McGill BLP SGI Transformative Business Law Summer Academy
26 – 31 May 2024, Montréal
McGill Faculty of Law | McGill Desautels Faculty of Management
Call for Applications
Building on the success of the 2023 Academy and the 2023 Impact Paper, the Faculty of Law’s Business Law Platform (BLP) in collaboration with the CIBC Office of Sustainable Finance (OSF) at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management under the auspices of McGill University’s Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) invites applications from current students or recent graduates (2021 and later) in law, management, finance, sociology, and environmental studies for participation in the
McGill BLP SGI Transformative Business Law Summer Academy (TBLSA) 2024.
TBLSA is a 6-day long, residential, intensive training and collaboration course dedicated to the in-depth study of pressing topics in the areas of sustainable finance, corporate governance, ESG, human rights and democratic governance, and climate change. TBLSA Fellows (students) come from across disciplines to work in small teams on specific aspects of a multi-dimensional case study. The teams are mentored by Faculty experts and will have 4 days (Mon-Thurs) to research, draft and design a memo (chapter with policy recommendations), on their part of the case study. On the final day of the Academy (Fri. 31 May), all groups will combine their memoranda into a policy paper, which will be presented on the same day to a public audience as the “2024 TBLSA Impact Paper”, simultaneously with a YouTube video outlining the Academy’s key findings. Like last year’s impact paper, the 2024 TBLSA Impact Paper too will become a publicly available resource for lawyers, managers, and researchers in the field.
Upon successful completion of the course, all Fellows will earn a McGill-TBLSA Certificate and McGill students can receive 3 academic credits if they are registered for the summer term. Course completion will be evaluated based on an individual reflection essay on the Fellow’s work group theme (due after the Academy, 30%), the Fellow’s individual presentation of research and policy recommendations during the Academy (30%), and on group work as reflected in the chapter contributed by the team to the 2024 TBLSA Impact Paper (40%). [McGill Law Course Code: LAWG 518-001/009 Specialized Topics in Law 8]
The 2024 TBLSA case study is themed “Money Makes the (Overheating) World Go ‘Round … Until it Doesn’t” and will focus on the following aspects of climate governance and sustainable development:
- How can climate policy be institutionalised at the domestic and international levels? And what role can private actors play?
- What is the role of the state in leading a financial green transition? Which instruments are available to states to direct funds towards impactful market governance?
- How can climate action be advanced through means of transformative democratic governance, and public and professional education? How should curriculum design and programming be revised?
- How can corporate governance norms be reformed to address ESG considerations? What role can corporate law play in motivating corporate action as part of climate governance?
- How can the ESG criteria be expanded to include employees and workers’ interests for a truly sustainable transformation of corporate governance?
- How can Indigenous voices and interests be included for more collaborative governance, especially insofar as land use, extraction rights and green financing are concerned?
- Which institutional forms support the continued unsustainable extraction of finite natural resources as well as intangible materials such as data? What shifts – conceptually and in practice – are necessary for a more sustainable transformation?
To apply, please submit your application package as one single PDF file containing (i) a 1-page Statement of Interest, (ii) a resumé, and (iii) a 500-word writing sample on a current climate change, ESG, democratic governance, green finance, or sustainable development issue. Applications must be sent to tblsa [at] mcgill.ca by Monday, 8 April 2024, noon EDT. All submitted files must have the applicant’s name in the file name and in the document itself. Please also indicate which of the above 7 questions interests you the most.
TBLSA Fellows are responsible for their travel, but meals and accommodation during the Academy will be provided. Limited travel stipends may be available for students outside of Montreal.