As one of the first investors in the world, Andra AP-fonden (AP2) is publishing a Report on its work with human rights, based on the United Nations’ Reporting Framework. The Report describes how the Fund addresses its responsibility to respect human rights and the processes it employs to make these rights integral to its business activities. As well as describing areas where the Fund has made important strides in developing its human rights efforts, the Report also highlights some of the challenges identified.

Since 2016, AP2 has worked systematically to enhance the integration of human rights issues in its investment decisions. In publishing this Report, the Fund intends to increase transparency regarding its efforts to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as its achievements and challenges during this process.

“As early as 2016, we had already decided to support the ‘UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework’. It is therefore highly pleasing that we are now able to publish our first report. We hope it will not only explain how we are working with human rights, but also contribute to a broader dialogue on human rights issues in the finance industry,” says CEO Eva Halvarsson, AP2.

“We are actively engaged in integrating sustainability issues, including human rights issues, as part of our asset management activities. Among other topics, the Report describes how the indices we have developed in-house feature a method for identifying companies involved in human rights controversies, enabling their subsequent exclusion from the index in question. Furthermore, through a close and active dialogue with our external asset managers in China, we ensure that sustainability issues, including human rights, are integrated into investment decisions,” explains Eva Halvarsson.

Using the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework helps the Fund to focus on the key issues, while also functioning as an internal instrument for identifying deficiencies and developing the process. The first part of the Report addresses the Fund’s commitment, governance and policies concerning human rights issues. Part two addresses the Fund’s perceptions regarding the human rights issues it faces, and the challenge involved in identifying which are the most salient. The third part highlights the Fund’s reactive and proactive management of two of the Fund’s salient cases of human rights infringements: the accidents at mining-company Vale’s tailings dams and issues related to agricultural investments in Brazil.
Read the Report

More about the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf

For further details, please contact:
Ulrika Danielson, Head of Corporate Communications, on +46 709 50 16 13.

AP2 is one of five buffer funds within the Swedish pension system and one of northern Europe’s largest pension funds. The Fund’s assets under management total SEK 367.4 billion (30 June 2019), within essentially all asset classes and across the entire world. We are leading specialists in the Swedish pension system and are a world-class asset manager. We are a global leader in integrating sustainability in our investments, for the benefit of the pension system. The Fund is a long-term and responsible asset manager. www.ap2.se