Regulatory compliance manager | Home Depot México
Brenda Samantha Montes Rico
Regulatory compliance manager | Home Depot México
Can you discuss your or your company’s efforts relating to renewability, sustainability, or other environmentally-friendly activities?
Much of the work I do has focused on raising awareness of the importance of environmental compliance, not just from a legal perspective. I have aimed to shift the mentality from ‘having to comply’ to ‘wanting to comply’ with environmental regulations. I try to educate people that environmental regulations serve as a guide to better and more responsible resource management. For example, when you encourage your colleagues to separate their waste, they are likely to adopt this practice at home as well. In my workplace, we are fully aware that we can create a positive impact and contribute substantially to the environment, starting with our employees and extending this commitment from the company outward.
Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organisations?
Being an aware in-house counsel of the impact that business can have on the environment helps spread awareness within the company. From a legal perspective, it can contribute significantly, both externally and internally, by collaborating on the creation of appropriate environmental regulations. Internally, it can also assist in the design of effective rules and programs to meet the goal of contributing to environmental improvement and, where necessary, to counteract any potential negative impacts.
It can be challenging to measure a company’s track record in environmentally friendly behavior. What, in your opinion, has mostly been missed in discussions about how green a company is?
One of the least discussed issues regarding corporate sustainability is future legal and regulatory risk. Many companies focus on complying with current standards, without considering that environmental laws are evolving rapidly. Some invest in strategies that will soon become obsolete or even penalise them, simply because they failed to anticipate new regulations or international treaties. I believe that true sustainability requires a proactive legal vision that anticipates future regulatory frameworks and fosters a genuine transition towards resilient and ethical business models.