Statkraft welcomes statement on the SSVAB/Jijnjevaerie case

Back in October 2012, Jijnjevaerie Saami village in Sweden submitted a complaint to both the Swedish and the Norwegian National Contact Points (NCPs) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the OECD Guidelines) regarding SSVAB's planned wind power project in areas where the Saami village engages in reindeer herding. The NCPs have now reached a conclusion and a Final Statement was published 9 February 2016.

This is an excerpt from the Executive Summary of the Final statement:

"The NCPs have not found any grounds for concluding that there has been any non-compliance with the Guidelines on the part of SSVAB, but have pointed to some areas where there is room for improvement. Finally, the NCPs provide recommendations for how SSVAB can work in a manner that even more clearly promotes indigenous people's rights and the implementation of the Guidelines. The NCPs recommend that the parties show renewed will to negotiate an agreement on the further development of the wind power projects, the scope and extent of these projects, and compensation schemes."

Rachel Groux Nürnberg, SVP Head of Corporate Responsibility in Statkraft, comments "Statkraft welcomes the conclusion by the National Contact Points that the company has complied with the Guidelines, in particular that it has fulfilled its corporate responsibility to respect human rights. Statkraft sees the NCP final statement as constructive and will study carefully the recommendations provided and continue to engage with the Saami Village."

Statkraft SCA Vind AB (SSVAB) is a joint venture that has developed and constructed 514 MW wind power in Västernorrland and Jämtland counties in northern Sweden. Statkraft is the operator on behalf of the JV.