Beate Sjåfjell

Background
Beate Sjåfjell is Professor Dr Juris at the Faculty of Law, Department of Private Law (since 2011), Visiting Professor at College of Europe, European Legal Studies Department (since 2021), and Academic Chair for the Knowledge Hub on Climate in the European University Alliance Circle U (since 2022). Professor Sjåfjell is founder and head of the Oslo Faculty’s Research Group Companies, Markets and Sustainability (the Company Law Group, 2012-2022), and for the new Research Group Sustainability Law, starting up in August 2022.
Professor Sjåfjell’s publications include the edited volumes Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability (Cambridge University Press, 2019, co-editor Christopher M. Bruner); Creating Corporate Sustainability: Gender as an Agent for Change (Cambridge University Press, 2018, co-editor: Irene Lynch Fannon), and Company Law and Sustainability: Legal Barriers and Opportunities (Cambridge University Press, 2015, co-editor: Benjamin Richardson), translated into Korean. Her monograph Towards a Sustainable European Company Law (Kluwer Law International, 2009), is now freely available in full-text on SSRN. Professor Sjåfjell publishes extensively, notably on EU law, company law and corporate governance, and the integration of sustainability. Many of her papers are available at SSRN, where she is among the top 0.14 per cent of authors based on total downloads across fields.
Through active and innovative dissemination and communication Professor Sjåfjell contributes to corporate law debates and sustainability discussions both in the public debate and in academia in Norway and internationally.
Fields of interests
Professor Sjåfjell’s main field is company law and corporate governance, with much of her research concentrating on the integration of sustainability into the role of the corporate board. Already in her doctoral thesis, successfully defended in May 2008, she broke new ground, identifying and integrating sustainability as an overarching objective into EU company law and securities law. This was followed up in the Sustainable Companies Project (2010-2014), which focused on environmental sustainability in its multi-jurisdictional comparative analysis of company and accounting law. Her increasing interdisciplinary focus is reflected in the H2020-funded project Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade (SMART, 2016-2020), which was successfully completed in the spring of 2020. SMART Legacy initiatives include the Futuring Nordics project, and continued industry engagement through the Business and Finance Forums.
Professor Sjåfjell collaborates extensively with scholars from many different countries. The international nature of her work is reflected in the membership in the Research Group as well as the two research networks she has founded and coordinates: the Sustainable Market Actors Research Network (the SMART Network) and Daughters of Themis: International Network of Female Business Scholars.
At the Faculty in Oslo, Professor Sjåfjell is responsible for coordinating company law research at the Department of Private Law and for the advanced company law elective for master students, and she supervises master students and PhD candidates on a variety of topics. At College of Europe, Professor Sjåfjell is responsible for the LLM course ‘Ensuring Sustainability through EU Law’.
Current PhD candidates include:
- Andreas Hösli, The Directors’ Duty of Care and Climate Change – Corporate Board Responsibility in the Anthropocene (working title)
- Chiara Morfea, De-Risking the Oil & Gas Sector Through Sustainability Due Diligence and the EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance (working title)
Successfully supervised PhD candidates include:
- Hanna Ahlström, Achieving Sustainability in EU Business and Financial Market Law – A Systems Thinking Approach (2020), currently Manager, Tax & Law, at EY
- Basang Wangdui, The Supervisory Role of the Board in China: A Comparative Study of Legal Evolution, Transplantation and Influence from Germany and the United States (2019), currently Associate Professor at Faculty of Law and Political Science, Tibet University
- Linn Anker-Sørensen, The Multifaceted Corporate Group. Testing EU’s response to hidden control structures (2019), currently senior manager at EY
Memberships/networks (selected)
- Founder and head of the Research Group Companies, Markets and Sustainability (2012-2022)
- Member of the European Commission’s Informal Group of Company Law Experts (2020-2024)
- Member of the Board for the PhD Course in Law and Innovation at the University of Macerata, Department of Law (from 2022)
- Member of the Advisory Board for the ERC Starting Grant project, ‘Law as a Vehicle for Social Change: Mainstreaming Non-Extractive Economic Practices’, University of Amsterdam (2020-2025)
- Founder and coordinator of Daughters of Themis: International Network of Female Business Scholars
- Founder and coordinator of Sustainable Market Actors Research Network (the SMART Network)
- Contact person, member of the steering group and of the group for PhD activities of the Nordic network in company Law
- Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute
- Editor of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series on SSRN (contact: ssrn-editors@jus.uio.no)
- Editor of the International and Comparative Corporate Law Journal (contact: icclj-editors@jus.uio.no)
Publications
Many of Beate Sjåfjell's papers in English are freely downloadable on SSRN.
An overview of all publications may be found in the in the Norwegian database Cristin.
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Richardson, Benjamin J. & Sjåfjell, Beate (2021). Business and Industry. In rajamani, Lavanya & Peel, Jacqueline (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780198849155. p. 716–732.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2021). Reforming EU Company Law to Secure the Future of European Business. European Company and Financial Law Review. ISSN 1613-2548. 18(2), p. 190–217. doi: 10.1515/ecfr-2021-0009. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Veldman, Jeroen (2021). SMART Reflections on Policy Coherence, Legal Developments in the Netherlands and the Case for EU Harmonisation. Erasmus Law Review. ISSN 2210-2671. p. 1111–1115. doi: 10.5553/ELR.000196. Show summary
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Johnston, Andrew & Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2020). The EU’s Approach to Environmentally Sustainable Business: Can Disclosure Overcome the Failings of Shareholder Primacy? In Peeters, Marjan & Eliantonio, Mariolina (Ed.), Research Handbook on EU Environmental Law . Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781788970662. p. 396–410. doi: https%3A/doi-org.ezproxy.uio.no/10.4337/9781788970679.00036.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2020). How company law has failed human rights - And what to do about it. Business and Human Rights Journal. ISSN 2057-0198. 5(2), p. 179–199. doi: 10.1017/bhj.2020.9. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2020). Sustainable value creation within planetary boundaries-Reforming corporate purpose and duties of the corporate board. Sustainability. ISSN 2071-1050. 12(15). doi: 10.3390/SU12156245. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2019). The Environmental Integration Principle: A Necessary Step Towards Policy Coherence for Sustainability. In Ippolito, Francesca; Bartolino, Maria Eugenia & Condinanzi, Massimo (Ed.), The EU and the Proliferation of Integration Principles under the Lisbon Treaty. Routledge. ISSN 9780415789257. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Taylor, Mark Beaumont (2019). Clash of Norms: Shareholder Primacy vs. Sustainable Corporate Purpose. International and comparative corporate law journal (ICCLJ). ISSN 1388-7084. 13(3), p. 40–66. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3444050.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Bruner, Christopher M. (2019). Corporations and Sustainability. In Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine & Bruner, Christopher M. (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108473293. p. 3–12. doi: https%3A/doi.org/10.1017/9781108658386.004. Full text in Research Archive
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Bruner, Christopher M. & Sjåfjell, Beate (2019). Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and the Pursuit of Sustainability. In Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine & Bruner, Christopher M. (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108473293. p. 713–720. doi: https%3A/doi.org/10.1017/9781108658386.057. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2019). Realising the Potential of the Board for Corporate Sustainability. In Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine & Bruner, Christopher M. (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108473293. p. 696–710. doi: %20https%3A/doi.org/10.1017/9781108658386.056. Full text in Research Archive
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Nilsen, Heidi Rapp; Sjåfjell, Beate & Richardson, Benjamin J. (2019). The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. Risk Based versus Ethical Investments. Quarterly Journal of Economic Research. ISSN 1861-1559. 88(1), p. 65–78. doi: 10.3790/vjh.88.1.65.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Fannon, Irene Lynch (2018). Corporate Sustainability: Gender as an Agent for Change? Creating Corporate Sustainability. Gender as an Agent for Change. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781316998472. doi: 10.1017/9781316998472.016.
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Fannon, Irene Lynch & Sjåfjell, Beate (2018). Corporations, Sustainability and Women, Creating Corporate Sustainability. Gender as an Agent for Change. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781316998472. p. 1–14. doi: 10.1017/9781316998472.003.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2018). Beyond Climate Risk: Integrating Sustainability into the Duties of the Corporate Board. Deakin Law Review. ISSN 1321-3660. 23, p. 41–62. doi: 10.21153/dlr2018vol23no0art805. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2018). Redefining Agency Theory to Internalize Environmental Product Externalities. In Maitre-Ekern, Eléonore; Dalhammar, Carl & Bugge, Hans Christian (Ed.), Preventing Environmental Damage from Products An Analysis of the Policy and Regulatory Framework in Europe. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108422444. p. 101–124. doi: https%3A/doi.org/10.1017/9781108500128.005. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate; Nilsen, Heidi Rapp & Richardson, Benjamin R. (2018). Investing in Sustainability or Feeding on Stranded Assets? The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. Wake Forest Law Review. ISSN 0043-003X. 52(4), p. 949–979.
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2018). Redefining the corporation for a sustainable new economy. Journal of law and society (Print). ISSN 0263-323X. 45(1), p. 29–45. doi: 10.1111/jols.12077. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2018). Dismantling the Legal Myth of Shareholder Primacy: The Corporation as a Sustainable Market Actor. In Boeger, Nina & Villiers, Charlotte (Ed.), Shaping the Corporate Landscape. Hart Publishing Ltd. ISSN 9781509914326. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2912141.
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine; Heidi, Rapp Nilsen & Richardson, Benjamin J. (2017). Investing in Sustainability or Feeding on Stranded Assets? The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. Wake Forest Law Review. ISSN 0043-003X. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2017). Regulating for Corporate Sustainability: Why the Public-Private Divide Misses the Point. In Choudhury, Barnali & Petrin, Martin (Ed.), Understanding the Company: Corporate Governance and Theory. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781316536384. p. 117–144. doi: 10.1017/9781316536384.008.
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2017). Achieving Corporate Sustainability: What is the Role of the Shareholder? In Birkmose, Hanne (Eds.), Shareholders' Duties. Kluwer Law International. ISSN 9789041166708. Full text in Research Archive
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2017). When the Solution Becomes the Problem: The Triple Failure of Corporate Governance Codes. In du Plessis, Jean Jacques & Low, C.K. (Ed.), Corporate Governance Codes for the 21st Century: International Perspectives and Critical Analyse. Springer. ISSN 978-3-319-51868-8. p. 23–55. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-51868-8_2.
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Russell, Roseanne & Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2017). Introducing Daughters of Themis: International Network of Female Business Scholars. International and comparative corporate law journal (ICCLJ). ISSN 1388-7084. 12(2), p. 7–12. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2914153. Show summary
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Anker-Sørensen, Linn & Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine (2016). Vår europeiske selskapsrett, 3. utgave. Selskapsrettstidsskriftet. Tidsskriftet for selskaper, markeder, samfunn og miljø. ISSN 2387-337X.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2016). The Courts as Environmental Champions: The Norwegian Hempel Cases. European Company Law. ISSN 1572-4999. 13(5), p. 199–206. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
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Wiesbrock, Anja & Sjåfjell, Beate (2016). Public procurement’s potential for sustainability. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Anja, Wiesbrock (Ed.), Sustainable Public Procurement under EU Law. New Perspectives on the State as Stakeholder. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781107129641. p. 230–242. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781316423288.013.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2016). Sustainable public procurement as a driver for sustainable companies? The interface between company law and public procurement law. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Anja, Wiesbrock (Ed.), Sustainable Public Procurement under EU Law. New Perspectives on the State as Stakeholder. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781107129641. p. 182–205. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781316423288.011.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Wiesbrock, Anja (2016). Why should public procurement be about sustainability? In Sjåfjell, Beate & Anja, Wiesbrock (Ed.), Sustainable Public Procurement under EU Law. New Perspectives on the State as Stakeholder. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781107129641. p. 1–22. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781316423288.003.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Halvorssen, Anita M. (2016). The Legal Status of Oil and Gas Exploitation in the Arctic: The Case of Norway. Oil, Gas and Energy Law (OGEL). ISSN 1875-418X. 2. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). Gender Diversity in the Board Room & Its Impacts: Is the Example of Norway a Way Forward? Deakin Law Review. ISSN 1321-3660. 20(1), p. 25–51. doi: 10.21153/dlr2015vol20no1art501.
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Anker-Sørensen, Linn & Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). Vår europeiske selskapsrett, 2. utgave. Selskapsrettstidsskriftet. Tidsskriftet for selskaper, markeder, samfunn og miljø. ISSN 2387-337X.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Richardson, Benjamin J. (2015). The Future for Company Law and Sustainability. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Richardson, Benjamin J. (Ed.), Company Law and Sustainability: Legal Barriers and Opportunities. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 978-1-107-04327-5. p. 312–340. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781107337978.010.
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Sjåfjell, Beate; Johnston, Andrew; Anker-Sørensen, Linn Cecilie; Millon, David & Richardson, Bejamin (2015). Shareholder Primacy: the Main Barrier to Sustainable Companies. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Richardson, Benjamin J. (Ed.), Company Law and Sustainability: Legal Barriers and Opportunities. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 978-1-107-04327-5. p. 79–147. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781107337978.005.
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Richardson, Benjamin J. & Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). Capitalism, the Sustainability Crisis and the Limitations of Current Business Governance. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Richardson, Benjamin J. (Ed.), Company Law and Sustainability: Legal Barriers and Opportunities. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 978-1-107-04327-5. p. 1–34. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781107337978.003.
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Wiesbrock, Anja & Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). The Jigsaw Puzzle of Sustainability. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Wiesbrock, Anja (Ed.), The Greening of European Business under EU Law. Taking Article 11 TFEU Seriously. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-13-801956-0. doi: 10.4324/9781315767864-10. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). The Legal Significance of Article 11 TFEU for EU Institutions and Member States. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Wiesbrock, Anja (Ed.), The Greening of European Business under EU Law. Taking Article 11 TFEU Seriously. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-13-801956-0. doi: 10.4324/9781315767864-4. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). Corporate governance for sustainability. The necessary reform of EU company law. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Wiesbrock, Anja (Ed.), The Greening of European Business under EU Law. Taking Article 11 TFEU Seriously. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-13-801956-0. Show summary
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Wiesbrock, Anja & Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). The importance of Article 11 TFEU for regulating business in the EU: Securing the very basis of our existence. In Sjåfjell, Beate & Wiesbrock, Anja (Ed.), The Greening of European Business under EU Law. Taking Article 11 TFEU Seriously. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-13-801956-0. doi: 10.4324/9781315767864-1. Show summary
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Anker-Sørensen, Linn Cecilie & Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Vår europeiske selskapsrett. Selskapsrettstidsskriftet. Tidsskriftet for selskaper, markeder, samfunn og miljø. ISSN 2387-337X.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Sustainable Companies: Possibilities and Barriers in Norwegian Company Law. International and comparative corporate law journal (ICCLJ). ISSN 1388-7084. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2311433. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Mähönen, Jukka (2014). Upgrading the Nordic Corporate Governance Model for Sustainable Companies. European Company Law. ISSN 1572-4999. 11(2), p. 58–62. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Anker-Sørensen, Linn Cecilie (2013). Directors’ Duties and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In Birkmose, Hanne; Neville, Mette & Engsig Sørensen, Karsten (Ed.), Boards of directors in European companies – reshaping and harmonising their organisation and duties. Kluwer Law International. ISSN 9789041141415.
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine & Bruner, Christopher M. (2019). The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108473293. 737 p.
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Sjåfjell, Beate Kristine & Fannon, Irene Lynch (2018). Creating Corporate Sustainability. Gender as an Agent for Change. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316998472. 338 p.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Anja, Wiesbrock (2016). Sustainable Public Procurement under EU Law. New Perspectives on the State as Stakeholder. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107129641. 268 p.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Stubhaug, Arild (2015). Fra ord til handling - Om Grunnlovens miljøparagraf 112. Institutt for privatrett. ISBN 9788272362491. 147 p.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Richardson, Benjamin J. (2015). Company Law and Sustainability: Legal Barriers and Opportunities. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-04327-5. 350 p.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Wiesbrock, Anja (2015). The Greening of European Business under EU Law. Taking Article 11 TFEU Seriously. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-13-801956-0. 212 p. Show summary
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Nilsen, Heidi Rapp (2019). Pretty villages aside, Norway has not stopped drilling for oil - and it may never lose its fossil fuel addiction. Independent - nettavis.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). The Role of Business Law in the Jigsaw Puzzle of Sustainability. Building Sustainable Legacies: The New Frontier of Societal Value Co-Creation. ISSN 2053-8898. p. 42–56.
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Fisher, Aled Dilwyn & Sjåfjell, Beate (2015). Hvor langt rekker lovens lange arm? Juss og politikk i klimakampen. In Ytterstad, Andreas (Eds.), Broen til framtiden. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 978-82-05-48777-2.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Gender Diversity in the Board Room & Its Impacts Is the Example of Norway a Way Forward?
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Bærekraftige selskaper. Nytt i privatretten : nyhetsbrev for informasjon på det privatret. ISSN 1501-9594. 16(3), p. 23–24.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Staten som majoritetsaksjonær i et globalt Statoil - juridiske utfordringer og muligheter.
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Sjåfjell, Beate; Haugan, Peter M. & Fisher, Aled Dilwyn (2014). UiO-ledelsens troverdighet er svekket. Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847.
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Foss, Håkon Frede & Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Refser retten for «ansvarspulverisering». [Newspaper]. Dagens Næringsliv.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Sustainable Companies: A Contribution to the Jigsaw Puzzle of Sustainability.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Hvordan kan selskapsretten bidra til bærekraftig utvikling? Et tentativt forslag til en ny rettslig infrastruktur for bærekraftige selskaper.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Gi de gode selskapene konkurransefordelen: En ny rettslig infrastruktur for bærekraftige selskaper.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Statlig aksjonærs virkemiddel for bærekraftige selskaper.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). «Uinteressant» å diskutere oljesponset forskning. [Newspaper]. Morgenbladet.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Hvilke krav stiller Grl. § 110b til statens miljø- og klimapolitikk?
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2014). Gi de gode selskapene konkurransefordelen: Rettslig infrastruktur for bærekraftige selskaper.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Til kamp mot eierskapsmyten. [Business/trade/industry journal]. Advokatbladet.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Eierskapsmyten.
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Kalstad, Lise Marit & Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Professor gir SV-statsråd etikkrefs. [Newspaper]. Vårt Land.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). More than Meets the Eye: The Potential Contribution of Law and Economics in Company and Financial Market Law.
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Sjåfjell, Beate & Myklebust, Trude (2013). Norwegian Company and Financial Market Law: Status and Remaining Challenges.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Common Nordic Principles or Nordic Regulatory Competition?
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). EU Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Bridging the Dichotomy or Greenwashing the EU?
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Sustainable Companies: Company Law’s Contribution to Preserving Europe’s Wealth in the 21st Century.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Grunnlovens klima- og miljøkrav.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Gi konkurransefordelene til de gode bedriftene.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Ønsker ny klimalov. [Business/trade/industry journal]. Miljømagasinet Putsj.
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Sjåfjell, Beate (2013). Comparative analysis of barriers and possibilities for Sustainable companies in core company law.
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Sjåfjell, Beate; Nilsen, Heidi Rapp & Mähönen, Jukka (2021). 'Bidrag til Amnestys argumentsamling om oljefondet og forhåndsfiltrering', i rapporten fra Amnesty: "Oljefondets nye etiske rammeverk - rigget for framtiden?". Amnesty International.
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Nilsen, Heidi Rapp & Sjåfjell, Beate (2018). Svar på Høring – NOU 2018: 12 Energiaksjer i Statens pensjonsfond utland. Finansdepartementet.