Sustainability and social responsibility

Havfonn’s approach is purpose-driven. The goal is to create values for our important companions – also for those who are not born yet. This is a cornerstone of Havfonn and is in our backbone as a legacy from the social involvement of our former generations. This has been a guiding principle since Sigval Bergesen the Elder started the first shipping company until the fourth generation established Havfonn in 2003. 

Over the last 10–15 years, the attention given to sustainability has increased markedly with our growing knowledge about the climate and nature crisis. The business community needs to take on a clear role to meet the challenges that are coming. In Havfonn’s sustainability work, we have in the last years used the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a primary tool to clarify where we can and wish to give priority to our contributions.

Havfonn’s prioritized sustainable development goals are:

How can Havfonn make a difference?

There are two direct channels by which we can influence. One is through active ownership and influence on companies we already are owners in. The second is which new companies we allocate resources to in the form of investments and capacity.

In companies that we are already engaged in, we work continuously to increase the companies’ reporting and awareness of areas where the potential for improvement is high. This starts with consistent and verifiable measurements of the companies’ impact on the sustainable development goals. The philosophy is simple: what is measured and acknowledged, receives attention and creates motivation for change.

Havfonn also puts pressure on the companies to connect their purpose to what serves society as a whole. As active owners we are of the opinion that one should not weigh business profitability against serving the society as a whole – these two goals are strongly convergent in the longer term.

In our work to find new ownership positions, it is a clear priority to look for engagements with a strong significance for our prioritized goals. We acknowledge that there are businesses that bring crucial products to market and that serve society well, but who do not meet current or future demands for sustainability. These are not excluded from our interest, but they must have a considerable potential for improving their sustainability to attract us as owners. 

Havfonn works actively to make a difference.

The Norwegian Transparency Act

The Transparency Act came into effect in Norway on July 1, 2022, with the aim of promoting businesses' respect for fundamental human rights and decent working conditions, as well as ensuring public access to information on how businesses handle negative impacts on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions.

Businesses covered by the Transparency Act are obliged to publish an annual statement by June 30th. To learn more about our efforts to promote good working conditions and compliance with fundamental human rights, please refer to the Fonn Group’s statement.

For more information about the Transparency Act, please visit The Consumer Authority’s information pages.

If you have any questions regarding our statement and approach to fundamental human rights and decent working conditions, please contact Isabell Gjermunds per email at ig@havfonn.no.