In June 2006, Statnett’s board of directors decided that Statnett should have an Ethics Ombudsman. Erik Bruun, a lawyer at Statnett’s legal department, was appointed as Ombudsman (a position he still holds).

Statnett's fundamental ethical principle is that we have absolute requirements for integrity and must not deviate from our ethical principles. For Statnett, ethical principles mean that we:

 

• Comply with laws, regulations and human rights
• Act with honesty and fairness
• Strive for openness, compliance and transparency within the organisation
• Do not act in a manner which could compromise our neutrality, integrity or credibility
• Do not receive or give gifts or services which could impact on our business conduct or independence
• Do not use confidential information to obtain personal gain for either ourselves or others

 

 Statnett has adopted internal ethical guidelines based on these principles.

 

The Ethics Ombudsman’s form of working
The ethics representative shall be a person of trust who reinforces the legal protection of the employees, and contributes to the uncovering of censurable circumstances and deficiencies of the system that is being practised. The Ombudsman can bring up matters on his own initiative, but investigations will generally be initiated following an approach from an employee or employee organisation. In purely practical terms, the Ombudsman will investigate and report on information given by employees concerning any injustices and/or errors committed by the company or its employees or management. The Ombudsman reports directly to the CEO. In cases where the group’s senior management or CEO should become involved, the Ombudsman will have direct contact with the chairman of the board of directors.

 

The Ombudsman shall:

• Deal with possible breaches of Statnett’s ethical guidelines.
• Give guidance concerning ethical questions.

 

It is extremely important that the person who brings up a matter with the Ombudsman is able to remain anonymous if he or she so wishes, and that the person who reports a matter is protected by the entire organisation if he or she wishes to come forward. All contact with the Ombudsman is therefore anonymous, unless otherwise clearly agreed in each individual case. The fact that employees are able to act anonymously could open up the possibility of the system being abused in that employees can make claims without risk of having to be held accountable for them. It is not possible to provide clear rules/routines that prevent this entirely, so the representative must be aware of this issue and assess it on a case-by-case basis.

 

The Ombusdman’s reporting
The Ombudsman is required to report the number of enquiries and the number of cases processed annually. If matters have had direct visible consequences within the organisation, this should also be reported. In such cases, if the employee wishes to remain anonymous, the Ombudsman has a special follow-up responsibility with respect to the employee to ensure that the protection provided by the company is effective. Individual communication is confidential and the reporting must take this into account. The reporting must therefore be carried out in such a way that no one should be afraid that the requirement for anonymity is not being fulfilled.

 

If you have any questions or should wish to contact Statnett’s Ethics Ombudsman, he can be contacted on tel. 22 52 70 00 or by e-mail: erik.bruun@statnett.no.