The AP Fund-owned company 4 to 1 Investments has received the information that Northvolt has filed for reconstruction in the US, so-called Chapter 11. A restructuring of the company’s capital structure is now starting in parallel with continued operation of the business. 4 to 1 Investments will continue to hold a constructive dialogue with the company to protect invested values and work for the company’s best interests in the long term.

4 to1 Investments has been an investor in Northvolt since 2021. The last year has been challenging for Northvolt with a weakening market for electric vehicles and continued production challenges. This is now addressed through action plans and reduced expansion pace. In the transition to a lower dependence on fossil fuels and a Europe that wants to secure local production from European suppliers, 4 to 1 Investments views European battery manufacturing and Northvolt as a long-term investment.

“4 to 1 Investments was prepared to take responsibility as a long-term owner and support Northvolt with capital in the financing process that has been ongoing during the autumn, but notes that there was not support from a sufficiently broad group of the company’s key stakeholders. A Chapter 11 process provides new conditions for further development of Northvolt. In the reconstruction process the company is now embarking on, we will continue the constructive dialogue we have with the company,” says Jenny Askfelt Ruud, Chairman of the Board of Directors of 4 to 1 Investments.

“Northvolt is now entering a new phase. 4 to 1 Investments’ focus is now to protect invested values and, as part of this, take responsibility and work for the company’s best interests in the long term. The way forward has not yet been mapped out, but we continue to have a close dialogue with the company and are following developments closely. Prior to the investment in Northvolt, a comprehensive evaluation was done and our overall assessment is still that there is a need for a European ecosystem of companies for electrification and fossil-free transport,” concludes Jenny Askfelt Ruud.

4 to 1 Investments

4 to 1 Investments, a company jointly owned by AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4, has invested a total of SEK 5.8 billion in shares and convertible debt in Northvolt. This corresponds to just under 0.3 percent of the four AP Funds’ total assets under management of approximately SEK 2,000 billion at mid-2024.

AP2 and Climate & Company, Germany’s leading Sustainable Finance Think Tank, have jointly developed a new guide that will make it easier for financial institutions to do due diligence on deforestation. The guide contains clear guidelines, a practical step-by-step approach and helps financial institutions to make deforestation-related data actionable and due diligence more efficient.

“As financial institutions, we face significant financial risks from deforestation. As investors and owners in companies that have an impact on these risks, we have the responsibility and leverage to support a sustainable transition for climate and nature”, explains Asa Mossberg, Head of Sustainability and Communication at AP2.

Read the press release on Climate & Company’s website

AP2 supports Spring, an investor initiative from PRI that wants to accelerate corporate action to promote nature. With the support of over 200 investors who manage USD 15 trillion, the initiative wants to work to reduce businesses’ operational risks, improve the management of companies’ supply chains and ensure responsible and transparent political influence.

Press release
Spring website

As a partner of the global WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award, we can announce that the recipients of the WIN WIN Award and WIN WIN Youth Award 2024 on the theme “Inclusive transition” are Just Transition Center and Natur og Ungdom.

WIN WIN Award

The Just Transition Center (JTC) is an international center founded by the global trade union umbrella organization ITUC, with the aim of ensuring that workers have a seat at the table when planning the green transition. The Just Transition Center acts as a service hub and contributes knowledge, funding and facilitation of conversations between workers and trade unions on the one hand and employers and governments on the other to reach solutions that benefit both people and nature.

WIN WIN Youth Award

Natur og Ungdom is Norway’s largest environmental and climate organization for young people. With over 5,300 members between the ages of 13-25, their goal is to give young people a powerful voice in the social debate and actual impact on politics. In March 2023, they launched “The Ten Commandments for Green Industry” together with Norwegian oil workers via the trade union Industriaksjonen. The agreement sets out principles for an accelerated and inclusive green transformation of the industry that benefits workers and local communities, locally and globally.

Read more about the award winners. Home | WIN WIN Award

AP2 has released its first combined climate and nature report in accordance with the frameworks Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

The Fund has for several years published a climate report in accordance with TCFD. For 2023, the Fund has expanded the report by implementing reporting on biodiversity according to TNFD.

Climate and biodiversity are two focus areas in AP2’s sustainability work. The Fund sees TCFD and TNFD as support for the work of identifying and managing the Fund’s climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities, and at the same time encouraging companies to be transparent via annual and comparable reporting.

Read the report here.

The work of the Council on Ethics during 2023 has in large part focused on the new organisation with a new strategy, and intensive work with the selected focus areas. Of many important sustainability topics, five focus areas have been prioritised: Antimicrobial resistance, Child labour and forced labour, Climate, Big tech and human rights, and Water.

Magdalena Håkansson, Chair of the Council on Ethics during 2023, notes that the rapid development in the field of sustainability places ever greater demands on the AP Funds’ sustainability work. During 2023, the work of the Council on Ethics has largely consisted of developing its activities in line with the new strategy and governance model adopted in 2022.

“During the year, we have continued to develop the Council per the new strategy with a new governance model and more resources, which will allow us to achieve better outcomes more efficiently over time.” says Magdalena Håkansson. “We have also decided on five new focus areas for our proactive work.”

During 2023, the Council on Ethics decided on five focus areas for proactive engagement; Antimicrobial resistance, Child labour and forced labour, Climate, Big tech and human rights, and Water. The proactive work aims to prevent and manage significant sustainability risks in the AP Funds’ portfolios through dialogue with companies. One example of proactive efforts is in the Big Tech and human rights focus area – an area which the Council on Ethics has been involved in since 2019.

“Social media is playing an increasingly important role in society and brings many benefits but also several challenges in relation to human rights,” explains Jenny Gustafsson, the new Head of the Council on Ethics since June 2023. “In March 2023, the Council launched a partnership with some 30 institutional investors with over EUR 7,000 billion under management. These investors will work together for positive change in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”

In parallel, around 3,500 companies have been screened for possible involvement in breaches of international norms. In total, 76 dialogues were conducted during 2023, of which seven were closed as the objectives were met. The reactive work is based on the international conventions and guidelines that Sweden has ratified, and the Council on Ethics uses structured processes to identify and manage sustainability risks in the AP Funds’ portfolios.

In individual cases, the dialogue does not lead to the desired outcome, and the Council on Ethics may then recommend that the AP Funds exclude the company. Three companies have been recommended for exclusion in 2023. An important part of the work is also to ensure that excluded companies can be re-included.

“The goal of the Council’s activities is to influence companies to improve, and we are pleased to see significant progress among the companies we have engaged in dialogue with during the year, five of which have fully achieved their objectives,” explains Jenny Gustafsson. “We have also been able to remove the exclusion recommendation for a company which has improved its management of labour rights.”

The Council on Ethics of the AP Funds
The First, Second, Third, and Fourth AP Funds (AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4) coordinate their work on environmental and ethical issues through the joint the Council on Ethics. The full Annual Report 2023, English version, will be available in April.

For more information:

Jenny Gustafsson, Head of the Council on Ethics of the AP Funds, e-mail: jenny.gustafsson@councilonethics.org

Åsa Mossberg, 2024 Chair of the Council on Ethics of the AP Funds , e-mail: asa.mossberg@ap2.se

Andra AP-fonden (AP2) has had a sustainable infrastructure portfolio since 2020. Investments are to be made in infrastructure companies/platforms and funds whose business activities are related to sustainable growth in line with the Paris Agreement, and without compromising return expectations. Generation of renewable energy is to be the main investment focus, although the portfolio may also include investments in battery production plants, power line networks, expansion of hydrogen infrastructure, and so on.

One of the investments are Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which is one of the largest global funds for development and operation of wind farms with a focus on offshore wind. CIP has now invested USD 350 million in Korean offshore wind projects. Read the press release here.

The government has appointed Torbjörn Dalin as a new member of AP2’s Board of Directors and from 1 August Ingrid Albinsson as Vice Chair. Members of the Board are thus:

Jan Roxendal (Chair)
Ingrid Albinsson (from 1 Aug 2023)
Hanse Ringström
Torbjörn Dalin
Åsa Erba-Stenhammar
Agneta Wallmark
Rikard Andersson
Mikael Bohman

As a partner to the global sustainability award WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award, we can now announce that the recipients of the 2023 award are Bellingcat and its founder Eliot Higgins (WIN WIN Award) and Abbie Richards (WIN WIN Youth Award). The theme this year is Fighting Disinformation.

WIN WIN Award

Bellingcat’s innovative techniques have spearheaded a new era of investigative journalism, resulting in the discovery of crucial information about pressing global issues. As an autonomous, international collective of journalists, researchers, and media analysts, Bellingcat employs open-source information, social media, and other publicly available resources to probe conflicts and crises across the globe. Notably, Bellingcat’s findings played a significant role in the Oscar-winning documentary on Aleksei Navalny.

WIN WIN Youth Award

Abbie Richards has created the interactive chart “The Conspiracy Chart”, which has become widely popular around the world and used by both academics and government agencies to communicate the complexity of conspiracy theories. Abbie Richards is praised for her ability to educate and engage a wide audience using humour, facts, and accessible graphic design, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of some of today’s most complex social issues.

The prize will be awarded at the WIN WIN Awards annual gala on October 20 in Gothenburg.

Read more about the winners.

Jenny Gustafsson has been appointed as the new Head of the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics. Jenny joins the Council from AMF and will lead the work of further strengthening the Council and contributing both to value creation in the income pension system and to more sustainable societies. The recruitment is part of the development of the Council.

AP Funds AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4 have recruited Jenny Gustafsson to the role of Head of the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics. Jenny will be responsible for the continuing the development of the Council’s activities. This involves working towards the new long-term goals for operations, building an organisation and ensuring that the AP Funds continue to operate as exemplary managers and responsible owners in the field of sustainability, with a strong foundation of trust and a solid reputation.

Jenny has for many years held leading positions in sustainable investments in the asset management organisations at AMF and Handelsbanken. She has engaged in advocacy work in areas such as climate change and human rights with Swedish and international companies. She has also played a part in the growing coordination and development of sustainability issues in the financial sector. Jenny will take up the position in June.

Magdalena Håkansson, Chair of the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics, says:
“We are delighted with the recruitment of Jenny Gustafsson and her combined skills and experience in leadership and sustainable investments. The Head of the Council has a particularly key role in strengthening the AP Funds’ work as responsible owners. It has been important to find a person who both has a great understanding of the complex advocacy work that we have ahead of us, and can lead and develop the new Council.”

Jenny Gustafsson, incoming Head of the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics:
“I have long followed the work of the AP Funds and the Council on Ethics with great interest. I can say that the Council has a good reputation, not least internationally, thanks to a solid, long-term approach. I am both pleased and honoured to be given the opportunity to build on and develop the activities of the Council, going forward. Personally, my driving force is to develop sustainability strategies and to influence companies to change, while contributing to long-term value creation in both companies and society.”

For more information, contact:
Magdalena Håkansson, Chair of the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics, +46 8 566 20 200

The AP Funds Council on Ethics
See previous press releases on the development work of the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics.

The AP Funds’ Council on Ethics is a collaboration between AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4 on sustainability issues, with the aim of strengthening the AP Funds as exemplary managers and responsible owners, based on a strong foundation of trust and a solid reputation. The aim of the collaborative effort is to achieve a positive impact on portfolio companies and their value chains from an economic, environmental and social perspective. Collaboration within the Council on Ethics has a strong position both nationally and internationally and today plays a key role, through dialogue and engagement, in driving positive change in foreign companies in which the Swedish AP Funds are shareholders.

The Council works both proactively and reactively with companies in the portfolios held by the AP Funds. The point of departure is that over time, well-managed and responsible companies provide higher returns at lower risk. The Council’s aim is for companies and sectors to use a systematic, structured and transparent approach to working on sustainability.

As of 1 January, the Council’s organisation consists of a new Board with one member from each fund appointed by the respective CEO. The Council’s Secretariat will be reinforced with additional resources in the form of the incoming Head of the Council on Ethics. Read more at www.etikrådet.se