This week's guest Eivind Fliflet took a break from parental leave (when we recorded this episode in May 2022) to talk with us about what it's like working for the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management. Owning 1.3% of the globe's listed companies, you need only take a quick look at their website to see the oil fund's market value going up by hundreds of millions of Norwegian krone before your very eyes. Eivind, who considers himself an idealistic pragmatist, heads up the Environmental Initiatives team within Corporate Governance at the fund and is responsible for weighing in on big topics such as climate change, biodiversity and ethics, and providing recommendations to the companies in which the Fund. We learn from Eivind how the Fund develops views and expectations on climate change and environmental, social and governance (ESG) guidelines to influence the global market and how sustainability needs to be embedded in an organisation's core. We explore oxymorons, career shifts, CEO salaries and the point when Eivind personally discovered the complexities of solving wicked sustainability problems and the paradox that exists between strategy vs action. He shares his views on internal activism and burnout, company value alignment, and that you can be impactful whilst having a balanced approach (something we both struggle with!). For change makers listening to this episode, Eivind leaves us with some words of insight to propel you into your own impact journey.
