Norway – Sovereign Wealth Giant & Activist Investor Focused on Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Many nations have created what can be defined as a “Sovereign Wealth Fund,” which hold assets in portfolio that are supposed to benefit the entire population, and usually, future generations of the country’s citizens. The first such fund was launched in 1954 by the oil-producing nation of Kuwait. Today, the largest such “SWF” is that of Norway – officially, the Norway Government Pension Investment Fund – with “wealth” now approaching US$1 trillion in Assets Under Management. The Fund, managed by Norges Bank, invests in literally thousands of public companies. Consider: The fund invests in 9,000 companies in 75 countries (1.3% of the world’s listed companies; 2.4% of Europe’s listed companies). The funds come from Norway’s North Sea oil royalties. This is an activist investor: Last year the SWF divested shares in 73 companies because of environmental and governance issues – the news comes from the Fund’s second annual sustainable investing report. The Norway SWF is an activist investor, voting against 9,000 company-backed proxy resolutions (including votes at Apple, ExxonMobil, Sanofi, Anheuser-Bush InBev, Toyota, and General Electric). As the Financial Times’ Nordic & Baltic reporter Richard Milne explains in his report, “The disclosures come as part of the oil fund’s second report on responsible investing…detailing its aspiration to use its growing weigh in financial markets to push companies towards good corporate behavior.” The G&A Institute team has been monitoring SWFs for almost 10 years, as the assets – and influence -- of this important sector of the institutional investment community grows and grows. Not many SWFs could be characterized as sustainable & responsible investors, but the Norway fund example is at least favorably referenced by some other national funds when they describe their own “sustainable investing” activities. Collectively, the SWF community owned/managed US$7 trillion in AUM as of December 2015, according to the Sovereign Wealth Funds Institute. (Norway Fund was $825 billion; Abu Dhabi, long the largest SWF, was at $773 billion.) Other large SWFs are owned by governments of China; Korea; Qatar (and other oil-producing states). Oil – fossil fuel, legacy fuel – is an important factor in building this type of national wealth. Norway's fund states: “The [Fund] is saving for future generations in Norway. One day the oil will run out, but the return on the fund will continue to benefit the Norwegian population.” G&A’s SustainabilityHQ web platform tracks the activities of the world’s SWFs and presents headlines of fund activities. The profiles of the SWFs is part of our asset owner/manager profiling resources (part of G&A’s “Big Data”) used for customized research for clients. Norway is our north star -- look at what this Nordic giant is doing and “imagine” in John Lennon’s terms, what might be if many other SWFs followed its lead in responsible investing! Read our top story for highlights about the Norway Sovereign Wealth Fund. And tune in to SWFs – we track news of this category of asset owner/manager every day using our SHQ platform tools. Top Story of the Week Norway’s oil fund sells 73 stakes on sustainability concerns
(Thursday - February 04, 2016)
Source: FT.com - Norway’s $810bn oil fund sold out of 73 companies last year due to environmental and governance issues as the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund stepped up its work on responsible investing. Sustainability in Focus ISSP Certification Helping to Improve Sustainability for All
(Monday - February 01, 2016)
Source: Triple Pundit - ISSP Sustainability Professional Certification is based on more than five years of collaborative research with hundreds of established sustainability professionals and organizations from around the globe. This effort includes a... Sustainable Seafood: Four Issues to Watch in 2016
(Monday - February 01, 2016)
Source: Triple Oundit - There’s enough going on in the seafood sector to fill a dozen trend lists — and in co-creating the program for the annual SeaWeb Seafood Summit, taking place Feb. 1–3 in Malta, we’ve probably considered every topic of... Brands That Validate Their Sustainability Commitments Will Win In 2016
(Tuesday - February 02, 2016)
Source: Media Posts - In the past few years, we’ve seen an explosion in the popularity of sustainable and bio-based products. From household names like Seventh Generation, Method and the Honest Company, all the way through to niche beauty brands like... 5 New Solutions For The Fashion Industry's Sustainability Problem
(Tuesday - February 02, 2016)
Source: Fast Coexist - It's the holy grail for the fashion industry: Can manufacturers seamlessly close the loop on fabric, so an old T-shirt or dress headed for the landfill can be turned into something new? The world now buys more clothing than ever... Aetna voices 'serious concerns' on ObamaCare sustainability
(Tuesday - February 02, 2016)
Source: The Hill - Aetna's chairman and CEO said Monday that the country's third-largest health insurer had “serious concerns” about the sustainability of ObamaCare’s marketplaces.
Company Sustainability Activity on the Increase, Says New Report
(Tuesday - February 02, 2016)
Source: 3BL Media - Companies are making good progress in addressing their environmental impacts, and the aftermath of December's Paris climate agreement is catalyzing continued growth in sustainable business activities, according to a new... Can Amazon's new 'dream team' fix the company's sustainability reputation?
Tuesday - February 03, 2016)
Source: The Guardian - Unlike most big companies, Amazon has never published a sustainability report. Recent hires suggest that may be about to change – but will the retailer play ball? Building A Framework For Sustainability
(Thursday - February 04, 2016)
Source: Tech Crunch - Platforms are what make the technology world go ’round. Great platforms create value for technologists everywhere — be it a technology-specific platform like what Google has newly open-sourced through Tensor Flow, a... Going green: how universities are tackling sustainability
(Thursday - February 04, 2016)
Source: Independent - Whipping a campus into sustainable shape involves anything from a new build to careful maintenance of existing buildings. For example, UWE Bristol's approach encompasses upgrading lighting systems and installing charging points... Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Needed for Scaling Up Sustainability
(Friday - February 05, 2016)
Source: Just Means - Following the COP21 in Paris and the establishment of SDGs, cross-sector collaboration to drive progress on sustainability has become more important than ever. However, questions remain on how companies should make the most...
Penn State's Sustainability Institute integrates sustainability around campus
(Friday - February 05, 2016)
Source: Daily Collegian - With the increasing attention surrounding environmental issues nowadays, Penn State faculty and staff have been trying to find ways to teach students to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly in the classroom and in...
Neoliberal Sustainability? The Biopolitical Dynamics of “Green” Capitalism
(Friday - February 05, 2016)
Source: TNI.org - “Sustainable citizenship”: To what extent is such an idea and promotion of sustainability actually sustainable and can it contribute to decreasing climate change? Or can and should it rather be dismissed as a neoliberal strategy... Designing an Eco Chic Space for the Millennial Homebuyer
(Friday - January 15, 2016)
Source: GreenHomeBuilder - Eco-friendly design practices have become a hot topic and rightfully so, especially in the realm of millennial homebuyers. According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors, Millennials make up 13.7 percent of the total population among the top 100 metro areas. ESG Issues & Players Has the U.S. Really Reached an Epic Turning Point in Energy?
(Friday - February 05, 2016)
Source: National Geographic - As the new UN climate accord pushes countries to cut carbon emissions, the United States is making progress, but will it continue, and will it be enough? Good News: China's Dropping Coal Consumption Is Putting the Brakes on Global Carbon Emissions
(Friday - February 05, 2016) Associated Profiles : Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Source: The Energy Collective - And according to Sophie Lu of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, "as electricity demand continues to slow, clean energy may be used more to replace dirtier capacity." But one thing seems clear: China is turning...
Will Britain leave the European Union?
(Thursday - February 04, 2016)
Source: Los Angeles Times - As Britain debates whether to leave the European Union, leaders across the continent are trying to avoid a potentially devastating split. Why companies don't change - and don't want to talk about it
(Tuesday - February 02, 2016)
Source: The Guardian - As anti-establishment parties and candidates gain ground with voters throughout Europe and in the United States, political leaders who continue to pursue a business-as-usual approach could find themselves looking for new jobs.... Asset Managers, US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds Will Pension Funds Go Green?
(Thursday - February 04, 2016)
Source: Instead Knowledge - On many fronts the 2015 UN climate change conference (the 21st edition of the COP) in Paris seems to have been a success. Two weeks of discussions, involving experts from nearly 200 countries, led to the signing of an... Will There Be Another Sovereign Wealth Selloff Wave'
(Tuesday - February 02, 2016) Associated Profiles : Qatar Investment Authority
Source: swfinstitute.org - Funds such as Mubadala Development Co. and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) were looking to sell off non-core assets to shore up cash and improve profits. For example, the QIA put Miramax on the selling... Six Oil Producers Agree on Emergency Meeting, Iran's Shana Says
(Thursday - February 04, 2016)
Source: Bloomberg - Six OPEC member states and two non members would be open to attending an extraordinary meeting if one is called, Venezuela’s oil ministry said after oil minister Eulogio Del Pino held talks in Iran on Wednesday. G&A 2016 Honor Roll Spotlight In the G&A Honor Roll we feature the talented interns that work with us on our many various research and client related projects. Each of the interns listed on this page has made a significant contribution to the G&A Institute and to the field of Sustainability in general. We thank our Honor Roll members here:
 Kristina Jette Mullen
Honor Roll 2016
Kristina Jette Mullen is a MBA graduate from Simmons School of Management. She graduated in May 2015 with a concentration in sustainability and business strategy. Kristina obtained her B.S. from Boston University Questrom School of Business. Her career expands across accounting, marketing and client relations, including two years of international work experience in London. As part of her MBA curriculum, Kristina worked as a MBA Sustainability Metrics Consultant for Greyston Bakery throughout the summer of 2014. Watching the Watchers  Union of Concerned Scientists
Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Established: 1969
ESG/Sustainability Focus: Yes, a very strong focus on environmental, social, and sustainability issues.
KEY PARTNERS
Scientists from the UCS network, Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology OVERVIEW/MISSION
The Union of Concerned Scientists describes itself as “a non-profit partnership of scientists and citizens combining rigorous scientific analysis, innovative policy development, and effective citizen advocacy to achieve practical environmental solutions.” BACKGROUND
The Union of Concerned Scientists was founded in 1969 after a “teach-in” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: the group formed “to protest the militarization of scientific research and promote science in the public interest” and asked that science be used to resolve environmental and social problems instead of creating military technologies. On the history page of its Web site, UCS cites as milestones a first report about anti-ballistic missiles, the U.S. government’s reduction of the strategic defense initiative, and a “blueprint for vehicle fuel-efficiency that Ford Motor Company is now following.” STRUCTURE
UCS is a nonprofit organization with offices in Cambridge, MA, Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, and Berkeley, CA. UCS says it has grown into “an alliance of more than 250,000 citizens and scientists.” News Sweeps 
These feeds are provided for Accountability-Central in partnership with 3BL Media. 3BL Media distributes press releases, blogs, videos, podcasts, reports, newsletters and more to the growing audience of stakeholders interested in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability. Visit 3BLMedia.com for more.
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