“PRESS RELEASE: World’s largest sovereign wealth fund divests from Peruvian consumer goods giant over human rights violations and deforestation in palm oil supply chain”, 5^th March 2020

…Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has divested all its holdings in Peru’s largest consumer goods company, Alicorp S.A.A., after it was revealed that the company was acquiring palm oil from a plantation linked to serious violations of indigenous peoples land rights and deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon.

NBIM, the asset management unit of the Norwegian central bank tasked with managing Norway’s oil fund, known as the Government Pension Fund Global, has today divested a total of USD $12.3 million from Alicorp.

This decision to divest by one of the world’s largest investment funds comes less than a year after the Shipibo-Konibo community and allies pointed out how Alicorp’s operations failed to comply with NBIM’s standards for companies, including its ‘expectation documents’ on human rights and climate change. The complainants also urged NBIM to adopt stringent procedures to prevent any further sourcing of commodities linked to human rights violations and deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. Meanwhile, independent analysts warned last year that Alicorp’s financial growth could be damaged by its growing environmental, social and governance risks…