Summary
In August 2022, Faith In Nature became the first company in the world to appoint Nature to its board of directors. The company states that the reasoning behind this move is that “everything we do has an impact upon the natural world, and yet the natural world itself has no say on these decisions…By voluntarily recognising the legal Rights of Nature within our structures, Faith In Nature set out to forever reverse this injustice — seeking counsel from Nature in order to make better, more responsible decisions that take the natural world into account” (p. 2).
To do implement this change, the company took two actions:
1. amended the Objects Clause of their Articles of Association to include “have a positive impact on Nature as a whole” and “minimise the prospect of any harmful impact of the business and operations on Nature” alongside the general purpose of promoting the success of the Company (5).
2. amended their Articles of Association to appoint Nature as a Non Executive Director on their board of directors, and allow its powers to be delegated to at least one guardian who acts on behalf of Nature (5).
Nature is currently represented by the not-for-profit legal NGO, Lawyers for Nature.
The company hopes this move inspires other businesses and organizations to implement Nature’s Rights in their own models.