Abstract
This anthropological project centers Norway’s Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) scene to understand how a culture creates its unique interpretation of a global socio-legal concept, in my case, the fiduciary duty. ESG investing is a recent financial trend, claiming to allocate capital according to environmental and social sustainability concerns. Despite their self-claimed commitment to society and the environment, ESG professionals still need to prioritize returns for shareholders, i.e., live up to their fiduciary duties, just as their non-ESG counterparts. Other ESG actors, such as corporate watchdogs or civil society organizations, take issue with financial institutions’ competing loyalties to their shareholders and stakeholders. As the manifold actors in the ESG scene contend and negotiate with each other, a uniquely Norwegian disposition towards sustainability in business and finance comes to life.
I begin with the premise that fiduciary duty is a globally shared foundation for financial undertakings, with culturally unique interpretations that contribute to differing ESG trajectories. By focusing on the relations and interactions between different ESG actors (e.g., institutional investors, private asset managers, NGOs, industry associations, corporate watchdogs, research institutes), I seek to discern the processes through which these different actors arrive at a shared stance for what is good for the manifold stakeholders: what kinds of discourses do they mobilize, whose interests do they give particular attention, and whose benefit do they consider disposable?
On top of providing insight into the challenges and promises of ESG investing, this study will have two other wider anthropological implications: First, it will shed light on how different actors in Norwegian society define “common good” and pursue it. Second, it will demonstrate how human beings create localized meanings for seemingly global concepts, such as fiduciary duty, human rights, or personhood.
Tentative List of Contents
Background chapter on financial regulation and fiduciary duty in Norway
- How does the Norwegian law define fiduciary duty? What are some written and unwritten limitations on financial institutions when they wish to pursue ESG goals
- How is financial sector regulated? What are some important pieces of legislation, and what do they say?
- What are the significant actors in “regulatory ecology” (ministries, financial institutions, civil society, etc.)? And how do they influence the scene?
Case study 1: Financial institutions
- Significant examples of financial institutions re-defining/re-iterating their fiduciary duty through their actions
Case study 2: Civil society organizations
- Significant examples of civil society supporting/contesting financial institutions’ understanding of their fiduciary duty
- Examples: Posco incident (2014); Aker Kværner incident (2006); anything else?
Case study 3: Government and/or political parties (or something else)
- Significant examples of government/political party involvement in the context of sustainable finance and fiduciary duty
- I am open to considering other bodies/actors as well
My background
I am a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of Virginia, and I am a visiting doctoral researcher at the Social Anthropology Institute at UiO. I am still in the early stages of this project: After completing my PhD coursework in May 2022, I arrived in Oslo in September 2022 to start my fieldwork. I am currently learning the language and getting acquainted with the culture, and trying to meet as many contacts as possible in different lines of work, who are similarly committed to sustainability in business and finance. I have made a few contacts with civil society organizations but I am yet to connect with financial institutions.
I need help/advice on following questions:
- What should I include in the background chapter? Which laws define the fiduciary duty of financial institutions in Norway? What are the important pieces of legislation, and other legal/regulatory documents that matter for the ESG/corporate sustainability scene in Norway? What about codes stemming from transnational initiatives (other than OECD guidelines)?
- What are some examples of financial institutions seeking to re-define/re-iterate their fiduciary duties? (For example: Is there a financial institution that was subject to scrutiny for failing to live up to its legally defined fiduciary duty?)
- What are some examples from the civil society seeking to expand the definition of fiduciary duty? (Are there more examples along the lines of Posco and Aker Kværner incidents?)
- Do you know any other actors/collective bodies that matter to this conversation? Who are they? What did they do/What are they doing?
Zoom link to the seminar
https://uio.zoom.us/j/62158325382?pwd=SEdCbTNXU2xiYURVVDVUUmdOamJudz09
Meeting ID: 621 5832 5382
Passcode: 067337
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