Report: Norway's $975B fund should fit ethical stance

Norway's $975-billion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, should be more forceful in promoting its ethical agenda and influencing the thousands of companies it invests in, a report commissioned by non-governmental organisations said yesterday. The fund, which invests the proceeds of Norway's oil and gas production for future generations, has ethical ambitions.

It expects firms it invests in to have policies on issues such as child labour, human rights or water management and does not invest in firms that derive more than 30 percent of their turnover from coal. Neither does it invest in firms that produce nuclear weapons or anti-personnel landmines. Still, a study by the Re-Define thinktank published yesterday said the fund could do much more.

"(The fund should) apply its expectations documents on human rights, children's rights, climate change, water management and tax and transparency to itself, just as it expects BlackRock, as well as many other asset managers it holds significant stakes in, to follow," it said. The report, which was commissioned by a group of nine NGOs including Amnesty International and Save the Children, also said the fund should team up with other investors to address social, environmental and governance challenges.