Exclusion and dialogue
KLP has conducted ethical filtering of its investments in securities since 2002. Openness has been fundamental to this strategy since the beginning. Here you can read about the exclusion criteria, the analysis process and which companies are excluded.
Excluded companies
We believe that being transparent about exclusions, including their rationale, is about taking responsibility for our choices. By doing so, we genuinely hope and believe this will lead to change. In the same way that we demand transparency from the companies in which we invest, we must be open about our work in relation to our customers and other stakeholders.
We continue to engage in dialogue with excluded companies with the aim of encouraging them to implement the changes needed to be once again suitable for investment.
Please see the full KLP-list.
Announcement 2023
- Decision to exclude companies in the Gulf State, December 2023
- Decision to exclude companies, November 2023
- Decision to exclude companies, August 2023
- Decision to exclude companies, May 2023
- Decision to exclude companies, March 2023
- Decision to exclude companies, January 2023
- Decision to exclude companies, January 2023
Announcement 2022
- Decision to exclude companies, December 2022
- Decision to exclude companies, November 2022
- Decision to exclude Core Civic and GEO Group
- Decision to exclude company that contribute to or causes severe environmental damage, September 2022
- Decision to exclude companies, August 2022
- Decision to exclude companies, July 2022
- Decision to exclude companies, June 2022
- Decision to exclude companies, April 2022
- Decision to exclude company that produce cannabis for recreational use - March 2022
- Decision to exclude Li Ning Co Ltd, March 2022
- Decision to exclude companies involved in coal-based or oil sands-based activities - February 2022
- Decision to exclude Russian companies, February 2022
- Decision to exclude companies related to gambling January 2022
- Decision to exclude companies related to involvement with coal January 2022
- Decision to exclude company related to the production of alcohol January 2022
- Decision to exclude company related to the production of pornography January 2022
- Decision to exclude company related to the production of tobacco January 2022
Announcement 2021
- Decision to exclude company that contribute to or causes severe environmental damage
- Decision to exclude companies related to severe environmental damage
- Decision to exclude companies that produce controversial weapons
- Decision to exclude ONGC
- Decision to exclude gambling companies August 2021
- Decision to exclude Elco Ltd
- Decision to exclude companies that produce alcohol june 2021
- Decision to exclude companies with links to Israeli settlements in the West Bank
- Decision to exclude Adani Ports
- Decision to exclude Honeys Holdings Co Ltd
- Decision to exclude Mivne Real Estate Ltd
- Decision to exclude Shapir Engineering and Industry Ltd
- Decision to exclude companies that produce cannabis for recreational use
- Decision to exclude companies involved in coal-based activities
- Decision to exclude companies that produce tobacco
- Decision to exclude gambling companies
- Decision to exclude Pernod Ricard SA and Jiugui Liquor Co. Ltd.
- Decision to exclude Smoore International Holdings Ltd. and RLX Technology Inc.
- Decision to exclude Teck Resources Limited
Announcement 2019
Announcement regarding the exclusion of G4S in addition to exclusions of companies with revenue from production of alcohol, cannabis, coal and gambling.
- Alcohol
- Cannabis
- Coal
- Gambling
- Decision to exclude G4S
- Decision to exclude companies involved in oil sand
- Announcement May, 2019 - KLP goes coal free
- Decision to exclude companies that produce alcohol
- Decision to exclude gambling companies
Announcement January, 2019 (Press release (in Norwegian))
Announcement 2018
Announcement regarding the exclusion of 4 new companies (Press release, September, 2018)
Announcement regarding ship disposals (Press release, February 13th, 2018)
- Aecom
- Honeywell (change in basis for exclusion)
- Atal
- Evergreen Marine Corporation Ltd.
- Korea Line Corporation
- Precious Shipping PCL
- Thoresen Thai Agencies PCL
Announcement 2017
- Coal companies (December, 2017)
- Coal companies (June, 2017)
- Scandinavian Tobacco Group
- Decision to exclude ETP, Phillips 66, Enbridge, and Marathon Petroleum
Announcement 2016
Announcement December 22nd, 2016 (Press release)
- Coal companies (December, 2016)
- Duke Energy (change in basis for exclusion)
- Eletrobras
- Kosmos Energy Ltd. and Cairn Energy
June 21st, 2016 (Press release)
Announcement 2015
- Coal companies 30%
- BAE Systems
- Fluor Corporation and Huntington Ingalls Industries
- Glencore
- Genting Berhad and Genting Plantations Berhad
- IJM Corporation Berhad and IJM Plantations Berhad
- Coal companies
- China Railway Group Ltd.
- Cemex SAB de CV and HeidelbergCement
- Noble Group Ltd.
Announcement 2014
- Coal companies (Press release)
- POSCO, Daewoo International Corp., and Olam International (Press release)
- Agrium Inc. (Press release)
Announcement 2013
Included companies
Criteria forreinstatement
- The reported activity has ceased.
- The company has handled the activity and the consequences in a responsible way.
- The company has systems and procedures in place to prevent similar occurrences
in the future. - Paragraphs 1-3 are verified.
The divestment decision can also be revoked if there are no continued grounds for the exclusion.
Announcements of reinstated companies 2023
Announcements of reinstated companies 2022
Announcements of reinstated companies 2021
- Decision to include Precious Shipping PLC September 2021
- Decision to include companies based on product based coal criteria September 2021
- Decision to include Atal SA/Poland
- Decision to include Beijing Tong Ren Tang
- Decision to rescind exclusion of Incitec Pivot Ltd.
Announcements of reinstated companies 2020
Announcements of reinstated companies 2019
Announcements of reinstated companies 2017
- Alstom
- Chevron
- L-3 Technologies Inc. (Press release)
- Singapore Technologies Engineering and ST Engineering Financial 1 (Press release)
Announcements of reinstated companies 2016
Announcements of reinstated companies 2015
- Cemex SAB de CV
- Wesfarmers
- Power Asset Holdings and Turqouise Hill Resources
- Dongfeng Motor Group (Press release)
Announcements of reinstated companies 2014
Announcements of reinstated companies 2013
Exclusion citeria
The Guidelines for KLP as a responsible investor provide that companies associated to gross or systematic violations of international norms shall be excluded from KLP's and the KLP funds' portfolios. KLP excludes companies that are in breach with international standards in the following areas:
Behaviour based exclusion
- Human rights
- Employeerights
- Environmentaldestruction
- Unacceptable levels of GHG emissions
- Corruption
- Business ethics
- The rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict
- Other fundamental ethicalnorms
Exclusion
- Weapons in breach of fundamental humanitarian principles
- Tobacco
- Coal
- Oil sands
- Alcohol
- Gambling
- Pornography
The ten principles of the UN Global Compact, a UN network for business, provide the framework for the exclusion criteria, which KLP, through its membership, has committed to honouring. These principles cover human rights, employee rights, the environment, and corruption.
KLP's guidelines are aligned with the Guidelines for observation and exclusion from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). We therefore therefore take account of exclusions carried out by the Norwegian GPFG based upon the Ethical Council's recommendations.
These matters are also spelt out for business in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, as well as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. KLP and the KLP Mutual Funds refer to additional specific conventions and international standards in the concrete exclusion decisions.
The process of analysis
Incident
GES carries out daily news searches in thousands of news sources such as news media, industry journals, newsletters, UN organisations and the authorities to sweep up all potential violations of the guidelines. The Ethical Council also uses similar information searches. The Ethical Council investigates cases on its own initiative or as a result of external approaches or directives from the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.
Investigation
GES then investigates the event by contacting the company and other interested parties, for example international organisations and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to collect the facts and create the most objective picture possible. All allegations have to be confirmed by the company itself or by a trustworthy official source, for example the authorities or UN bodies. The Ethical Council has its own secretariat which investigates the cases.
Dialogue
GES contacts the company for their comments and a dialogue concerning the event on our behalf. In a number of cases KLP also has direct contact with the company. Dialogue with companies is normally a combination of meetings, e-mail correspondence and telephone conferences. The aim is that the company should work to improve so exclusion can be avoided. KLP's experience is that a strategy that combines dialogue and exclusion is effective, since openness concerning our work gives weight to the demands we make.
Satisfactory result?
If the investigation concludes that the company is associated with breach of norms and over a period of time does not show responsibility or willingness to tackle the problems, GES will recommend KLP withdraws. To avoid exclusion the company must fulfil four requirements:
- The reported activity has ceased.
- The company has handled the activity and the consequences in a responsible way.
- The company has systems and procedures in place to prevent similar occurrences in future.
- Paragraphs 1-3 are verified.
The divestment decision can also be revoked if there are no continued grounds for the exclusion.
Exclusion
The dialogue with the company continues after KLP has sold its shares. The aim remains that the company should improve its policy and its procedures so that they no longer breach our ethical guidelines, and therefore it becomes open once again for investment. The four requirements above also apply for the company to be re-included.
Re-instatement
The dialogue with the company continues after KLP has sold its shares. The aim remains that the company should improve its policy and its procedures so that they no longer breach our ethical guidelines, and therefore it becomes open once again for investment. The four requirements above also apply for the company to be re-included.
Implementation in KLP's asset management
When the list of excluded companies is approved by KLP, it is made known to all managers, both external and internal. The list is also included as part of the audit procedures in our mid-office: any breaches will be captured, reported and corrected.
Publication
KLP publishes exclusions and re-inclusions twice a year (in June and in December). The Ethical Council publishes its advisories continuously.
External asset management
In those funds, investment companies and collective structures in which KLP is a part-owner and cannot directly influence the company's or the fund's investment practices, principles and policy will be maintained through selection criteria and active exercise of ownership. KLP continuously monitors how external managers and funds maintain responsible investment practice. If asset management conflicts with KLP's principles and policy, consideration will be given to withdrawing investment funds. In general KLP wants to encourage other investors to move ahead in this area. Entering into agreements on external asset management or other matters can provide a good opportunity for us to influence other investors and other parts of the finance industry towards a responsible investment strategy.
Rebalancing the portfolios
When a company is excluded, the portfolio is re-balanced on industry group level in order to minimize the financial effect of any exclusion.