“Taking the word oil out of a name can be perceived as greenwashing and camouflage,” warned the Language Council last autumn. When a state body wants to change its name, the Language Council has a statutory responsibility to give advice before the new name is adopted. A few weeks later, it was nevertheless decided that in 2024 the words oil and petroleum should be removed from the names of a number of government bodies: These have changed names: The Ministry of Oil and Energy was renamed the Ministry of Energy. The Petroleum Safety Authority was renamed the Norwegian Maritime Safety Authority. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate was renamed the Norwegian Continental Shelf Directorate. – We cannot decide on a name, but we can remind them that the new name must reflect the content, says Åse Wetås, director of the Language Council. Director of the Language Council, Åse Wetås. Photo: Oda Hveem In a letter to the government, they pointed out that as long as oil and gas are important areas of work, it may seem like a cover-up operation to remove oil from all names. It was especially the name Sokkeldirektoratet that received criticism. “We would not advise against it on a linguistic basis, but it is a name that the ministry must choose at its own risk and defend against comments and criticism that will probably come,” they wrote. – All names get better over time, but this is not a good name in the first place, says Wetås. Do you think the state is behaving like a private company – the Norwegian Continental Shelf Directorate? Is that what they should be called? We have called Ketil Raknes, head of the department of communication at Kristiania University College, to check what he thinks about the name change. He is also a former politician for SV. – Help me! Ketil Raknes believes that the state behaves like private companies. Photo: Press photo He believes the Language Council’s assessment is 100 per cent correct, and compares it to selling shampoo: – We expect companies to make statements and promise things they can never keep. For example, that the shampoo should make your hair shine like never before. But public institutions have a completely different responsibility, says Raknes. He believes it would be wrong to use the language as a tool to acquire a greener profile. The state must communicate honestly, so a name must be precise and help taxpayers understand what they are doing, he explains. – That Statoil changed its name to Equinor, we just have to live with that, even though 99 percent of what they do is oil and gas. But the Norwegian state cannot pretend that they are doing something other than what they are actually doing, says Raknes. In Norway, oil and gas are extracted from what is called the continental shelf, which is an underwater extension of the coast. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB He believes that there is a huge wave of greenwashing going on in the private sector, and that there is a problem if the public sector starts behaving like a business. – Isn’t it a positive signal that they have the ambition to change? – I am not so concerned about what they are doing in 2050. I am concerned about what they are doing now. And right now they manage the extraction of oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf, says Raknes. The directorate does not agree with that. No grave beer over the name – We think the name we have now been given shows the tasks we have as a specialist directorate with knowledge of the Norwegian continental shelf, says Ola Anders Skauby, director of communications in the Norwegian Shelf Directorate. – Do people know what socket means, do you think? – No, I think perhaps not everyone knows that, so we still have a job to do in communicating what the shelf is and what resources and opportunities lie there, he says. Ola Anders Skauby, Director of Communications in the Swedish Subcontinent Directorate. Photo: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate They did not have a hand in the game when the name decision was made, so Skauby was excited about the reception internally. – I have experienced the response as positive, he says. The communications director has not yet heard of any employees who have held informal beer drinking sessions over the old name. – We have a proud history with us when we now embark on the next chapter, he says. – What do you think people think when you remove oil from the name when it is still a large part of their work? – I think it’s a good question to ask, as oil has been part of our name and the activity that takes place on the shelf for many years. But then we move forward, says Skauby. He does not have an exact figure for the number of employees in the directorate who work with oil and gas, but estimates just under 75 per cent. – Although oil and gas will continue to be something that is being done, there are also a number of other new industries that will use the Norwegian continental shelf, says Skauby. – Then I think it’s fine with a new name that reflects that. The Prime Minister’s office also believes that the new name now embraces the entire area, and is not limited to just one of the industries. “The directorate contributes to the important work of further developing the Norwegian continental shelf, both within oil and gas, but also within new industries such as transport and storage of CO₂, sea wind and seabed minerals,” they write in an email to news. Statutory In the event of a name change, the Language Council has a statutory responsibility to give advice before the new name is adopted. Namely, a number of criteria are set for a name change, which must clearly communicate what the state body actually does, explains Åse Wetås, director of the Language Council. In order for them to be able to give such advice, the state body must notify them. But the government never did that for its own name when it chose to remove the word “oil” and instead call itself only the Ministry of Energy. This is what the Language Act says about name changes: “The Language Council must advise state bodies on spelling and naming conventions before a decision is made on the name of a state body”, according to paragraph 19. In the preparatory work for the act, this is also specified: “Subsection two gives the Language Council permission to give advice when a new state body is to have a name or when an established state body is to change its name. The Language Council must decide which name can be said to be Norwegian and whether the spelling of the name is within official orthography, cf. §10. In order for the Language Council to be able to give advice on spelling and naming conventions, the state body must, in order to comply with §10, contact the Language Council before making a decision. The second paragraph also means that the Language Council can, on its own initiative, contact state bodies, including ministries and other higher-level bodies, in connection with name matters.” – There was no obvious reason why we should not be asked, says Åse Wetås, director of the Language Council. She explains that they have no objections to the name Ministry of Energy, but that she thinks it is a shame that there is no tradition for the Language Council to be involved at ministry level as well. – It is clear that this has a heavy political side, says Wetås. news has contacted the Ministry of Energy, which refers to the Prime Minister’s office. – As far as we are aware, it is not the practice for changes in the structure of the ministries, including new names, to be discussed with the Language Council before a decision is made, says Acting Head of Communications Anne Norskog. She points out that the structure of ministries, and their names, are decided by the King in the Council of Ministers following a proposal from the Prime Minister. – It is part of the government’s authority to determine structure, names and tasks as it deems appropriate, she says.
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The government took “oil” out of several names – The Language Council warned of greenwashing – Greater Oslo
