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Human rights

Respecting human rights is essential for our license to operate as a company and this fundamental principle has been embedded in Equinor’s corporate values, code of conduct and human rights policy for many years.

Additionally, respect for human rights is considered foundational for the health and safety of people involved in our business, establishing reliable supply chains, and realising a just energy transition. Our human rights efforts are a journey where we strive for continuous improvement in our performance and behaviour.

Various aspects of Equinor’s business can have potential negative impacts on people. Aware of this, we are committed to risk-based human rights due diligence to prevent such impacts where possible, and to facilitate or participate in remediation processes when they do occur as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Our human rights policy

Respect for human rights is embedded in our human rights policy, last updated and adopted by Equinor’s board of directors in 2024. The human rights policy is further operationalised through multiple internal work requirements and processes. Aware that many of our potential human rights impacts lie within our supply chain, we have additionally developed a human rights expectations of suppliers document.

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Our priority areas

Below are the four priority areas, also known as salient issues, that guide our ongoing human rights due diligence.

Unsafe working conditions

Working to respect safe, healthy and secure working conditions in our operations and supply chain.

Unethical recruitment of migrant workers in the supply chain

Working to respect ethical recruitment of migrant workers within the supply chain, including addressing the prevalence of recruitment fees, deception, document retention and restrictions to freedom of movement.

Wage-theft and excessive working hours in the supply chain

Working to respect that workers in the supply chain are paid what they are entitled to, including addressing wage withholding and managing fatigue and work-life balance.

Adverse impacts on local communities and indigenous peoples resulting from the use of land

Working to respect affected communities in proximity to our operations, including preventing and mitigating impacts on local resources, indigenous rights, economic displacement and physical displacement resulting from land use.

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Our approach to risk-based human rights due diligence

Identification of impacts

We aim to implement human rights due diligence systematically to be aware of the potential human rights impacts connected to our activities. Such impacts are identified and assessed throughout various processes, which can range from informal information gathering to formal grievance mechanisms.

Identification and assessment ilustration

Importantly, a human rights lens has been imbedded in our key corporate processes, including our supply chain management framework, business development framework, and enterprise risk management framework.

Reporting

We believe in open and transparent reporting of our actual human rights impacts and significant risks based on our most current information as disclosed in our annual report. This includes how we:

  • Embed responsible business conduct into our policies and governance
  • Identify and assess actual and potential adverse human rights impacts
  • Implement risk based due diligence to cease, prevent or mitigate adverse impacts, including recent disclosures based on actual impacts
  • Track our actions and measure our progress
  • Report and communicate externally
  • Provide for/cooperate in remediation

See our annual reporting by clicking the link below, including our UK Modern Slavery Statements and our statements in accordance with the Norwegian Transparency Act.

Sustainability reports archive

The Norwegian Transparency Act

We welcomed the introduction of the Norwegian Transparency Act in 2022, including its clearly defined duties for companies like ours to carry out risk-based human rights due diligence, report on our due diligence, and respond to stakeholder information requests. We consider our human rights due diligence framework to be in line with the international standards that form the basis for the Act.

Since 2024, following the incorporation of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into the Norwegian Accounting Act, our statement of due diligence according to the requirements of the Norwegian Transparency Act (Åpenhetsloven) §5 has been placed within our annual report. Please refer to the section “Norwegian Transparency Act – Statement of due diligence” for a detailed mapping of where human rights-related information, as stipulated in the Act, can be found within the wider report.

According to the Norwegian Transparency Act, upon written request any person has the right to information from an enterprise regarding how the enterprise addresses actual and potential adverse impacts for human rights and decent working conditions (see Act § 6 and 7 for more information).

Should you have an enquiry related to how Equinor addresses actual and potential adverse impacts on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions, please send us a request here.

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Raise a concern

We continuously encourage and remind our employees and any external third party that interacts with us, to raise concerns or report any suspected or potential breach of law or company policies.

Contact the Ethics Helpline