‘Corporate sustainability’ has recently become a central concept in regulation, particularly within the European Union. Yet, despite its widespread use, the term remains conceptually vague and legally fragmented. This article critically examines how EU law conceptualizes and operationalizes corporate sustainability. It demonstrates that there is no unified legal definition; rather, the EU adopts a distinct, instrumentbased ‘multi-layered’ approach. While this approach provides a degree of flexibility in its operationalization, it also generates tensions with economic growth and competitiveness. These tensions give rise to conflicting EU regulatory approaches to corporate sustainability that simultaneously shape, in different directions, the meaning and scope of the concept. The article identifies two approaches, which it terms ‘sustainability and competitiveness’ and ‘sustainability vs competitiveness’, and analyses their key elements, coherence, and broader implications. Ultimately, the article raises important questions about the reforms needed to develop an approach to corporate sustainability that ensures both the effective implementation of the European Green Deal and long-term competitiveness in the internal market.
Common Market Law Review