Corporate social responsibility 2020 - Flipbook - Page 13
INDUSTRIENS PENSIONSFORSIKRING A/S
RAPPORT OM SAMFUNDSANSVAR 2020
ACTIVE OWNERSHIP
Human rights and transparency in Alphabet Inc.
– Google, YouTube etc.
Alphabet is the parent company of Google and
YouTube, among others. It is one of the largest
and most valuable companies in the world, with
billions of searches every day. Via Federated
Hermes EOS, Industriens Pension has had
ongoing dialogue with the company since 2018
about human rights issues associated with
artificial intelligence (AI). The challenge is the
lack of transparency with regard to how content
is prioritised on Google and YouTube, and
whether, due to such prioritisation, freedom of
expression is systematically restricted for certain
groups. Another challenge is how to avoid the
spread of unethical and controversial content,
such as videos of attacks or the recent attempts
to incite violence in connection with the
transition of the US presidency. In 2019 and
2020, Alphabet Inc. has taken steps to increase
transparency. The company has enhanced
collaboration with stakeholders measuring and
assessing the consequences of AI, and aspects
such as sustainability, data privacy and human
rights have been included as areas of
responsibility for the company’s internal audit
committee. Industriens Pension will continue to
promote the involvement of the company's
board of directors in ensuring responsible use of
AI.
With regard to Danish companies, we engage in
dialogue directly with companies in our Danish
portfolio. As a relatively large and long-term
investor, we have in-depth knowledge about
companies on the Danish market, and a longstanding, trust-based relationship with the
managements of the companies. For the same
reason, we also vote at the general meetings of
all Danish portfolio companies.
Most often, our dialogue with companies
involves that we investigate and point out
aspects where, in our opinion, the company has
a potential for improvement. We will not usually
find it necessary to approach the management
directly or to cooperate with other investors to
put pressure on the company.
Case - Novo Nordisk
production in Iran
In 2020, Novo Nordisk opened a factory in
Iran with local production of insulin. Novo
Nordisk has been criticised for its Iranian
cooperation partners in the process,
particularly the Setad organisation, a
business empire under the Iranian ayatollah
said to have been founded with assets
seized from critics of the regime. The
dilemma is that, on the one hand the Novo
Nordisk activities help to bring
improvements to the Iranian society and
population, while, on the other hand, the
activities may support a regime that violates
international weapons and human rights
conventions. Industriens Pension is in
dialogue with Novo Nordisk about these
issues, and we feel reassured that Novo
Nordisk has focus on the issues and is
making comprehensive investigations.
However, we will continue to follow up on
developments.
If, despite our repeated requests for a dialogue
with a company, the company refuses such
dialogue, and the company has a significant
adverse impact on society, we may ultimately
decide to exclude the company from our
investment universe.
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