Norway's The Fund has reached a remarkable milestone in September 2017.
The Fund was established only 20 years ago as a means for Norway to store and invest the oil and gas revenues in a responsible manner for the benefit of future generations. It has since seen staggering success and is now the largest fund of its kind in the world at 1 Trillion USD.
According to their website:
Our mission is to safeguard and build financial wealth for the future generations of Norway. We invest and exercise our ownership rights responsibly, because the fund’s investments are about the future and belong to our future generations. We aim to contribute to efficient and well-functioning markets and promote work on international standards for responsible investment. One day the oil will run out, but the return of the fund will continue to benefit the population.
In a press release, Yngve Slyngstad, Chief Executive Officer in Norges Bank Investment Management, says:
"I don’t think anyone expected the fund to ever reach 1 trillion dollars when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996. Reaching 1 trillion dollars is a milestone, and the growth in the fund’s market value has been stunning."
Aside from managing the public revenues, The Fund also has an explicit mission aimed at long-term investment with ethically minded corporate engagement. Globally accepted principles of best-practice corporate governance are the leading factors in their investment decisions. Their ethics aim to ensure that the fund is not associated with companies that pose a risk to global social and environmental justice.
The Fund focuses their investments in areas dealing directly with corporate transparency and disclosure on environmental and social issues. The three main focus areas are children's rights, climate change, and water management.
The Fund is among the world's largest investors in stocks, owning $667 billion worth of shares in over 9,000 companies globally. The Fund in Norway is also used to fund pensions and other government expenses.
Other similar public funds include the Alaska Permanent Fund, Texas Permanent School Fund, and Texas Permanent Education Fund. These funds are examples of responsible, equitable, and just natural resource management policies to be replicated around the world. Tanzania is deciding what to do with the helium reserves discovered there. Join the petition to inform them about the success of The Fund in Norway.
The equal right for all to the use of land is as clear as the equal right to breathe the air — it is a right proclaimed by the fact of existence. For we cannot suppose that some have a right to be in this world, and others no right. - Henry George
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LAWRENCE BOSEK is the Executive Director of Progress.org. He enjoys educating on technology and healthy green living. After 15+ years of consulting in the technology industry and educating in college classrooms, he has expanded his focus to assist in the healing evolution of the noosphere through education and meditative well being. Lawrence also enjoys the natural beauty of the Earth and sky, progressing socio-economic justice, and writing essays as well as poetry. His poetic picture book, entitled Garden Of Love, touches on social-environmental awareness and the evolution of consciousness. Currently, Lawrence is busy advocating for an Open Source Civilization, completing a Ph.D. program, and continuing to be a part of the evolutionary upliftment of humanity.