Giant Norway fund launches campaign to pressure 1100 companies on water risks
The €276 billion Norwegian Government Pension Fund is to begin pressuring more than a thousand companies in sectors with high water-related risks to report on their response to the issue that it can assess potential future downside to its investments.
The €276bn Norwegian Government Pension Fund is to begin pressuring more than a thousand companies in sectors with high water-related risks to report on their responses to the issue so that it can assess potential future downside to its investments.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which runs the Norwegian fund's assets, said it had holdings in about 1100 companies with a combined market value of €33bn where it believes good water risk management could be critical to future performance.
During the third quarter of this year, the fund said it will publish a list of water reporting and risk management "expectations" it has for portfolio companies.
The fund, Europe's largest pension scheme, has identified seven high-risk sectors: food, agriculture, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, mining, manufacturing and power, and water supply.
It said: "Many companies in risk sectors and regions do not have a proper water policy with risk assessments and performance reporting.
Shortcomings in companies' water management reporting makes it difficult to assess the degree of risk exposure resulting from their own operations or their supply chains."
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