Directors’ Duties Navigator launched for Belgium
- Mar 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 9
What do climate risk and sustainability disclosures mean for the legal responsibilities of board members in Belgium?
The newly released Belgium edition of the Directors’ Duties Navigator provides directors with a practical overview of how climate-related risks and sustainability reporting obligations interact with their legal duties. Developed by the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative in collaboration with the Chapter Zero Alliance, the guide helps boards understand how governance expectations are evolving in response to climate change, regulatory developments and investor scrutiny.
As environmental risks increasingly affect markets, supply chains and financial stability, boards are expected to take a more proactive role in overseeing climate-related risks and opportunities.
What the Belgium edition covers
The Navigator offers an accessible overview of the Belgian context and highlights several key areas relevant for board directors:
Belgium’s legal and regulatory landscape: Climate and environmental legislation in Belgium is distributed across federal and regional levels, meaning companies must navigate different rules depending on where they operate.
Directors’ duties and climate-related risks: Belgian law does not yet impose explicit climate-related duties. However, directors must act with care and diligence in the long-term interests of the company, which increasingly requires considering climate-related risks and their potential financial and operational impacts.
Sustainability disclosure obligations: Directors are collectively responsible for preparing and approving sustainability disclosures. With the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), many companies will face new reporting requirements regarding climate risks, strategy resilience and transition planning.
Supporting boards in a changing governance landscape
Beyond explaining the legal framework, the guide highlights practical steps boards can take to strengthen oversight of climate and sustainability issues. This includes integrating climate considerations into corporate strategy, improving risk assessment processes and ensuring robust sustainability reporting.
While Belgian law does not yet contain explicit climate duties for directors, expectations from regulators, investors and stakeholders are evolving rapidly. The Directors’ Duties Navigator aims to equip boards with the knowledge they need to anticipate these developments and make informed decisions that support long-term resilience and value creation.
