context of sustainability law and is intended to promote academic discourse in this area of law. This year, the prize was awarded to Bernadette Prinz for her work "Water supply as a state objective - interpretation and follow-up questions on Section 4 BVG Sustainability" and to Lukas Herndl for his work "Sustainable loans - opportunities and limits in civil law".
Christian Richter-Schöller (Co-Head of the DORDA Sustainability Group) and Andreas Zahradnik (Partner Banking Law & Financing and Co-Head of the DORDA Sustainability Group) underlined the importance of the topic of sustainability in the legal sector and were delighted with the great response to this year's award. Zahradnik commented: "We are very pleased with the high number of submissions for this year's Sustainability Law Award and it shows the great importance that the topic of sustainability now has in academia. The quality of the work submitted was exceptionally high, which is why the selection process was a major challenge for the jury." Richter-Schöller adds: "Sustainability is not only an ecological issue, but also a key topic for the economy and society. The submissions covered a wide range of topics in the field of sustainability law, from the legal challenges of the circular economy to the impact of climate change on corporate responsibility. On behalf of the entire DORDA team and the jury members Karin Huber-Heim (Circular Economy Forum Austria), and Julia Told (University of Innsbruck), we would like to congratulate the two winners!"
