THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE IS ONE OF THE FEW IN EUROPE WHICH HAS FULLY INTEGRATED THE PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION, FAIR LABOR CONDITIONS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE.
The Bulgarian national corporate governance code is among the few codes in Europe which has fully integrated the principles of environmental protection, human rights protection, fair labor conditions and good governance. This became clear at the second national level meeting for 2021 of the organizations which have established and are maintaining the National Corporate Governance Codes in Europe, held on November 16, the year 2021.
Bulgaria was represented by the National Corporate Governance Commission, which is a member of the network through its Chair, Ms. Daniela Peeva, and Professor Bistra Boeva.
Representatives of the national corporate governance commissions by the EU member states and the United Kingdom also took part.
The meeting placed an emphasis on two main directions in the development of corporate governance in Europe: ‘Sustainable governance’ and ‘Say on climate’.
SUSTAINABLE GOVERNANCE
A discussion has been held regarding the regulatory environment, related to the matters of due diligence and sustainable corporate overnance. The matters whether there should be an expertise regarding sustainable development on corporate governance level and
how to find the balance between the knowledge and experience of the members of corporate boards in the context of the requirements for disclosure of non-financial information were also discussed. The participants also shared opinions on the integration of the ESG indicators in drafting the corporate governance remuneration policies. The experience of a series of countries in stakeholder engagement in corporate decision-making was also discussed.
SAY ON CLIMATE
An opinion was shared that some of the member states have a very high level of activity by institutional investors for detailed information regarding the policies of companies in relation to climate change.
Institutional investors are increasingly focusing their attention on investment companies being also leaders in climate matters and actively plan the future of the company with zero net carbon emissions and integrating the shareholders feedback with this process.
THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE IS AMONG THE FEW IN EUROPE WHICH HAS FULLY INTEGRATED THE PRINCIPLES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION, FAIR LABOR CONDITIONS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE.
During the meeting, each network member state presented the changes in the National Corporate Governance Code, introduced in 2021, in the context of the newest trends in development of corporate governance – for environmental protection, human rights
protection, fair labor conditions and good governance (ESG).
The Bulgarian National corporate governance commission presented the changes introduced to the National Corporate Governance Code in July 2021 regarding the long-term engagement of shareholders and the remuneration of members of corporate governance. In the spirit of the state-of-the-art trends on development of corporate governance, the Bulgarian National Corporate Governance Code established new chapters: chapter four on disclosing financial and non-financial information, and chapter five on stakeholders and sustainable development.
It has been noted with satisfaction that the changes introduced to the National Code and their application by Bulgarian companies have made Bulgaria among some of the first European countries, which has integrated the principles for environmental protection, human rights protection, fair labor conditions and good governance in the Corporate Governance Code in a timely manner.
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