Published on 6 July 2020 in

Webinar: Human rights and ESG diligence in a COVID-19 world

In addition to certain beneficial environmental effects, the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the processes by which companies can conduct human rights and ESG diligence.  This panel discussed the impacts on human rights and ESG during the pandemic and how the pandemic might impact human rights and ESG diligence in the future.

The speakers for this seminar were:

Mr Luis Quiroga, a Co-Founder of Asper Investment Management, an investment management firm focusing on sustainable infrastructure investments in Europe such as heating networks and renewable energy power generation. Mr Quiroga chairs Asper’s ESG committee, which oversees the performance of Asper’s investments across all ESG criteria, leading also the Investor Relations activities and is a member of the Investment Committee. Outside Asper, Mr Quiroga supports various efforts to foster the introduction of sustainability into investment and policy decisions.

Mr Jonathan Friedman, a partner at Wallbrook.  Mr Friedman oversees the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and human rights practice at Wallbrook, a global due diligence and ethical investment consultancy. His team helps firms integrate anti-corruption and ESG diligence workflows, investigate their supply chains and assess impact. A sought-after speaker at business conferences and think tanks, he frequently comments in international print and broadcast media, including for the BBC, The Financial Times, CNBC, Reuters, the New York Times, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Dr Maria Fogdestam-Agius, a lawyer at Volterra Fietta.  Dr Fogdestam-Agius advises governments and private parties on a wide range of public international law issues, including international human rights law and the fulfilment of their potential responsibilities under international Business and Human Rights.  Dr Fogdestam-Agius also represents clients in international treaty arbitration and State-to-State litigation and has appeared as an advocate before the International Court of Justice.  Dr Fogdestam-Agius holds a doctorate degree in public international law from Uppsala University.

The panel was chaired by Mr Gunjan Sharma, a lawyer at Volterra Fietta. Mr Sharma routinely advises States and multinational companies on complex issues of international investment law and investment risk.

For any queries regarding the content of the seminar, please email gunjan.sharma@volterrafietta.com.