In a year where business has had to transform the way it meets the needs of society and the environment, family owned businesses risk falling behind, according to a new global survey of 2,801 family business owners. 

While more than half (55%) of respondents saw the potential for their business to lead on sustainability, only 37% have a defined strategy in place. European and American businesses are lagging their Asian counterparts in their commitment to prioritising sustainability in their strategy. 79% of respondents in mainland China and 78% in Japan reported ‘putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do’ compared to 23% of US and 39% in the UK. Larger businesses and those owned by later generations also buck the trend, with greater focus on sustainability.

Act No. 34/2021, on screening foreign investments and the amendment of related acts, entered into force on February 3, 2021 and will take effect on May 1, 2021. The new act is a response to Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union. Protection from foreign investments did not apply throughout the entire EU, but many member states, including Germany, Austria, France and Finland, had legislation monitoring foreign investments. 

CTP B.V. raised €500 million with their third green bond issue on February 18th 2021, increasing the total raised from Green Bonds to €1.55 billion since their inaugural issuance in September 2020.

The implementation of the European Unitary Patent, which, according to the EU Commission, should reduce the costs of inventors for filing a patent by up to EUR 32,000, has been delayed again due to two new constitutional complaints filed with the German Federal Constitutional Court. The court has subsequently asked the German President to wait until the court has decided before signing the act required for the implementation.