Business Governance and Human Rights

Progressio Ireland has focused on our Government’s National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) and the Fund’s failure to introduce ethical guidelines.

Initially we looked at investments totaling €596 million made by the Fund in companies operating in Zimbabwe, a country plauged by human rights abuses and poor governance. This led us to consider the broader question of ethical guidelines in the NPRF.

The time is right for change. Today it is more widely accepted that the type of narrow investing criteria applied by the NPRF when it was set up in 2000 is no longer appropriate for public pension funds. All Scandinavian public pension funds and many other European, Australian and New Zealand private/public sector funds now have ethical criteria related to their investments. In addition all US State Pension Funds allow for the possibility of divestment.

At present there is an unacceptable risk that the NPRF invests in companies that contribute to serious ethical violations. These include human rights violations, serious environmental damage or gross corruption.

What is Progressio doing?
Progressio Ireland has highlighted the extent of NPRF investments by NPRF operating in Zimbabwe. We presented to the Foreign Affairs Oireachtas Committee on 16th June 2008. We later met with NPRF representatives and the Department of Finance.

We have lobbied Green Party politicians and worked with them on this issue. The Minister of Finance subsequently set up a cross-departmental review committee to examine the issue to report  in August 2009.

Progressio made a submission, which we believe will help inform the Government’s decisions. Download the Submission to Cross Departmental Committee