Sustainable Investing and ESG

The point of change is here. Incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into doing business has never been more important, which is why we invest in our talent to ensure we approach SI and ESG with a solid basis of understanding. With a particular focus on areas related to Sustainable Investing (SI), Ogier offers a powerful platform by pairing legal and regulatory services with technical and practical advice on the implementation and delivery of SI and ESG mandates.

Ogier has a three pronged approach to sustainability and ESG. On the one hand, Ogier is putting renewed impetus into its own sustainability journey with the full support and commitment of its Executive Board. Clients that are committed to ESG want to know that the partnerships they form, including with their service providers, are not in themselves an ESG risk. To ensure that our journey is "expert led", we have hired a Head of Sustainability who is supported by our service innovation team as well as our local green teams. You can find out more about Ogier's environmental and social commitments here.

As a law firm we have also developed our legal services to ensure that we are able to provide tailored legal advice within the context of sustainable investing. We have a team of lawyers across service-lines and jurisdictions who are equipped to advise on legal and regulatory matters related to SI and ESG. Details of our Sustainable Investing and ESG services are set out below.

Thirdly, we have formed, as part of the Ogier Global offering, a consultancy team delivering ESG and Impact services. Our consultancy team is experienced in advising on ESG, sustainable investing, impact and climate change including strategy and policy development, ESG risk analysis, metrics identification, reporting in compliance with relevant regulations and industry standards, as well as impact verification.

Global calls for a more responsible approach to doing business is demanding appreciation of environmental and social impacts as an integral part of good governance. New standards of investing and doing business continue to emerge, many in response to heightened risks identified around environmental and social factors, none more so than risks associated with climate change and loss of biodiversity. These developments bring opportunities, particularly for organisations focused on driving solutions. We see a broad spectrum of businesses looking closely at how they can contribute to ESG or sustainability with such discussions having been elevated to the boardroom. In addition, asset managers and investors are increasingly looking to go beyond ESG and to ensure that their investments are positively "impactful" from an environmental and/or social perspective.

The ESG and SI "dictionary" continues to develop. What is clear is that these terms do not denote any one approach to doing business or to investing. Taxonomies are helping support the communication and classification of what can be considered green and sustainable activities. By holding businesses to account in their use of such terms, regulators and governments aim to reduce the risk of 'green-washing'. Law firms have an important role to play in helping clients navigate the new regulations, standards and frameworks evolving as part of this landscape.

Services

Sustainable Investment Consulting

Ogier's Sustainable Investment (SI) Consulting is a dedicated consultancy at Ogier Global offering bespoke design, integration, management and reporting solutions to our clients. SI Consulting works across spectrum of asset class and SI strategies facilitating institutional investors, multi-strategy asset managers, private equity funds, private debt and credit, venture funds, family offices and foundations.

Our services include:

Policy and strategy
Regulatory compliance
Training and education
Portfolio integration
Due diligence
Measurement and management
Reporting
Independent verification

Ogier Global's consultancy team can work independently or in tandem with Ogier's legal team according to the nature of the mandate.

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Investment Funds: Sustainable Investing and Impact Funds

Ogier’s dedicated Sustainable Investing and Impact Funds (SIIF) practice has been established to assist clients in structuring, operating and investing in investment funds which focus on Sustainable Investing and ESG, including those with a mandate for impact.

Our services include:

Funds structuring, domiciling, operation and regulatory advice
Drafting disclosures for fund documentation
Green and ESG fund labels
Directors duties
Governance
The International Stock Exchange (TISE) Green segment
Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX)
Guernsey Green Fund

Within our SIIF practice we also have a focused Private Equity offering, supported by the Sustainable Investment consultancy team. Services include:

Regulatory scan
Drafting disclosures for fund documentation
Market benchmarking
Fund's impact strategy and approach
Investment sourcing and impact diligence
Impact portfolio monitoring and management
Impact report drafting
Impact verification

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Banking and Capital Markets: Sustainable Finance

The ESG agenda shaped by recent global commitments has become a focal point for many banks, financial institutions, sponsors, corporates, asset managers and investors. The impact of ESG considerations on the banking and finance sector is growing at a rapid pace and Ogier is proud to be at the forefront of advising clients which are innovating in response to various ESG related externalities and market pressures. Ogier's Sustainable Investing and ESG experience spans across our finance teams, including those focused on capital markets, listings, fund finance and real estate finance. We have seen first-hand how ESG is affecting policy and attitudes towards lending, borrowing, capital raising and investing, with banks increasingly issuing ESG/sustainability/green focused bonds and loans amid pressures for the private sector to do more to address ESG issues.

Services include:

Fund finance
Real estate finance
Islamic finance
Luxembourg Green Stock Exchange (LGX)
The International Stock Exchange (TISE)

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Private Wealth and ESG

Private capital plays an increasingly important role in supporting the global movement to align our financial system with sustainable development. Engaged philanthropists, foundations and investors are stepping up to the plate to create solutions.

We support foundations, family offices and charities seeking to leverage their impact capital for good and to make a positive impact. We help our clients reimagine how to generate impact from their endowments by providing impact management, measurement and conducting impact due diligence services.

Our services include

Establishment of private wealth structures primarily focused on ESG objectives (these might be charitable or non-charitable purpose trusts, foundations or companies limited by guarantee)
Establishment of traditional private wealth structures which are drafted to be compliant with ESG principles albeit for the wider benefit of the family
The drafting of investment powers in trusts and foundations specifically around ESG principles and the family's wishes
Advising trustees on the adoption of ESG principles and trustee investment duties
Family governance advice on bringing in second and third generation beneficiaries to a structure's ESG policy and operations
Assisting families to determine a workable ESG policy
Amending family charter to include the family's wishes on ESG