SDFI and Petoro annual report 2023
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Statement on human rights due diligence pursuant to the Transparency Act

The Transparency Act entered into force on 1 July 2022. Through stricter requirements for transparency and due diligence, the Transparency Act aims to help prevent human rights violations and improper employment at the enterprises' business associates and in the supplier chain. For Petoro, this means that the company will provide information to anyone who requests it regarding how the company handles actual and potential negative impact on fundamental human rights and decent employment. Petoro received no such inquiries in 2023.
 

Nature of the enterprise 

Petoro AS is a state-owned limited liability company which safeguards the state's participating interests in joint ventures on Norwegian continental shelf. The majority of the company's activities therefore take place as a licensee in such joint ventures established under the Joint Operating Agreement. In accordance with Offshore Norge Guideline No. 148, the operator is primarily responsible for undertaking risk-based human rights due diligence in connection with the joint venture's activities. As a result of the Guideline assigning responsibility for human rights due diligence to the licensee company, Petoro generally uses the operator's human rights due diligence as a basis for its own due diligence under the Transparency Act.

Petoro conducts its own human rights due diligence for suppliers and business partners outside the mentioned joint ventures.

Human rights due diligence as a partner in joint ventures

According to the industry guideline referenced above, Petoro can use the operator's human rights due diligence as a basis for its own due diligence. As an obligated party pursuant to the statute, Petoro also conducts its own assessments. This takes place by Petoro assessing whether the information the operator in the joint venture has provided is sufficient for the company to fulfil its obligations under the Transparency Act.

Petoro has availed itself of existing arrangements in the Joint Operating Agreement to address human rights due diligence associated with the joint venture's activities in the following manner in 2023:
  • Petoro has ensured in multiple Partner Forums, and alongside the other licensees, that the operator has explained its efforts on human rights due diligence. This has included pointing out incomplete or lacking explanations.
  • Through active participation in the joint venture's Management Committee, Petoro has focused on ensuring that the operator's efforts to identify and manage risk have included sharing information about any actual negative impact and substantial risk of negative impact associated with the joint venture's activities. This also covers compliance with the Transparency Act.
No circumstances have come to light in 2023 which gave grounds for action from Petoro.
 

Human rights due diligence in Petoro AS

Separate human rights due diligence is undertaken for the company's suppliers outside the mentioned joint ventures. Work on human rights due diligence is codified in an internal guideline in accordance with a framework based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, and ownership is assigned to the company's management and Board.
 
OECD Due Diligence guidance for responsible business conduct
OECD Due Diligence guidance for responsible business conduct

Source: OECD

Petoro has conducted human rights due diligence based on the nature and degree of risk, as well as the company's connection to relevant risks in 2023. All suppliers have been subject to due diligence based on Petoro's ability to influence them and the defined risk, including type of activity and the organisation's geographical location. Suppliers have furthermore been split into different categories to ensure that the most serious risks are prioritised first. Measures are implemented to follow up the supplier based on their category.

The mapping has not revealed actual negative impact from the company's activities, either at Petoro or at the company's suppliers or business partners.

Measures and expectations for suppliers

Petoro has worked on corporate social responsibility as an integrated part of the company's governance for several years, and will continue this work in 2024. The focus will be on internal training and awareness campaigns in an effort to ensure good compliance and continuous improvement in the organisation.

Petoro expects its partners and contractors/suppliers to maintain the same ethical standards set for its own business operations. Petoro's standard contractual terms incorporate requirements that contractors/suppliers must execute the assignment with a high level of professionalism and in accordance with high ethical standards. An extract from the company's guidelines on business ethics is incorporated into all Petoro's standard contracts as a normative standard. The management committee in each joint venture is responsible for considering and deciding issues related to the procurement and contract strategy.