Norway’s largest pension fund, KLP, has announced that it will not invest in US-based Caterpillar “due to the risk of bulldozers being used in violation of human rights”.
“KLP and KLP Funds (KLP) have decided to exclude Caterpillar Inc. from their investment portfolios due to the risk that the US company could contribute to human rights abuses and violations of international law in the West Bank and Gaza,” KLP said in a statement.
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Kiran Aziz, the Norwegian fund’s head of environment, social and governance, said that Caterpillar has long supplied bulldozers and other equipment used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure to pave the way for Israeli settlements, and that the company’s equipment has been allegedly used in connection with the Israeli Defense Forces’ war in Gaza since October 7.
Aziz said that KLP has been in dialogue with Caterpillar for several months, adding, “Since the company could not assure us that it was doing anything about it, we decided to exclude the company from the investment.”
“While Caterpillar has shown a willingness to dialogue with KLP, the company’s responses did not provide credible evidence of its ability to actually reduce the risk of violations of the rights of individuals or violations of international law in situations of war or conflict. The company cannot assure us that it is doing anything about this.”
On the other hand, KLP held shares worth 728 million Norwegian kroner (about $70 million) in Caterpillar before it decided to divest its stake on June 17, the statement said.
In 2021, the Norwegian fund removed a total of 16 companies based in Israel, Europe and the US from its portfolio due to their links to illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
