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ON THE POSSIBILITY OF STAKEHOLDERS TO DEMAND THE PERFORMANCE OF SUSTAINABLE CLAUSES CONTAINED IN CONTRACTS BETWEEN BUSINESS AGENTS
Companies incorporate sustainability clauses in commercial contracts with other business organizations, in order to implement long-term social responsibility in business operations. These provisions generally do not grant sufficient coercive power for their enforceability, and, furthermore, make reference to external third parties (stakeholders) who may be affected by the commercial operation. This study aims to determinate if it is possible to reinterpret the stipulation in favor of a third party and the opposability of contracts by third parties in Chilean contract law to provide effectiveness to sustainability clauses regarding those who are not party to the agreement but are benefited by their observance. Accordingly, the hypothesis of this research is that stakeholders, as third-party beneficiaries of contractual clauses incorporated in the field of corporate sustainability, may enforce them as this allows for the achievement of the contract’s purpose or claim damages in the field of tort liability, as they are recognized a legitimate interest in CCS’ fulfillment.
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SUSTAINABLE CONTRACTUAL CLAUSES AS A WAY FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES TO BECOME A DRIVING FORCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
In the modern world, contracts favour social purposes by providing a good setting for the regulation of sustainability. Within this framework, this article points out the inequality in bargaining power between lead companies and their suppliers that has hitherto not been extensively explored in the literature. This is emphasised by transnational laws, whose focus is on the role of buyers for the implementation of sustainability in global supply chains. Thus, suppliers, usually small and medium-sized enterprises, are mere rule followers, which could make them vulnerable. It is postulated here that is possible to overcome this by bottom-up activities – that is, the negotiation of sustainable contractual clauses including the input of small and medium-sized enterprises, and compromises by the parent company in capacity-building for them. This implies a repurposing of the contract, bringing small and medium-sized enterprises to the centre and making them aware of their power and co-responsible for the spread of sustainability. Buyers should be amenable to this change since it would allow production according to their values, opening their reach to potential new markets and also complying with law, which is more stringent every day in terms of sustainability. This rationale is complemented in the article by examination of a real case and a consideration of the anatomy of a sustainable contractual clause according to these suggestions.