The task of the Council on Ethics is to submit recommendations on the observation or exclusion of companies in accordance with the Fund’s Ethical Guidelines.
The Council on Ethics’ recommendation is published here at the same time as Norges Bank announces its decision on the same. An up-to-date list of companies excluded from investment by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) or placed under observation may be found on NBIM’s website.
Norges Bank is under no obligation to follow the Council’s recommendations. The Bank may choose to act in a different way to that recommended by the Council, or it may refrain from taking any action at all. In either case, the Bank’s decision and the Council’s underlying recommendation are published.
Although the Council recommends that a company be excluded from investment by the GPFG, there are several reasons why this may not happen. The company may, for example, have already exited the GPFG’s portfolio for other reasons before the Bank arrives at a decision on the matter.
The Council monitors excluded companies and issues a recommendation to revoke their exclusion if the underlying grounds have ceased to exist. In such cases as well, it is Norges Bank which makes the final decision. Companies are removed from the list of excluded companies with no formal decision being made if they cease to be listed on a stock exchange.
Published recommendations, sorted by the Guidelines’ criteria, may be found here: