Corporate governance and sustainability standards in the Mexican business context are evolving and constrained by different pressures, both domestic and global. Mexico's adherence to international commitments, such as the COP (Conference of the Parties, United Nations), implies the commitment of the signatory countries to monitor, report, and control emissions. 

This has resulted in a benchmark that should serve as the basis for the regulatory framework in the fulfilment of those commitments. Additional pressures to improve standards in corporate governance and sustainability come from foreign regulators, domestic or international stock exchanges, and international investors.  Global banks are also increasingly under pressure to raise those standards. 

Many Mexican companies that depend on foreign funding and have not improved their corporate governance and sustainability standards should take note that these regulatory pressures represent a precedent condition in the search for capital. The reversal of the interest rate cycle adds an additional element of uncertainty since its higher cost incentivizes capital providers to be more selective. 

In this event, we addressed issues related to the Mexican and international regulatory framework, current standards in the Mexican context, and the cost-benefit of implementing more rigorous corporate governance and sustainability practices for Mexican entities.  Our panels discussed the current structure of boards of directors, their evolution in the face of regulatory and other pressures, expectations of foreign investors to obtain greater transparency and more rigorous corporate governance standards as a necessary condition in the analysis of investment cases. We also heard from leading companies of their experiences moving towards international corporate governance standards.