ESG Global Vision

Mandatory guidelines

In force since 23 March 2019 

1. Entities that want to fund projects eligible as social, green or sustainable through the security market and tag them as green, social and sustainable

2. financial market participants that may play any role in the issuance of such kinds of securities.

The Guidelines establish a guide of good practice and parameters aiming to standardise the criteria for the issuance of Green, Social and Sustainable negotiable securities (bonds) in Argentina.

Green bonds are any type of bond where the funds raised will only be applied for the projects eligible as ‘green projects’, i.e. that will have a positive environmental impact or result in an environmental benefit (i.e., mitigation or adaptation to climate change, biodiversity or natural resources conservation, pollution control, etc.).

Social bonds are bonds where the raised funds will be exclusively applied to fund eligible social projects.

Sustainable bonds are bonds where the raised funds will be exclusively applied to fund projects that result in both environmental and social benefits and are eligible as green and social projects.

The Guidelines aim to set a standard for the development of the Green, Social and Sustainable bonds in Argentina. The information included in the prospectus of those kinds of negotiable securities should fit with in the Guidelines.

Guidelines

In force since 13 July 2021

1. Financial market participants that want to include responsible investment criteria.

2. Financial agents that want to participate as external reviewers as stated in the Guidelines (please see General Resolution N° 788/2019)

It approves the following 3 Guides (jointly referred as “Guides for Sustainability”)  which include good practices and definitions to be considered by the financial market participants in the issuance of Green, Social and Sustainable bonds: (i) Guide for socially responsible investment in the Argentine capital market, (ii) Guide for the issuance of social, green and sustainable bonds and (iii) Guide for external assessment on social, green and sustainable bonds.

Although the Guides for Sustainability were not issued to be mandatory regulations but as references for the development of the sustainable capital market in Argentina, they are an unavoidable reference for the local financial market participants that want to include responsible investment criteria.

Guidelines

 In force since 17 March 2021

Corporations under the competence of the National Securities Commission.

The Guide presents a list of recommendations for gender equality on the capital markets.

The general aim of this Guide is to reduce inequality between genders in the workplace under the competence of the National Securities Commission, through gender balance proposals, such as the constitution of a specialized body responsible for gender, diversity, violence and harassment, promoting female and LGTBI+ inclusion in the business structure, developing a stereotype-free hiring process to promote equality and reduce discrimination, and promote equal pay.

This guideline is not mandatory, but it serves as a voluntary standard and as the foundation for a future mandatory regulation.

Resolution

In force since 24 April 2021

ESG Common Investment Funds (“FCI ASG” for its acronym in Spanish) are funds that invest in securities with Environmental, Social or Governance impact.

This Resolution states that in order to constitute a ESG Open Common Investment Fund, the fund must invest at least the 75% of its resources on assets whose negotiable securities will produce an Environmental, Social and Governance Impact.

It also states the requirements for an Investment Fund to become a Sustainable Collective Investment Product, a Common Closed Investment Fund, and a Sustainable Financial Trust.

Governance Code

In force since 31 December 2019

1. Companies that are authorised to make public offering of their marketable securities in Argentina. 

2. Companies that apply for authorization to be included in the Argentine public offer regime. 

This Code lays out best practice for a board of directors under the public offer legal regime  and good corporate governance practices, including subjects such as: the importance of having a controlled working environment, ethics, integrity, and compliance with regulations; transparency and disclosure of information; the protection of investors against abuse; and sustainability. 

According to this regulation, the board of directors has to annually issue and file before the CNV a report explaining the actions taken for the compliance of the Code. 

As a general rule (exceptions apply) companies under the public offer legal regime in Argentina have to annually prepare and file to the CNV, as an annex to the Annual Memory, a report informing them about the application of the practices and principles included in the Code.

Please note that, if a practice has not been applied, companies have to explain in the report how other applied practices comply with a principle included in the Code, or how they are planning to comply with the practice in the future.

Regulation

In force since 6 December 2018 

Insurer and reinsurer entities ruled by the SSN.

This Resolution approved the Principles and Recommendations for corporate governance for insurance and reinsurance entities as part of the General Regulation for insurance activity in Argentina.

According to this regulation, insurer and reinsurer entities, at the end of their financial year, have to perform an auto assessment showing how they have applied the corporate governance principles. This auto assessment report should be approved by the board of directors and kept available in case it is required by the SSN.

Non-mandatory guideline

In force since 8 September 2020 

Financial entities ruled by the BCRA.

It is considered good practice for financial entities that to have gender parity on their board.

The board of directors has the following duties:

1. To approve human resources selection policies that result in an inclusive and diverse work environment

2. To approve policies of education and training for the employees regarding gender and gender violence prevention matters

3. Promote gender equality in management 

Financial entities also have a transparency requirement, whereby they must inform the rest of the entity of the gender composition of the board. 

This guideline is not mandatory, but it serves as a voluntary standard and as the foundation for a future mandatory regulation.

Law

In force  

Companies that execute certain agreements with the federal government, primarily public tenders and bids, public service concessions or public license contracts.  

A compliance program is mandatory for applicable companies and shall have, at a minimum, the following elements: (a) a code of conduct or policies and procedures applicable to directors, administrators and employees; (b) specific policies and procedures issued to prevent illegal acts related to public tender and bids, administrative contracts or any other relationship with the public sector; (c) periodic training programs addressed to directors, administrators, employees, third parties and business partners. Compliance programs may as well have the following elements: (d) periodic analysis of corruption risks to adapt the compliance program accordingly; (e) evidence of the senior management’s support to the compliance program; (f) internal hot-lines to receive complaints available to third parties too; (g) a non-retaliation program to protect whistle-blowers; (h) an adequate internal investigation system which imposes effective sanctions in cases of deviation from the code of conduct’s policies; (i) due diligence procedures in place to confirm the integrity and reputation of third parties and business partners, both prior and also during the commercial relationship; (j) periodic monitoring and evaluation of the compliance program; and (k) the appointment of a compliance officer to develop, coordinate and review the compliance program.

Compliance is advisable for any legal entity.

Law

In force

Corporations whose activities may have an environmental impact.

This law establishes the federal Minimum Environmental Protection Standards applicable in all Argentine territory.

Every person or corporation has the duty to care about the environment and the obligation to remediate it if their activities cause environmental damage.

Every project or activity, prior to its execution, has to be environmentally assessed and obtain an Environmental Impact Statement.

For any activity that may cause environmental damage, environmental insurance must be taken out to guarantee that remediation works can be carried out if necessary. 

Argentina is a federal republic consisting of 23 autonomous provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, organised under a national constitution. The Argentine Constitution has empowered the federal government to establish minimum standards for the protection of the environment while the provinces and municipalities shall set out specific standards and implement regulations.

We have not included provincial or local regulations, but only those enacted at a federal level. Nevertheless, provincial or local regulations which could be considered ESG policies are still at preliminary stage of development.

Law

In focus

Any administrative proceeding concerning public entities.

Guarantees implementation and access to environmental information and public participation in environmental matters.

Each Party to the Agreement shall ensure the public’s right of access to environmental information in its possession, control or custody, in accordance with the principle of maximum disclosure. The exercise of the right of access to environmental information includes:

(a) requesting and receiving information from competent authorities without mentioning any special interest or explaining the reasons for the request;

(b) being informed promptly whether the requested information is in the possession (or not) of the competent authority receiving the request; and

(c) being informed of the right to challenge and appeal when information is not delivered, and of the requirements for exercising this right.

Each Party shall facilitate access to environmental information for persons or groups in vulnerable situations, establishing procedures for the provision of assistance, from the formulation of requests through to the delivery of the information, considering their conditions and specificities, for the purpose of promoting access and participation under equal conditions.

Each Party shall guarantee that the above-mentioned persons or groups in vulnerable situations, including indigenous peoples and ethnic groups, receive assistance in preparing their requests and obtaining a response.

The Agreement also guarantees the right to public participation in environmental decision-making processes and access to justice in environmental matters.

Furthermore, Argentine Federal Law No. 25,831 on “Free Access to Environmental Public Information” provides minimum environmental protection standards ensuring the right of access to public environmental information. According to the law, entities and individuals have free access to public environmental information.