Norway pension fund excludes ‘grossly unethical’ firms
Markets
by Atholl Simpson on Aug 24, 2010 at 10:15
The Norwegian government’s global pension fund, the world’s second largest sovereign wealth fund, has shed its investment in two Israeli and one Malaysian companies after it deemed they were responsible for ‘grossly unethical activity’.
The $443 billion Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), follows a strong socially responsible investing (SRI) ideology and following the recommendation of its council on ethics, the country’s Ministry of Finance decided to exclude the Israeli companies Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus and the Malaysian company Samling Global from its investment portfolio.
‘The decision to exclude these companies from the GPFG is based on the Council on Ethics assessment that they are contributing to or are themselves responsible for grossly unethical activity,’ said Minister of Finance Sigbjørn Johnsen.
The Africa Israel Investments firm is the parent company of several subsidiaries with interests in property development, infrastructure and energy. The company holds a majority stake in Danya Cebus, a construction company involved in developing settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
The ethics council emphasised that the construction of settlements in occupied areas is a violation of the Geneva Convention and that the GPFG runs an unacceptable risk of contributing to serious violations of individual rights in situations of war and conflict by investing in these two companies.
‘Several United Nations Security Council resolutions and an International Court of Justice advisory opinion have concluded that the construction of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory is prohibited under this Convention.
‘I have therefore accepted the recommendation of the Council on Ethics and am excluding Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus from the fund’s investment portfolio,’ says Minister of Finance Sigbjørn Johnsen.
Regarding the Malaysian group Samling Global, the Johnsen said the ethics council had assessed the group and concluded that the company’s forest operations in the rainforests of Sarawak and Guyana contribute to illegal logging and severe environmental damage.
1 comment so far. Why not have your say?
Patrick Hooper
Aug 24, 2010 at 11:42
Well done the Norwegian Ethics Council. If similar standards were subscribed to by more influential bodies world wide, we might lessen the future need to
make use of the excuse " we are only doing what others do" and make for a world not entirely based on the pursuit of the dollar to the exclusion of a responsible impact stance we merely pay lip service to. We can all still make healthy profits more ethically without standing on the shoulders of the less fortunate or leaving waste lands when we move on to the next trick in the grand game.
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