Green Guide Profile: Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
Argentina
Leading Argentinian law firm Bruchou & Funes de Rioja launched its climate action and sustainable business platform in 2021, which offers clients a unique multi-disciplinary space to engage with climate action and explore sustainable business practices.
The firm covers a wide range of ESG-related matters in different industries, regularly advising clients regarding net zero goals and with a significant presence in the renewables market. Major renewables clients include Equinor Scatec Solar and Envision Energy which teams led by Ignacio Minorini Lima have assisted with regulatory negotiations, due diligence and compliance on solar and wind energy projects.
Banking and Capital Markets partner José María Bazan is a specialist in green finance, having advised on the very first water fund to be implemented in Argentina; the Mendoza River Water Fund was developed by The Nature Conservancy to coordinate efforts to protect and restore the Medoza River Basin. In addition, Bazan advised Genneia on the country’s first corporate green bond issuance in the international capital market.
Internally, the firm’s sustainability committee focuses on waste management and electricity use, and is currently working on its first sustainability report. It also has a longstanding commitment to pro-bono work having signed the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas in 2009, thus dedicating its lawyers to a minimum number of pro-bono hours a year.
Javier Rodriguez Galli
Partner – Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
javier.rodriguez.galli@bruchou.com
Javier Rodriguez Galli has been a legal reference for the energy sector in the oil and gas field for more than 30 years with a large experience in corporate governance matters, transactional work, and regulatory advice. In more recent years, following the path of oil and gas clients and their needs to reduce their carbon footprint, he has become legal and regulatory advisor on energy transition strategies, including the shift to cleaner energy sources, emissions reduction, and carbon offsetting.
Sebastián Vedoya
Partner – Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
sebastian.vedoya@bruchou.com
Sebastián P. Vedoya has advised the mining industry in complex environmental matters for more than 25 years. He is consulted by congressmen and public authorities in connection with environmental bills and regulations at national and provincial levels. He has participated in several environmental permitting processes and has advised strategic crisis management teams and committees of different companies in connection with internal environmental compliance and permitting processes, governance, reporting channels, internal structure, incentive policies, development plans to secure, improve and maintain social license with communities within the area of influence of different projects.
Sergio Arbeleche
Partner Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
sergio.arbeleche@bruchou.com
Sergio Arbeleche is one of the two partners in charge of environmental law at Bruchou & Funes de Rioja. As co-head of the Mining Law practice and recognized leading individual in the Mining Legal area, he has advised the mining industry in complex environmental matters for more than 25 years and has also been consulted by congressmen and public authorities in connection with environmental bills and regulations at national and provincial levels. He has participated in several environmental permitting processes and has advised strategic and crisis management teams and committees of different companies in connection with internal environmental compliance and permitting processes, governance, reporting channels, internal structure and incentive policies and development plans to secure, improve and maintain social licenses with communities within the area of influence of different projects.
Ignacio Minorini Lima
Partner Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
ignacio.minorini.lima@bruchou.com
Ignacio Minorini Lima is a recognized expert in energy and regulatory law. He has been at the forefront of Argentina’s renewable energy program, having advised power generators, development agencies, construction companies and manufacturers in connection with investments in the clean energy sector, including the development, financing, construction and start-up of major wind and solar power generation projects. In addition, Ignacio regularly advises companies in other regulated areas such as natural gas, infrastructure, administrative contracts, and public utilities.
José Bazán
Partner Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
jose.bazan@bruchou.com
José Bazán has developed his entire career at the Firm as a member of the Firm’s Banking & Finance team. In June 2020, José was elected member of the Executive Committee of Bruchou & Funes de Rioja. In his daily practice, he advises banks, private equity funds and corporations in local and international banking and capital markets transactions. He has participated in a significant number of transactions involving securities and regulatory matters and has vast experience in green financing.
Jorge Guillermo
Partner Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
guillermo.jorge@bruchou.com
Guillermo Jorge has a wealth of experience in governance & compliance matters and is recognized for his influential work in the fields of antibribery and AML prevention across Latin America. He was a key advisor to various governance and integrity reform processes, both in the public and the private sector and a frequent consultant of the WB, IADB, OECD and the UN in his areas of expertise. More recently, Guillermo has successfully advised clients in business and human rights due diligence projects and in the use of collective action mechanism to address systemic corruption.
Lucila Winschel
Partner Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
lucila.winschel@bruchou.com
Lucila Winschel is partner in the General Corporate and M&A Department of the Firm, leads the firm’s Corporate Law & Corporate Governance Department and is member of the Executive Committee at Bruchou & Funes de Rioja. She advises clients in general corporate legal issues regarding inward and outward investments, in the post-acquisition integration of compliance cultures and on all corporate issues regarding social and corporate governance matters.
Pablo Crimer
Senior Associate Bruchou & Funes de Rioja
pablo.crimer@bruchou.com
Pablo Crimer is a senior associate of the Environmental Law Department at Bruchou & Funes de Rioja with in-depth experience on a wide scope of ESG matters of varied industries.
He has 15 years’ experience providing legal advice on environmental, social and sustainability matters to corporations. He focuses on environmental liability, ESG, climate change, compliance, permitting, litigation, public policy, amongst others. His recent work features advice on stakeholder engagement, indigenous people consultation, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, regulatory advocacy, supply chain ESG due diligence, climate, and emissions reduction projects, amongst others.
Our complete ESG Team:
Environmental matters: partners Sergio Arbeleche and Sebastián Vedoya together with senior associate Pablo Crimer.
Social matters: partners María Lucila Winschel, Geraldine Moffat, Guillermo Jorge and Fernando Basch, Of-counsel Javier Lozada, and senior associate Pablo Crimer. Mariano Luchetti and senior associate Inés Lucena (Pro Bono matters).
Corporate governance matters: partners Javier Rodriguez Galli, Maria Lucila Winschel, Guillermo Jorge, Fernando Basch and Of Counsel Javier Lozada.
Formation of new companies, startups, private equity funds: partners Santiago Balbi and María Lucila Winschel.
Green Financing: José Maria Bazán and Alejandro Perelsztein.
Clean energies and energy transition: Javier Rodriguez Galli, Mariano Luchetti, Ignacio Minorini Lima and Exequiel Buenaventura.
Through our ESG, Climate Action and Sustainable Businesses Platform, we actively promote a sustainable approach to business amongst our diversified client base and we are fully engaged in helping them structure integral solutions and transition strategies towards a sustainable future while meeting the challenges of their business dynamics.
As the legal services market continues to evolve, we remain ahead of trends by assisting our clients on a wide range of environmental matters of different industries, contributing to their social agenda and by recommending the application of corporate governance’s requirements and best practices as regards latest regulatory developments.
We are also actively engaged with our clients to support their energy transition and provide for carbon offsetting mechanisms such as investing in “nature-based solutions”, as well as in the creation and funding of new instruments suitable for incubating, accelerating and/or acquiring businesses or start-ups related to new technologies that help mitigate climate change effects, amongst other matters.
These past years have witnessed our growth in the financing of climate change businesses and raising of capital in the domestic and international markets for sustainable projects as our banking and capital markets lawyers led mostly all the green financing transactions in Argentina (“green bonds”), thus boosting sustainable finance development in the country.
At the forefront of the Renewable Energy Program in Argentina, we have been the undisputable leaders for public tenders, greenfield projects of renewable energy and have advised on the bids, the power purchase agreements (PPAs) and the financing for all the tenders related to investments in the clean energy sector.
Regarding our commitment towards our own organization, Bruchou & Funes de Rioja has been carrying out several ESG initiatives and practices during the past years and continues to enhance this path. We have established a Sustainability Commission with the purpose of implementing, promoting, and monitoring internal policies in line with our sustainable triple impact model and will be publishing our first Sustainability Report in 2022.
Has your firm established a dedicated ESG/climate change/sustainability practice, team or task force?
On August 2021, we launched our ESG, Climate Action and Sustainable Business Platform, a new multidisciplinary team built on the firm’s consolidated practice in energy law, environmental, sustainable business, clean energies, green financing, compliance, and general advice on Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) related matters; all of which already play a noted role on the sustainability agendas of many of our clients.
This Platform builds on the vision shared by a team of more than 12 partners and 3 experts offering highly specialized and value-added legal advice in diverse areas connected with climate change, sustainable businesses and ESG matters.
What type of work do you handle in connection with “green change”?
Through our ESG, Climate Action and Sustainable Business Platform we provide highly specialized and targeted advice on ESG general matters, green and social financing, clean energies and energy transition strategies, the formation of new companies, start-ups and private equity funds related to new technologies helping to mitigate climate change effects, amongst other matters.
Our wide range of environmental legal advice to different industries includes:
- the implementation of preventive measures and audits,
- the execution of environmental, economic, and social impact assessments and studies,
- the request and obtainment of licenses to operate,
- the design and implementation of environmental management systems, compliance, and remediation programs, including in-house training,
- risk and crisis management of environmental conflicts,
- litigation of environmental matters
- the implementation of GHG emissions’ reduction projects, carbon trading, offsetting, and mitigation projects.
We also actively contribute to our clients’ social agenda with counselling regarding human rights due diligence, diversity, inclusion, labor benefits, stakeholder engagement, pro bono work and relations with local communities (e.g., public participation and indigenous people consultation under ILO Convention No. 169, etc.). We advise them on their triple bottom line journey that particularly refers to their social responsibility vis a vis their employees’ health and labor conditions and the relationship with their stakeholders. We help them with the application of corporate governance’s requirements and best practices as regards latest regulatory developments (e.g., OECD – G20 principles) and on the performance standards of their governing bodies, which includes the latest transparency, independence, and diversity criteria for a modern governance approach directed to their corporate decision-making process.
The team also: (a) advises on shareholders’ rights regarding ESG matters to prevent potential shareholders’ litigation, (b) carries out multistep verification processes to meet the requirements for B Corporations Certification; (c) helps companies subject to mandatory human rights rules to conduct due diligence in their value chain; (d) advises board members and audit committees on compliance regional regulatory trends; (e) conducts internal investigations in Argentina and other Latam jurisdictions over fraud, bribery, antitrust, conflict of interests and other internal policies violations, and designs remediation programs, (f) advises on ABC (anti-bribery compliance) and AML (anti-money laundering) and conducts pre-acquisition due diligence; (g) advises clients in post-acquisition integration of compliance cultures and (h) advises on corporate governance codes.
We also offer skillful and sophisticated advice on complex international and local transactions so that our clients may access financing for their sustainability-related projects. Regarding clean energies and energy transition we advise international and local developers, power generators, investors, development agencies, multilateral organizations, financial entities and suppliers of goods and services related to investments in the clean energy sector, including the development, financing, construction and start-up of major wind and solar power generation projects, greenfield development, M&A and regulatory law, RenovAR tenders and participation in the contract matter (MATER), power purchase agreements, assistance in the implementation of projects (e.g. construction agreements, EPC, supply agreements with landowners, project finance, etc.).
Would you like to highlight a particular area of strength?
We work on quite innovative and top notch ESG and green legal matters that make us stand out in the local legal market. We have broad experience on supply chain ESG due diligences, climate and emissions reduction projects, stakeholder engagement and indigenous people consultations, social licenses to operate, amongst others. Moreover, we have handled various legal cases under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
These past years have witnessed our growth in the financing of climate change businesses and raising of capital in the domestic and international markets for sustainable projects. Our Banking and Capital Markets team led the first sub-sovereign and corporate issuances of this kind, taking solid action in 2021 with local debt issuance rated as “green bonds” in compliance with local regulations and climate action/ ESG standards. The team led mostly all the green financing transactions in Argentina, thus boosting sustainable finance development in the country.
In the oil and gas industry, we are actively engaged with our clients to support their energy transition strategies, including the legal and regulatory advice to meet their net zero ambitions by means of incorporating cleaner technologies, mitigate their current GHG emissions and provide for carbon offsetting through Nature Based Solutions (“NBS”) related business which should contribute to the reduction of their carbon footprint per BOE (barrel of oil equivalent).
Has your firm implemented any internal best practices?
As part of our own growth and transition towards sustainability and considering client expectations when visualizing trusted firms like ours as part of their supply chains needing ESG commitment and reporting, Bruchou & Funes de Rioja has been carrying out several ESG initiatives and practices during the last years.
There are several internal policies in place raising awareness towards our commitment to the environment, sustainable development, and ethical businesses. A Sustainability Commission – created several years ago – oversees such policies in line with the objective of integrating economic, social, and environmental concerns into Bruchou & Funes de Rioja’s culture and decision-making. Said policies are primarily based on the “3Rs rule”: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Because the firm believes that a diverse and inclusive working environment is crucial to its success, it strives to attract and retain talent of different backgrounds based on their academic, professional merits, and values (e.g., “meritocracy”) with a professional career governed by equal opportunity at work and clear and transparent guidelines. This is enhanced through our 360° annual professional assessments and equal participation of partners in the appointment of the firm’s authorities.
Our internal best practices also include the appointment of an Ombudsperson/grievance mechanism in the firm regarding possible breaches of our Code of Conduct, our part- time and flex-time work policies, our Information and Training Centre for our young talent and our “Bruchou Insights” e-learning platform with weekly webinars, amongst others.
Has your firm joined any external ESG-related projects, networks, or initiatives?
Bruchou & Funes de Rioja is a member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Forum of World Law Group (“WLG”). During 2021 and 2022 we participated in WLG’s Impact Event, a global sustainability initiative for all member law firms, by organizing the “Bruchou Sustainability Week” and “Bruchou Impact June”: a 5-day and monthly challenge, respectively, where we organized different awareness-raising activities regarding sustainability and environmental care both in our workspaces and in the community to which we belong. These included several Bruchou Insights Webinars on ESG, green financing and B Corporations, amongst others.
These activities have had an impact on our firm by raising internal awareness on all the CSR initiatives undertaken in Bruchou & Funes de Rioja, strengthening our teams, and therefore providing a clear and long-term strategy to all our members with alignment in actions towards sustainability and conscious consumption.
What are your firm’s ESG-related goals?
Bruchou & Funes de Rioja is moving forward towards the implementation of its first Sustainability Report to show its holistic approach to ESG and its long-term strategy fully integrated into the firm’s sustainable business model, with measurable goals and tracking of progress. Also, in 2022 Bruchou & Funes de Rioja began the Business Impact Assessment process, first step towards its certification as a B Corporation. Bruchou & Funes de Rioja is committed to measure the firm’s entire social, environmental, and economic aspects of its business to meet B Lab high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Is your firm involved in any relevant pro bono work?
As part of the Firm’s core values and, as lawyers at one of the leading law firms in Argentina, we believe that it is our responsibility to work with the communities in which we develop our business, as well as provide our legal solutions and services to those in need with the same quality of representation as the services we provide to our paying clients. Bruchou & Funes de Rioja has set up a long-term Pro Bono work program and policy with the aim to broaden its practice throughout the firm, address an increasing social demand and offer its lawyers the possibility to channel their expertise, dedication and innovative ideas towards projects generating lasting impact in society.
To date we have several Pro Bono projects ongoing with several non-governmental organizations regarding: (i) international human rights legal assistance to journalists, citizens and independent media under threat for their reporting (Media Defense); (ii) advice on template goods and services (Junior Achievement); (iii) advice on strengths and weaknesses of legal frameworks regarding violence and harassment in the workplace for future legislative changes (“Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género”) promoting the exercise of women’s human rights and gender equality through law and public policies; (iv) research on laws affecting child marriage and exploitation in Argentina for future decision-making in the construction of public policies and execution of development plans, field and impact assessments of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (ECPAT), cross jurisdiction researches on migration and child labour (with the Vance Center of NYC), amongst others.
Is your firm involved in any public outreach or client education?
Yes, we annually organize the Bruchou Legal Week (“BLW”), an open and public event with a series of daily webinars and talks hosting experts who analyze the main challenges of the legal and economic industry and share their vision on future opportunities. These talks usually include matters related to energy transition and sustainable challenges. The 2022 recent June BLW edition included “Present and future of the lithium industry. Its role in the energy transition” and “Triple Impact Companies: B-Corp certification process, metrics and regulation in Argentina and France”.
Additionally, our ESG team members conduct in-house trainings for our clients’ governance bodies and lead public presentations and academic work on ESG’s matters, such as environmental liability, compliance and stakeholder engagement, supply chain environmental and human rights due diligence standards, anticorruption compliance in the context of energy transition and (e.g., with the French Argentine Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce, the University of San Andres, the Environmental Services Providers Union, World Law Group, among others).
Have there been any recent non-confidential stand-out matters that were particularly innovative, pioneering, or complex?
During 2021, we have advised Genneia S.A., the leading renewable energy generation company in Argentina, in a complex liability management transaction, including Argentina’s first corporate green bond issuance in the international capital markets, aimed at strengthening its investment plan of more than US$1 billion to increase its installed renewable energy capacity by 700 megawatts (MW) and disconnect 205 MW of fossil energy in three years.
We have also handled two legal cases at the National Contact Point in Argentina of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (a comprehensive set of government-backed recommendations on responsible business conduct), something not very usual in Argentina.
To date, we are advising, amongst other matters: (i) Vista Energy in its net zero project regarding its upstream activities, forest and soil carbon sequestration projects and have teamed up with the company for its new Natural Based Solutions´ (NBS) business unit; (ii) Mendoza River Water Fund – an organization aimed to coordinate actions to protect and restore the Mendoza River Basin, the firms water fund implemented in Argentina and led by The Nature Conservancy – with the design of the collaboration agreement needed for the legal structure of the project; (iii) Envision in the development of various wind farm projects in Argentina. Specifically, we advised on a pioneering indigenous people consultation process for one of its projects in Argentina, the first formal public participation and consultation mechanism process held in this country, under ILO Convention No. 169.
We are also working in another pioneering ESG project by drafting a supply chain compliance guideline for a LATAM client to assess compliance of clients’ providers regarding indigenous people rights, protected and natural areas, native forests, prevention of infant and force labor, among others, a project not only innovative in Argentina, but also in the whole region.
When did ESG, climate change and/or sustainability become an area of focus at your firm?
Environmental, social, governance and sustainability matters have become one of the most important topics in Argentina’s public and corporate agenda (and worldwide as well) and ambitious targets have been set to this respect as governments and industries are rapidly shifting towards a net-zero economy. Such trend will continue to increase and companies that are aware of this have included these matters as a material aspect of their decision-making processes. They are paying particular attention to environmental, social, governance and compliance matters, and push for the mitigation of contingencies in the development of productive activities and commercial transactions.
As we listen to our clients’ new needs and expectations, we have become fully engaged in helping them – and offering new clients – develop sustainable businesses and supporting their transition to a sustainable future in a new and changing regulatory framework. All this requires innovation, creativity, and has brought forward many growth opportunities for us as a legal firm.
What has driven your firm’s involvement in a green transition? (Client demand? Business case? Personal attitudes/beliefs/initiatives?)
As part of our own growth and transition towards sustainability and considering client expectations when assessing firms as part of their supply chains needing ESG commitment and reporting, Bruchou has been gradually carrying out several internal ESG initiatives and practices during the last years with a holistic approach to the environment, our people, our business, and our community. Moving forward to present our existing and potential clients with a brand-new ESG, Climate Action and Sustainable Business Platform demands us responsibility in providing measurable impact within our own organization. On the other hand, we are firmly committed with climate action and sustainable businesses, look to attract, and retain young talent who seek alignment in the message with actions but also know we still have a long way to go. We therefore drafted our sustainability strategy guided by our values and began developing different policies, strengthening our governance, and communicating the impact of ESG both internally and to our clients. Our next steps include the implementation of our first sustainability report and the completion of its Business Impact Assessment process, a first step towards certification as a B Corporation.
Revista Trama: Interview: Javier Rodriguez Galli & José María Bazan.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6884218141744906240
Pablo Crimer, at the Environmental Committee: “The Digitalization of procedures before environmental authorities” of AmCham Argentina
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6945370301194989568
Fernando Basch / Participation in panel about the Integrity in the Energy Transition agenda, organized by Poder Ciudadano with the support of Siemens
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6924463055544164352
Green Bonds / Luz de Tres Picos
Pablo Crimer: Webinar: ESG Trends
https://twitter.com/BruchouAbogados/status/1443640580920205323
Bruchou Legal Week Webinar: Triple Impact Companies: Measurement process and certification B, draft regulation in Argentina and regulation in France.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6944675537420181504
Comisión Pro-Bono
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6947613708739043329
Pro Bono
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6933093538272264192
Pro Bono Latin Lawyer Leading Lights
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6896821264237809664
https://tinyurl.com/2p8uxcdf