Sustainable Investment Review Q3 2026

We're pleased to present this latest edition of Storebrand AM’s quarterly Sustainable Investment Review (SIR), for the third quarter of 2026.

The third quarter of 2026 followed in the "new normal" of facing unexpected twists and turns, alongside the larger set of known and expected challenges of sustainable investment. Among the surprises, with the release of the report from the Gjedrem Commission's review of Ethical Guidelines of Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the Oil Fund, are some significant proposed changes. These include recommendations to the exclusion process for the Oil Fund and the role of the Council of Ethics, greater focus on active ownership as a tool, changes to the type of information and timing of information to be provided with an exclusion, and to potentially to allow for investment in nuclear weapons producers. This could indicate a shift in the field of sustainable investment. The way the Oil Fund has been governed has long been the "gold standard" in the investment industry; if, and to what extent, their methods and processes will be echoed by others across the sector is yet to be seen.

During the quarter, we were honoured to receive valuable recognition for our work in sustainable investment. First, with the Financial Reporting Council confirming Storebrand AM as a signatory to the UK Code 2026. We were also named Sustainable Investment Fund Management Group of the Year at Investment Week’s Sustainable Investment Awards 2026 in London, where the judges recognized our leadership in active ownership, human rights due diligence, as well as our leading role in advancing both climate- and nature-related initiatives.

With artificial intelligence technologies continuing to dominate the business and public interest agenda, we are honoured to be able to feature in this issue a guest insight from Dr. Jan Rydzak, Executive Director of the organization Ranking Digital Rights, which works to create global standards and incentives for companies on users' rights. Drawing on his lengthy expertise in corporate accountability and users' rights, Dr. Rydzak touches upon glaring gaps between AI companies' ambitions and governance of their products, before moving on to point out some key signposts for investors to look out for, as they assess the risks and opportunities of AI.

Among the other strong analysis on offer in this issue, we feature Governance Analyst Erik Hogberg's assessment of major threats to shareholder proposals as an engagement tool; Sustainability Analyst Victoria Liden's assessment of how the new EU Green Bond Standard could impact the green bond market; and an introduction to the Storebrand AM's Solutions team's brand-new white paper on bridging climate change risks and opportunities. We also provide some insight into some of our on-going engagements, including with Telenor ASA regarding its former operations in Myanmar, in which we have been focused, and continue to do so, on securing a clear set of actions regarding human rights risk mitigation and transparency for investors.

Looking ahead, one of our major focus areas during the upcoming fourth quarter will be the COP17 biological diversity conference in Armenia, where our Head of Climate and Environment Emine Isciel will be attending as an observer on behalf of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, which we are a leading member of. Readers can look out for a post-COP17 assessment from us, following the event. For now, this quarter's report features a short interview of Emine, in which she previews the event, discusses why it matters for investors, and points out some key areas to look out for in terms of likely impact.

All this, and more, including data on our engagement and voting activity, is available to explore in this issue: Storebrand Sustainable Investment Review Q3 2026. We hope you will find it informative and engaging!