Our board of directors actively adheres to good corporate governance standards and will at all times ensure that Equinor either complies with the Norwegian Code of Practice for corporate governance or explains possible deviations from the Code of Practice.
The topic of corporate governance is subject to regular assessment and discussion by the board, including the text you are now reading. The Code of Practice is available at https://nues.no/english/.
The Code of Practice covers 15 topics, and the board statement covers each of these topics and Equinor's adherence to the Code of Practice. The statement describes the foundation and principles for Equinor's corporate governance structure, while more detailed factual information can be found here on our website, in our annual report on Form 20-F and in our sustainability report. Links to relevant information on our website are included in the statement. Information concerning corporate governance that Equinor is obliged to disclose pursuant to Section 3-3 b of the Norwegian Accounting Act is included in the statement below.
The information required by the Accounting Act is included in this statement as follows:
- "An overview of the recommendations and regulations concerning corporate governance that the enterprise is subject to or otherwise chooses to comply with": Described in this introduction as well as in section 1, "Implementation and reporting".
- "Information on where the recommendations and regulations mentioned in no 1 are available to the public": Described in this introduction.
- "Reasons for any non-conformance with recommendations and regulations mentioned in no 1"; There are two deviations from the Code of Practice's recommendations, one in section 6 "General meetings" and the other in section 14 "Take-overs". The reasons for these deviations are described under the respective sections of this statement.
- "A description of the main elements in the enterprise's, and for entities that prepare consolidated financial statements, also the Group's (if relevant) internal control and risk management systems linked to the financial reporting process": Described in section 10 "Risk management and internal control".
- "Articles of Association which entirely or partly expand or depart from provisions of Chapter 5 of the Public Limited Liability Companies Act": Described in section 6 "General meetings".
- "The composition of the board of directors, the corporate assembly, the committee of shareholders' representatives and the control committee and any working committees related to these bodies, as well as a description of the main instructions and guidelines that apply to the work of the bodies and any committees": Described in section 8 "Corporate assembly and board" and section 9 "The work of the board of directors".
- "Articles of Association governing the appointment and replacement of directors": Described in section 8 "Corporate assembly and board" under the sub-heading "Composition of the board of directors".
- "Articles of Association and authorisations empowering the board of directors to decide that the enterprise is to buy back or issue its own shares or equity certificates": Described in section 3 "Equity and dividends."
Up until reporting for 2022, the Board’s report on Corporate Governance was included in Equinor’s annual report chapter 3. Since presenting the annual report for 2023, the report on Corporate Governance has been published as a separate document.
NUES
The objective of the Norwegian Corporate Governance Board (NUES) is to keep the Norwegian Code of Practice updated and promote it in Norway and abroad. The latest version of the Code of Practice can be downloaded here.