Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C. announces the creation of its ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practice group to provide our clients legal advice on their risks and opportunities in an evolving business environment through an experienced and multidisciplinary team. Von Wobeser is one of the first Mexican law firms to launch a fully integrated practice group to provide legal services with an ESG perspective.
The ESG practice group leverages on our firm’s full-service capabilities, collaborative mindset, problemsolving approach, and the experience acquired by advising our clients on these topics for years.
The team is comprised of more than 20 attorneys and integrates multidisciplinary capabilities to support our clients in legal issues in four main areas: environment and climate change; business and human rights; corporate governance and risk management; as well as sustainable finance. The firm approaches each of these areas with four types of legal services: advisory, transactional, investigations and engagement with authorities, as well as litigation and arbitration.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda emphasizes that ESG criteria play a central role in the success of sustainable development as well as in expanding inclusive economic growth. Therefore, many leading companies and business organizations have incorporated the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their strategy and use such goals to assess their overall performance, along with traditional financial and operational metrics.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting health, social and economic crisis have stressed the fundamental role of the private sector in contributing to the solution of the world’s most complex issues, including climate change, racial and social inequality, corruption, and the protection of human rights, among others. In this context, ESG criteria are becoming increasingly important for investors, fund managers, regulators, employees, consumers, and other stakeholders when they decide whether to engage with a company and its products or services.
Even when the speed and depth vary from country to country and from industry to industry, we are in front of a global trend which is expected to continue accelerating and becoming even more relevant. For instance, assuming 15% growth, half the pace of the past five years, ESG assets under management could reach $53 trillion by 2025, more than a third of the projected $140.5 trillion global total (Bloomberg Intelligence, 2021). Moreover, 72% of U.S. investors have expressed interest in sustainable investing (Morningstar, 2021).
“Companies that have adopted an ESG approach are more resilient and achieve better financial results in environments such as the one we live in. That is why we want to contribute to the integration of an ESG perspective in our clients’ operations. It will allow them to address this new complexity and build a better business future through an adequate management of their impact on the environment, the communities, and other stakeholders”.
Claus von Wobeser, founding partner and member of the firm’s executive committee.
“We are excited to be trusted advisors and strategic partners of our clients by using our ‘ESG lens’ not only as a risk management tool, but also as a gateway to develop opportunities for companies to thrive in a more resilient, sustainable and equitable society”.
Pablo Jiménez, partner and member of the ESG practice group.
To learn more about our ESG practice group, visit our website.