Greenpeace has criticised the Norwegian government for hypocrisy in relation to its ethical investments in Malaysia.While the criticism itself is regarded in some quarters, both within Norway and without, as negative publicity, it actually provides an excellent example of how ethical investments have a positive impact on the development of corporate standards and business practices around the globe.Norway's global investments are managed by the state-owned Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages a fund of over $450 billion, much of it invested according to ethical investment principles and based on ethical investment criteria.Norway currently has over $16m invested in Sinar Mas, a Malaysian company which includes biofuels in its product range.However, Sinar Mas stands accused of destroying rainforest and orang-utan habitats as part of its campaign to free up land for production of palm oil, which is a key ingredient of its biofuels. Sinar Mas has already admitted to clearing land for plantation, before it had received permits or made conservation assessments.While the Norwegian government is treating the accusations of hypocrisy as negative publicity, there is also a positive side to the story.The pressure from Greenpeace also highlights how governments and ethical investment companies are struggling to ensure that their cash benefits only those companies which demonstrate high standards of environmental commitment and corporate governance.They also demonstrate how they can adjust their ethical portfolios to avoid those companies and industries with skeletons in their ethical closet.The situation in Indonesia also shows how a development on the global stage, while appearing to be a positive environmental development, can be fraught with ethical concerns and problems when you dig a little deeper.
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