Dr Colin Mackie
- Position: Associate Professor in Business Law
- Areas of expertise: company/corporate law; environmental law; environmental liability
- Email: C.Mackie@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 1302
- Location: 2.33a Liberty Building
Profile
I joined the School of Law in February 2017. I was previously a lecturer in law at the University of Aberdeen (2013-2017). I graduated with LLB (Hons) Law from the University of Manchester in 2007. After completing a training contract with the international law firm, Pinsent Masons LLP, I undertook an AHRC funded PhD titled, Corporate Structures and Environmental Liability under EU Law, at the University of Aberdeen (2010-2013).
The focus of my current research is upon the intersection of, and interaction between, corporate and environmental law. Whilst corporate law enables operators to externalise their pollution costs, environmental law is built upon the principles that polluters ought to internalise those costs (the ‘polluter-pays’ principle) and preventive action should be taken. I develop legal solutions to this inherent conflict, enabling these areas of law to live together more harmoniously. I connect my research to wider debates regarding how best to deliver sustainable development goals, particularly transitioning to clean energy and generating responsible consumption and production.
I am particularly interested in the theorisation of financial assurance, a regulatory tool that requires operators to evidence ability to pay for their environmental obligations (e.g. through insurance, bonds or cash deposits). To date, much of my research has been in this area. This has been published in the Journal of Environmental Law, Journal of Corporate Law Studies, Energy Policy and the Environmental Law Reporter.
I have acted as expert advisor to a variety of organisations, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a project team headed by representatives of the Environmental Protection Agencies of Scotland and Ireland and a coalition of environmental non-governmental organisations. In these roles, I have authored/co-authored the following reports:
- Colin Mackie, Environmental Due Diligence in Global Value Chains: A study to inform interpretation of key terms within a cross-sectoral EU directive (November 2020) (a report commissioned by Amnesty International, European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), Fern, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), Friends of the Earth Europe, and Global Witness).
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Addressing Industrial Air Pollution in Kazakhstan: Reforming Environmental Payments Policy Guidelines (July 30, 2019) OECD Green Growth Studies.
- Colin Mackie, Valerie Fogleman, Kim Bradley, Stephen McCarthy, Phil Crowcroft, Paul Corrigan, Financial Provision for Environmental Liabilities: practical guide (2017) European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL).
- Colin Mackie, Valerie Fogleman, Kim Bradley, Stephen McCarthy, Phil Crowcroft, Max Folkett, Paul Corrigan, Chris Dailly, Financial Provision: protecting the environment and the public purse (2016) European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL).
I am an active member of the following research clusters/networks:
- the Centre for Business Law and Practice,
- Energy Leeds, and
- water@leeds.
I have taught on the following modules:
- Company Law (UG)
- Law and the Environment (UG)
- Corporate Law (PG)
- Corporate Social Responsibility (PG)
Responsibilities
- Deputy Director for Student Education PGT
Qualifications
- LLB (Hons) Law (first class)
- PhD
- Admitted to the Roll of Solicitors, England and Wales (currently non-practising)
Research groups and institutes
- Centre for Business Law and Practice