Events and Webinars
ESG Mexico Summit 2023 – First Edition
23/03/2023
23 March 23
Speakers
Mexico City – March 22, 2023. – In conjunction with BBVA, PwC and the UN, González Calvillo (“GC”) will act as co-organizer of the first edition of the “ESG Mexico Summit” that will take place on March 29, with the participation of experts and aimed at the owners, presidents of boards and general directors of the main companies in Mexico. This first edition of the ESG Mexico Summit will address financial, legal, commercial and operational topics related to ESG, as well as case studies from Grupo Bimbo and BlackRock. It is the first event of its nature to be held in Mexico and Latin America.
ESG is a corporate strategy that focuses on three pillars: environmental, social and governance, with the aim of reducing pollution and waste, as well as CO2 emissions, and evaluating the level of decision-making and operations of a company. It also means having a diverse and inclusive workforce, from grassroots levels to the board of directors.
“The close economic ties between Mexico, the United States and Canada under NAFTA, and more recently USMCA, bring ESG prominence to our country,” says Enrique González Calvillo, Founding Partner of GC. But there is also Europe, especially Spain, which represents the second largest foreign investment in Mexico, where ESG is expanding rapidly. The government, agencies and regulators, including the Bank of Mexico and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, are taking concrete actions in this regard.
The main driver behind ESG factors is driven by financial factors, amid growing concerns arising from climate change, the urgency and social needs of zero emissions, together with banks and private equity funds increasingly requiring compliance of sustainability standards and criteria. According to Paola Hernández, GC Counsel, who previously served as Environmental Legal and Compliance leader at Grupo México, “companies throughout Mexico and Latin America will have difficulty financing their future expansion by ignoring ESG factors. It is very important that corporate governance understands why ESG risks are material risks. Incorporating them into its risk management is essential for a company to add value and maintain itself over time.” Paola joined GC in 2022 to coordinate the firm’s ESG practice.According to Paola Hernández, Senior Counsel at GC, who previously worked as former head of Legal Environmental and Compliance area at Grupo México
“There has also been an important evolution in terms of financing under ESG standards,” says Bernardo Reyes Retana, Partner of Corporate Financing and Capital and Debt Markets at GC.“Companies and investors are avidly seeking financing through ESG-related products, and we have witnessed a booming market and demand in Mexico for green and sustainable bonds placed on Mexican stock exchanges over the past three years, as well as a solid portfolio of transactions that will be announced during 2023. The development of ESG financing in Mexico is accompanied by new regulatory requirements for issuers and investors, not only through the regulations of the stock exchanges themselves that establish new standards and obligations of disclosure, but we also expect that the CNBV (banking and securities regulator in Mexico) and the Ministry of Finance of Public Credit will enact secondary reforms and regulations regarding ESG and D&I.”
Currently, there is not a single relevant player with long-term strategies in Mexico and Latin America that is not moving towards ESG factors. Both medium-sized companies and large corporations, public or private, are increasingly seeking this scheme or are already in the implementation phase, so it will be inevitable that the legal profession and law firms throughout the region will find in the ESG space a challenge and an interesting opportunity.
The first edition of the ESG Mexico Summit will be an exclusive invitation-only event. More details and coverage are outlined below. Further details and coverage are below.
About Gonzalez Calvillo
For 35 years, González Calvillo has been at the forefront of the legal market in Mexico as a multi-service firm based on its transactional approach, as well as specializations in a wide variety of practice areas. The firm is recognized for its ability to build disciplinary teams to the most complex legal challenges, as well as for its long record of providing innovative business and regulatory advice to prominent local and international companies. Frequently described as a pioneer of legal services in Mexico, the firm is recognized for its commitment to doing things differently, generating tailored solutions and creating transformational changes in the legal field that allow its clients to achieve their objectives.