INDEPENDENT ADVISORY · AMSTERDAM
Clearer decisions. Defensible claims.
Senior judgment where sustainability meets
governance, finance, and real-world exposure.
With José Yakoubian · Founder & Principal Advisor
Energy, capital markets &
sustainability governance
Thematic debt issuances assessed,
leading the EMEA team
Listed companies assessed annually
across high-scrutiny sectors
EXPERIENCE ACROSS
HOW I HELP
Engagements built around a specific situation, not a service catalogue. Focused support where governance gaps become real exposure.
Double materiality, ESRS gap analysis, governance structures, and implementation support built for assurance scrutiny — not just to produce a report. Finance, legal, risk, and operations aligned around decisions that survive external review.
Governance-firstSecond-Party Opinions, EU Taxonomy alignment, and green and sustainability-linked framework assessments. Backed by direct involvement in EUR 30–50B of thematic debt transactions across global capital markets.
Capital markets depthStructured programmes for leadership teams and risk functions covering CSRD, ESG risk, sustainable finance, and enterprise risk management. Designed so that the people approving disclosures and materiality outcomes understand what they are signing, and what they are accountable for.
Decision-readyMateriality framing and disclosure governance informed by assessing 100+ listed companies annually in high-scrutiny sectors. Understanding of how ESG risk is judged externally — by investors, rating agencies, and regulators — not just reported internally.
Investor-grade rigourTHE PERSON BEHIND THE PRACTICE
I spent most of my career on the inside of the judgment. Now I help your decisions hold up to it.
At Sustainalytics, I assessed whether sustainability and transition claims deserved the trust of investors, insurers, and rating agencies. Today, I bring that same scrutiny to your governance, disclosures, and financing decisions.
A mechanical engineering background and a decade in capital-intensive energy operations shape how I think about risk — at the asset level, not just the reporting level.
I grew up in Venezuela, spent 15 years in Canada, and now live and work in the Netherlands. That perspective informs how I connect leadership, finance, operations, risk, legal, and sustainability.
Independent advisory practice supporting CFOs and executive teams on CSRD governance, double materiality, EU Taxonomy, ESG risk, and sustainable finance implementation.
Led CSRD-aligned materiality assessments, assurance-ready outputs, and governance roadmaps across industrial, financial, telecoms, and institutional investor environments.
Led EMEA Second-Party Opinion delivery across green, sustainability-linked, and transition finance frameworks, working with issuers including Vodafone, Volkswagen, Stora Enso, REWE, and Standard Chartered alongside underwriting banks including ING, Barclays, BNP Paribas, JPMorgan, and Société Générale.
Ten years in high-risk, capital-intensive energy environments, with direct accountability for operational performance and safety under real-world constraints.
MSc Sustainable Energy Development, University of Calgary. BEng Mechanical Engineering, UNEFA Venezuela. Certificate in Green Economy, Toronto Metropolitan University. Principles of Responsible Investment, PRI Academy. Speaking engagements have included Environmental Finance's ESG in Fixed Income EMEA conference (London, 2022), where I was an invited speaker on sustainability-linked bonds, market credibility, and greenwashing exposure in sustainable finance.
WHY GREENLINE STUDIO
The scrutiny of an ESG ratings agency. The commercial discipline of an advisor. Direct access to the person who stays accountable from start to finish.
Let's discuss your situationYou work directly with the person doing the work, not a partner's name attached to output delivered by a rotating junior team. That person stays accountable from start to finish.
I sit down with you first and align the internal stakeholders, finance, legal, risk, operations, and sustainability, and put the governance and data pipeline in place before a single page gets written. Most reporting problems are not writing problems. They start with alignment that never happened.
Engagements run in defined phases, agreed upfront. You know what is happening and why before it happens, not after the invoice arrives.
Focused mandates, transparent scope, and no large-firm cost structure. You pay for senior judgment and execution, not layers of internal administration.
SELECTED WORK
A disclosure requiring sign-off. A materiality decision with board exposure. A financing framework where credibility is on the line.
Grant Thornton Netherlands — 2024–2025
Led CSRD governance and implementation engagements across manufacturing, insurance, and financial services. Supported institutional investors and Dutch insurance groups on climate transition strategy aligned with NZIF, including carbon exposure analysis and regulatory implementation roadmaps across CSRD, ESRS, SFDR, and EU Taxonomy.
Large Japanese Multinational
Led a full double materiality assessment for a multinational industrial group with no established ESG function ahead of first reporting obligations. Covered stakeholder interviews, executive workshops, ESRS benchmarking, and materiality prioritisation, establishing a governance foundation across leadership, risk, and operational functions.
Investor-Facing Risk Intelligence — Morningstar Sustainalytics
Supervised 110+ ESG risk rating assessments annually across publicly traded energy and mining companies, one of the most externally scrutinised sectors in global capital markets. This work provided direct insight into how investors, rating agencies, and capital providers evaluate ESG performance: what governance structures hold under pressure, what disclosure gaps create credibility risk, and where management quality is the deciding variable.
GREEN FINANCE — LOW-CARBON MOBILITY / EUROPE
Supported green financing frameworks for two of Europe’s largest low-carbon mobility initiatives. Work included governance assessment, use-of-proceeds eligibility, lifecycle and avoided emissions methodologies, and alignment with ICMA Green Bond and Green Loan Principles across automotive electrification and battery manufacturing.
GREEN FINANCE — TELECOMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE / EUROPE
Supported financing frameworks for telecommunications and digital infrastructure platforms across Europe. Work covered 5G and fibre modernisation, renewable electricity sourcing, circularity, KPI calibration, and science-based emissions reduction targets.
GREEN FINANCE — FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & PRIVATE CAPITAL / EUROPE
Supported financing frameworks across banking, private credit, and investment holding platforms where financed emissions methodology and disclosure credibility carried direct implications for investor confidence. For ICG, this included one of the early sustainability-linked bond frameworks in the private equity sector aligned with emerging SBTi Private Equity Guidance, translating portfolio decarbonisation expectations into financially linked performance targets.
SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED FINANCE — RETAIL, LOGISTICS & FOOD / GLOBAL
Assessed sustainability-linked finance frameworks for two of the world’s largest retail and food groups. KPI materiality and target calibration covered Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, FLAG emissions, agricultural supply chains, renewable electricity, circular economy, and large distributed retail networks.
GREEN FINANCE — REAL ESTATE & INFRASTRUCTURE / EUROPE
Supported green financing linked to logistics real estate decarbonisation and energy-efficient buildings across Europe. Scope included EU Taxonomy alignment, climate risk integration, project selection criteria, and alignment with ICMA Green Bond and Green Loan Principles.
GREEN AND SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED FINANCE — FORESTRY, BIOMATERIALS & CIRCULAR MANUFACTURING / EUROPE
Supported a combined green and sustainability-linked financing framework covering sustainable forestry, biomaterials, circular manufacturing, and industrial decarbonisation. Scope included use-of-proceeds eligibility, KPI calibration, and alignment with Green Bond and Sustainability-Linked Finance Principles.
SHARING THE PERSPECTIVE
Invited speaker at Environmental Finance’s ESG in Fixed Income EMEA conference.
London · 2022EXECUTIVE & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Most governance failures begin before the first disclosure is written. Build the capability to understand the scrutiny — and the accountability — that comes with it.
01 / For professionals
Applied ESG, CSRD, double materiality, sustainable finance, and ESG risk training. Designed for professionals who need to work fluently across disclosure, governance, and implementation without a background built specifically for it.
Sustainability analysts • ESG managers • QHSE professionals • Compliance officers • Finance professionals transitioning into sustainability-related roles
02 / For executive teams
Board and leadership sessions focused on the questions senior decision makers need to ask before approving disclosures, materiality outcomes, transition claims, or sustainability commitments that carry financial and regulatory exposure.
CEOs • CFOs • Board members • General Counsels • Executive leadership teams
03 / For risk functions
Operational risk management training that helps risk, audit, and operations teams bring sustainability and climate risk into existing enterprise governance, escalation, and control frameworks without rebuilding from scratch.
Risk managers • Internal audit teams • Operations leaders • Compliance functions • Business unit leadership
Delivered in-person and virtually, for corporate teams and operational functions across sectors.
TRUSTED JUDGMENT
Capital Markets — ING
“I would frequently make a specific request to have José personally involved. He balanced experience and practicality with a rigorous approach, and consistently ensured optimal outcomes under pressure and short timelines.”
Director, Sustainable Capital Markets, ING
LET'S TALK
Tell me what you're navigating. We'll discuss your priorities, timing, and whether GreenLine Studio is the right fit.
Book a 15-minute intro callNo pitch. No obligation. Just a conversation.Founder & Principal Advisor
jose@greenlinestudio.nl+31 6 2939 6705
