This year, as part of O’Farrell’s commitment to update our sustainability policies and to accompany and advise our clients, we created a space for meeting with lawyers -both in-house and in firms- to act on ESG issues. We partnered with the Argentina chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) in a seminar where we discussed and raised actions on 3 key issues, taking into consideration the proposal of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals:
1. Energy transition: inspired by Goal 7 of the SDG – Affordable and Clean Energy – Marcelo Alvarez, former president of Argentina Renewable Chamber – CADER (Cámara Argentina de Energías Renovables), current member of the board, head of Institutional Relations & Regional Development of a number of renewable developers over the years. Marcelo is a recognized renewable energy and energy transition expert, representing CAGER in Global Solar Council acting as Board Secretary, amongst other activities. He spoke about energy transition from the ESG perspective with focus in the renewable sources for power generation.
2. Diversity and Inclusion: inspired by Goals 5 and 10 of the SDG – Gender Equality, and Reduced Inequalities – Cynthia Zarranz, southern cone legal director of Cargill, talked about the implementation of inclusion policies in an environment historically dominated by men, where diversity was not considered, not even from a logistical or structural point of view. Most of the companies present at the event admitted to having problems with finding organizations that would help them develop a diversity and inclusion diagnosis tool and ad hoc policy program.
3. Attracting and retaining talent: inspired by Goal 8 of the SDG – Decent Work and Economic Growth – Tomas Elewaut, Managing Partner of Hopen Management Consulting and former Principal Associate of McKinsey&Co. He spoke about the changing needs and desires of young professionals, and the responsibility of companies when it comes to setting the right environment and expectations for the development of employees’ careers.
This seminar aimed to raise awareness of sustainability issues and how lawyers, both in-house and in law firms, can and should contribute to policies that help companies achieve SDG goals.
Among the companies represented in the seminar we can mention:
KPMG, L’Oréal , Assist Card Internacional, Cargill SACI, TCAM Asset Management, Accenture, Siemens, YPF S.A., Newsan, Bayer, Thomson Reuters – La Ley, Kimberly Clark, Mercado libre, The Clorox Company, Telefónica de Argentina S.A., Naturgy BAN S.A., Cervecería Quilmes, MACK AEROSPACE, Huawei, Techint Group, Farmacity, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ford Argentina, Janssen Cilag Farmacéutica S.A., Goodyear Argentina, Massalin Particulares, Bristol Myers Squibb, Inviu, Avature, Zurich, Meridional Seguros, Claro Argentina.