Evaluation of the Ethical Guidelines for the Government Pension Fund - Global

The Ministry of Finance has started a process with the aim of evaluating the Ethical Guidelines for the Government Pension Fund - Global. The results of the evaluation will be presented to the Parliament (Stortinget) in the annual report on the management of the Government Pension Fund, to be submitted before the Storting in spring 2009. The evaluation process will include assessments conducted by international experts. A public hearing will be held spring 2008.

The Norwegian Parliament has decided that the Ethical Guidelines for the Pension Fund – Global shall be evaluated. The evaluation process was launched in conjunction with the conference “Investing for the Future” on investor responsibility which The Ministry of Finance hosted in Oslo last week, in collaboration with the Council on Ethics and Norges Bank.

The main goals of the evaluation are to:

• see if the Guidelines have worked as intended,
• ensure the overall political consensus, 
• intercept new views and ideas in the area which can strengthen the ethical profile of the Fund.

A possible harmonizing between the guidelines for the Government Pension Fund – Global and the Government Pension Fund - Norway will also be considered.

As part of the overall evaluation of the Ethical Guidelines, the Ministry has appointed two experts to carry out an assessment of Articles 3 and 4 of the guidelines pertaining to the mandates given to Norges Bank and the Council on Ethics. The Albright Group, an American consultancy firm, has been appointed to write the part concerning Norges Bank’s work. Professor Simon Chesterman, New York University School of Law Singapore Programme is appointed to assess the work of the Council on Ethics. The appointment of The Albright Group and Professor Chesterman was done through a public procurement procedure. The Mandate is available here.

The Ministry will prepare a document, based on the external assessments and other analyses, which will be sent on an open hearing in April/May 2008. The Ministry is planning to arrange an information meeting in conjunction with the hearing.

The results of the evaluation process, together with possible proposals for adjustments or amendments to the guidelines, will be presented to the Parliament in the annual Report on the management of the Government Pension Fund in spring 2009.