ESG Report 2022

The GRI comprises over 80 indicators for economic, social and environmental performance, with certain core indicators that must be reported on unless they are considered to be of limited importance to the company.

GRI is a set of general reporting indicators used by a number of industries, with many of the indicators being of particular relevance to larger companies. For example, Argentum does not have production activities or own buildings, but operates as an asset manager. The company has therefore decided to report on a selection of GRI indicators that are relevant to the company and its activities.

Below is an overview of the parameters Argentum reports on in connection with GRI.

Argentum’s business operations involve travelling. In 2022, this resulted in 64.0 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, while the corresponding figure for 2021 was 11.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. This constitutes a sharp increase compared to last year. The increase also contributes to an increase in emissions per employee, which have risen from 0.44 tonnes per FTE in 2021 to 2.44 tonnes per FTE in 2022.

The reason for the increased emissions is that travel activities resumed in 2022 after a couple of years with very limited travel activity due to Covid-19. Argentum has previously estimated that emissions over time will be around 60 tonnes per year and the 2022 emissions were just above this figure. Argentum is anxious not to travel any more than necessary to carry out the company’s activities and we make extensive use of the company’s video conferencing equipment for both internal and external meetings.

Argentum has an agreement with an external party to cover recycling of our discarded IT equipment, and we also require our suppliers to have environmental certification. Argentum has established environmental measures relating to paper recycling and 43% of paper waste was recycled in 2022. This is the same level as the previous year. The company has also established a new solution for the sorting of food waste and plastic waste at source.

Argentum had 25 employees at the end of 2022, compared with 27 employees at the start of the year. The number of full-time equivalents in 2022 was 26.2, which is used in average calculations in this report unless stated otherwise. Sickness absence accounted for 1.54 per cent of total working hours in 2022, a slight decrease from 2021 when it amounted to 1.77 per cent.

Argentum strives for equality and the proportion of women in the company remained stable in 2022, ending at 32.0 per cent, compared to 37.0 per cent in 2021. In a small organisation such as Argentum, new hires and departures will have a substantial impact on these percentages. The proportion of women on the board of directors is 40 per cent, but there are no women among the company’s management team, which consists of only two people. The proportion of women in the company’s investment departments was 9% at the end of the year.

Diversity and a good working environment are important for Argentum and the company is concerned that this should be reflected internally. This includes equal opportunities for all employees. Argentum’s business activities are within an industry that has traditionally been dominated by men. Argentum consciously uses both genders in the company’s promotional materials and in recruitment work directed at new employees and the best applicants will always be considered. The company has flexible arrangements that make it easier to combine career and private life. Argentum is constantly working to promote gender equality and to strengthen the work in this area. Argentum has signed the UN CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles to promote global gender equality work.

Skills development/training per employee amounted to an average of 11.13 hours in 2022, compared with 9.66 hours in 2021. Recruitment to the company will have an effect on the level of courses and skills development. Argentum will also continue to focus on developing the expertise of its employees.

This report summarises Argentum’s work on ESG and sustainability and is published annually.²⁴ The status of the work is also summarised in the company’s annual report.²⁵ An annual meeting is held with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries that is specifically related to ESG work. Argentum’s reports and guidelines are available via our digital library.

As a member of the UN Global Compact, Argentum reports on the work relating to ESG and sustainability. Argentum completed its tenth report in 2022 and this report is available via the Global Compact website. Argentum has followed the UN PRI principles for a number of years and signed them in 2021. We will complete our first UN PRI report in 2023.

Argentum has been a member of Norsif (Norwegian Forum for Responsible and Sustainable Investment) for a number of years. Norsif is an independent association of asset owners and asset managers, service providers and industry associations with an interest in responsible and sustainable management. Argentum has been active in the association since it was established and has previously been represented on the association’s events committee.

Argentum also aims to work closely with Norwegian and international investors to develop work on ESG in the portfolio. The company participated in Private Equity International and the UN PRI Responsible Investment Forum in 2022, both and attended several conferences and seminars related to ESG and sustainability in the course of the year. Argentum will continue collaborating with Sustainability Hub Norway in 2023 following a successful collaboration in connection with the Sustainable Finance & Reporting Summit in April 2022 in Oslo, at which we focused on sustainable finance and sustainability reporting in the unlisted market. The company has also delivered talks to other external parties relating to the company’s sustainability work in 2022 and will speak at the UK Venture Capital Association’s ESG conference in spring 2023.

During the course of the year, we spoke a lot with students about ESG and sustainability. We have volunteered as a case business for NHH students on the “Sustainable Finance” programme and this involves being interviewed so that they can create a report with tips for improvement. In 2022, we continued to focus on how we can attract more women to the finance sector as the main sponsor of the NHH Initiative SHE Innovates, as well as by participating in Women’s Finance Day, where we also delivered workshops to female students. Our experiences of the initiatives were positive and Argentum has continued these partnerships into 2023.

Argentum has regular dialogue with investors, managers and other stakeholders in connection with the ESG work and has assisted with their work on developing their ESG processes and routines. Argentum will continue its dialogue with Norwegian and international investors in connection with ESG and sustainability work in 2023 and recently appointed a new Head of ESG to further strengthen the company’s ESG efforts.