Stockholm (NordSIP) – The final recourse for sustainable investors who cannot get through to companies via their engagement efforts is to exclude these businesses from their portfolio. The motivations for these decisions often focus on the sector that these companies operate on and tend to fit in one of several categories that are believed to risk having a negative effect on society, be it addictive substances (alcohol and tobacco), exploitative practices (pornography and gambling), contributing to pollution (fossil fuels) or facilitating to normshuman right violations.
As the world continues to struggle with geopolitical instability, sustainable investors often find themselves forced to decide whether it is worth remaining invested in some of the companies participating in these conflicts. KLP Kapitalforvaltning, the asset management arm of the mutual insurance company that manages the pensions of municipal employees in Norway, is one of the most reactive investors regarding human rights risks.
Between 2003 and August 2025, KLP conducted over 88 exclusions due to the “risk of human rights violations”, “risk of human rights violation in war and conflict” or the “sales of weapons to countries in war”. The last three of these exclusions involved companies suspected of providing weapons that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is using in the conflict in Gaza: Oshkosh and ThyssenKrupp were excluded in June, and Next Vision Stabilized Systems was excluded at the start of August. Up until 16 June 2025, KLP and the KLP Funds owned shares worth around NOK 19 million in Oshkosh and around NOK 10 million in ThyssenKrupp.
Oshkosh and ThyssenKrupp
“In June 2024, KLP learned of reports from the UN that several named companies were supplying weapons or equipment to the IDF and that these weapons are being used in Gaza. On the basis of this information, KLP performed a thorough assessment of the companies and engaged in dialogue with them. Our conclusion is that the companies Oshkosh and ThyssenKrupp are contravening our responsible investment guidelines. We have therefore decided to exclude them from our investment universe,” says Kiran Aziz, Head of Responsible Investments at KLP Kapitalforvaltning.
According to KLP’s June decision, Oshkosh Corporation is a US industrial company that through its wholly owned subsidiary Oshkosh Defensesupplies vehicles to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). As for Germany’s ThyssenKrupp, KLP argues that it has previously sold warships to the IDF and has signed an agreement with the IDF to supply submarines capable of hitting targets on land with both conventional and nuclear armaments. The companies are being excluded on the basis of KLP’s criterion relating to the “sale of weapons to states in armed conflicts that use the weapons in ways that represent serious and systematic breaches of international law governing the conflicts.” An important factor in KLP’s decision is its belief that the companies failed to document the necessary due diligence in relation to their potential complicity in violations of humanitarian law. KLP has also emphasised the companies’ long-standing collaboration with the IDF and that weapons deliveries have continued after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
“Companies have an independent duty to exercise due diligence in order to avoid complicity in violations of fundamental human rights and humanitarian law,” Aziz adds.“This is an important tool for reducing KLP’s association with unacceptable conditions that are ongoing or likely to occur in the future is to exclude such companies. This is what we are doing here,” Aziz continues.
NextVision
According to KLP’s August decision, NextVision is an Israeli technology company and a leading producer of cameras. NextVision cameras are used in military drones manufactured by Israel’s largest defence contractor, Elbit Systems, which supplies the IDF with small attack drones armed with weapons and bombs.
“Drones have become an integral part of modern warfare. According to reports published by UN organisations and civil rights groups, military drones in Gaza have been used in violation of the basic principles of the law of war. As in other similar cases, exclusion is a way of reducing the risk of KLP being indirectly associated with unacceptable conditions that are ongoing or may occur in the future,” KLP argues.
