ASPEK PERDATA DALAM PENERAPAN ESG (ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE) DALAM PRAKTIK BISNIS DI INDONESIA

Abstract

The implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles in business practices represents a paradigm shift toward sustainable and socially responsible economic development. This study aims to analyze how ESG principles interact with Indonesia’s civil law system, particularly in relation to the principles of freedom of contract, good faith, and corporate civil liability. The research employs a normative juridical approach with qualitative analysis of legal norms, doctrines, and corporate practices related to ESG implementation. The findings reveal that ESG has broadened the function of civil law from an instrument primarily serving private interests into a legal framework that also considers social and environmental dimensions. In contractual relations, ESG transforms corporate social responsibility from a moral commitment into a legally enforceable obligation. The principle of good faith, as regulated in the Indonesian Civil Code, gains renewed meaning through ESG, extending beyond procedural compliance to include fairness, ethical conduct, and sustainability. Moreover, ESG reinforces the concept of corporate civil liability, allowing claims for social and environmental harm under the doctrine of onrechtmatige daad (unlawful acts). The author concludes that Indonesia’s civil law system possesses strong potential to serve as a foundation for effective ESG enforcement, provided that classical legal principles are reinterpreted through the lens of sustainability and social accountability. ESG should not be viewed merely as a voluntary ethical standard, but as an integral element of legal fairness and moral justice within private law. In this sense, integrating ESG into civil law represents both a legal modernization effort and a moral transformation of Indonesia’s private law toward ethical, inclusive, and sustainable governance.