Business enterprises and the environmental information act in Norway

• Author: Hans Petter Graver
• Pages: 3-23

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 12 MARCH 2017 NO. 1

DOI 10.3868/s050-006-017-0002-9

FOCUS

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL

INFORMATION ACT IN NORWAY1

Hans Petter Graver*

Abstract Making market operators responsible for having and giving access to

information about their impact on the environment is an important part of changing the

way the economy operates in relation to environmental sustainability. To this end, the

Norwegian access to environmental information act has established a right for the public

to access to environmental information from private entities such as business enterprises.

In this point, the Norwegian Act goes further than international rules, such as the Aarhus

Convention, and also further than any other national legislation. This article presents the

rules on access to information from business enterprises, and presents and discusses

examples from the implementation of these rules.

Keywords Aarhus Convention, access to information, corporate social responsibility,

environmental information, responsible business

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 4

I. LEGAL BACKGROUND ................................................................................................. 6

II. A CLOSER PRESENTATION OF THE ACT....................................................................... 8

III. REQUIREMENTS OF DISCLOSURE IN OTHER LEGISLATION ...................................... 10

IV. DEFINING THE SCOPE OF THE ACT: THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL

* Hans Petter Graver, Doctorate of Laws, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Professor, Faculty of Law,

University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. He was Chairman of the government commission that drafted the proposal

for the Access to Environmental Information Act in 2001, and is presently Chairman of the Environmental

Information Appeals Board. Contact: h.p.graver@jus.uio.no

1 This article is based on lectures held at the Tsinghua University Law School on Apr. 12, 2016 and

Renmin University of China Law School on Apr. 23, 2016 and the helpful comments I received afterwards.

The writing of the article was facilitated by the hospitality of the Human Rights Center at Renmin University

of China and Dr. LU Haina who kindly received me as a guest researcher at her Center. I am also grateful to

Ms. Ingeborg Stene at the Norwegian Environment Agency for assistance in preparing the notes for the

lectures.

2 An unofficial translation of the Act into English is provided by the Norwegian government, available at

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/environmental-information-act/id173247/ (last visited Sep. 26,

2016).

4 FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA [Vol. 12: 3

INFORMATION...........................................................................................................11

V. THE DUTY TO HOLD INFORMATION.......................................................................... 14

VI. THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION.................................................................................. 15

VII. EXEMPTIONS ......................................................................................................... 18

VIII. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES........................................................................... 21

CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 22

INTRODUCTION

Increasing the public awareness and knowledge of the environment, as well as of

factors affecting or likely to affect it, will lead to a better environment. Access to

information will also lead to a better and more informed public debate, and contribute to

democracy and public participation in decision-making affecting the environment. In

order to give information, one must have it, and knowledge is the key to better

performance. Being under an obligation to systematize and disclose environmental

information helps organizations improve their efficiency in their management of

resources, obtain a better understanding of the environmental risks they are facing, and

through this enhance their reputation. For such reasons both international and national

legal rules give rights to access to environmental information.

In Norway, the 2003 Environmental Information Act provides access to

environmental information. The Act is unique in an international context in that it gives a

right to environmental information not only from public authorities, but also from private

enterprises. According to the Act, any person is entitled to receive environmental

information from undertakings. In this context, undertakings are all public and private

enterprises, including commercial businesses and other organized activities. The purpose

of this article is to present the rules on the right to environmental information from

undertakings, with a special emphasis on the right to access to environmental information

from business enterprises.

Business enterprises, such as industrial plants, operators within agriculture, forestry

and resource extraction hold information that is vital to those who want to assess the state

of the environment. Information on the way the operations are performed, and the plans

that such enterprises have for their future operations is crucial to anyone concerned about

the environment. The goods and service sector of the economy also holds vital

information on the composition of products put on the market, on the use of energy, and

on waste that is produced. In most jurisdictions, public authorities collect information on

business operations through their role as regulators. Many businesses are required to

report on the environmental impact of their activities. This means that public authorities

are holders of relevant information, and a right to access to information from public

authorities may provide information on business enterprises. However, in many cases it is

more efficient to obtain information directly from individual enterprises, and this may, in

some cases, be necessary to assess the environmental impact of an individual enterprise.