Annual general meeting 2021
The 2021 annual general meeting of the Sustainability Initiative was held in Valaskjálf, Egilsstaðir, on October 20, from 10:00-14:00
The theme of the meeting was Gender Equality in a broader context. At the meeting, experts from the Directorate of Equality Iceland, Austurbrú, Landsvirkjun and Alcoa Fjarðaál vill discuss equality from various perspectives.
Meeting chair: Björn Ingimarsson mayor of Múlaþing
Agenda
- 10:00 Meeting opened, Jóna Bjarnadóttir, Executive Vice President of Community and Environment at Landsvirkjun.
- 10:10 Jafnrétti í vegferðinni að sjálfbærni (Icelandic only), Bryndís Elfa Valdemarsdóttir, a specialist at the Directorate of Equality Iceland.
- 10:50 Kynjamynd af Austurlandi 2.0 (Icelandic only), Tinna Halldórsdóttir, specialist at Austurbrú.
- 11:30 Refreshment
- 12:25 Jafnréttismál hjá Landsvirkjun (Icelandic only), Sturla Jóhann Hreinsson, Human Resources Manager at Landsvirkjun.
- 13:05 Jafnréttismál hjá Alcoa Fjarðaáli (Icelandic only), Dagmar Ýr Stefánsdóttir, Communication and Community Relations Manager at Alcoa Fjarðaáli
- 13:45 Amendments to indicators – comments and annual meeting approval of amendments.
- 13:55 Summary and discussion
- 14:00 Meeting adjourned
Summary
Participants at the annual meeting were approximately 40. You can watch a recording of the panel below (Icelandic only)
Meeting opened
Jóna Bjarnadóttir, Executive Vice President of Community and Environment at Landsvirkjun, talked about the origins of the project and the foresight that was shown when it was established almost 20 years ago. She also pointed out its importance for Landsvirkjun, Alcoa Fjarðaál and society. She talked about the database this project has created with the collection over the years and encouraged everyone to use the data.
Equality on the road to sustainability
Bryndís Elfa Valdemarsdóttir, a specialist at the Directorate of Equality Iceland, began talking shortly about the Directorate of Equality and its work before starting her presentation. Bryndís pointed out the connection between sustainability and equality and referred to the Bruntland Report. She said that when we started working on sustainability a few decades ago, the importance of gender equality as one of the foundations of sustainable development was immediately apparent. Bryndís briefly discussed the position of women in general in the world and the connection of gender equality with the UN's global goals. Bryndís addressed the complexity of gender equality issues, and it is necessary to work in many areas simultaneously to succeed in these areas. Although much has been achieved on equality issues in Iceland, there is still work to be done. Bryndís emphasized the importance of having data and criteria. She also touched on the legal framework for gender equality in Iceland and discussed the gender pay gap, its explanations, and what obstacles stand in the way of equal pay.
Recording of Bryndís Elfa's speech (Icelandic only) - Slides
Kynjamynd af Austurlandi 2.0
Tinna Halldórsdóttir, a specialist at Austurbrú, gave a speech on the gender image of East Iceland. A few years ago, Tinna compiled data on a gender image of East Iceland. In her speech, she said that she hoped that the situation had improved more than when she started to update the data. She made an overview of the definitions and legal framework of equality and discussed what the provisions in the law mean. Tinna showed the current situation of equality in East Iceland and brought to attention that women are more likely to move away from East Iceland than men, and educated women return less often due to a lack of employment opportunities. Tinna reviewed the statistics on gender equality in East Iceland and asked what we could do to better integrate gender equality into all aspects of the economy and society. She discussed the importance of recognizing gender inequality. Many things need to be done, but this is not a "hassle" to work towards equality improvements. It is an opportunity for society.
Recording of Tinna's speech (Icelandic only) - Slides
Jafnréttismál hjá Landsvirkjun
Sturla Jóhann Hreinsson, Human Resources Manager at Landsvirkjun, spoke about the state of gender equality issues at Landsvirkjun. Part of Landsvirkjun's sustainability work is to focus on gender equality issues. Sturla went over what is called "Jafnréttisvegferð" of the company, which is the company's criteria for gender equality issues and connections to world goals. The company got an outside party to take out the company's culture concerning equality and subsequently worked on measures to improve what did not turn out to be a good enough and defined improvement project. Landsvirkjun addressed many issues, e.g. discourse, use of visuals, work environment, who represents the company and much more. An improved workplace culture, including well-executed work to increase equality, is also cost-effective for the company and improves its performance. Sturla stated that changing the culture in the workplace is a long-term project and will not be completed in a few years.
There was a discussion about whether Landsvirkjun's actions also aimed to increase the number of men in jobs where women are in the majority. There were also discussions about how the fourth industrial revolution has changed jobs and how it will affect the careers of men and women.
Recording of Sturla's speech (Icelandic only) - Slides
Jafnréttismál hjá Alcoa Fjarðaáli
Dagmar Ýr Stefánsdóttir, Communication and Community Relations Manager at Alcoa Fjarðaáli, discussed the gender equality situation at Alcoa Fjarðaál. Dagmar said that since Alcoa is a young company, the aim from the beginning was to have equality as a guiding principle. The proportion of women working in this plant is higher than elsewhere in other plants. It is also the case that a large company in a small community needs to utilize all the labour force, and it is known that a workplace with an equal gender ratio is better than a homogeneous workplace. Alcoa has addressed various factors, e.g. there was an awareness within the company of making imagery and other things in advertising appeal to both men and women, and a change in the shift system was one of the things that made it easier for women to work for the company. Dagmar Ýr talked about various measures at the company that aim to increase equality, e.g. following the #MeeToo movement and other things in the company's journey regarding equality issues.
Dagmar points out that Alcoa's success is based mainly on education and is therefore emphasized. She also points out that it is about equality between men and women and gay people, and the company takes this into account in its equality journey.
Recording of Dagmar's speech (Icelandic only) - Slides
Summary
Björn Ingimarsson, chairman of the meeting, said that presentation at the meeting had been enjoyable. Jóna Bjarnadóttir talked about the project beginning, and Bryndís Elfa spoke, among other things, about the connection between equality and sustainability. In Tinna's presentation, she had an overview of data on gender equality in East Iceland and stated that to avoid a setback in the fight for equality. It is crucial always to be vigilant, as stated in speeches from Sturla and Dagmar Ýr equality issues between Landsvirkjun and Alcoa Fjarðaál.
Images from the meeting
Changes to indicators
PDF on the changes made to indicators names and numbers connected to designing a new website. There have been no substantive changes to the indicators.
Changes to indicators 2021 | East Iceland sustainability initiative
Attendance list
| Name | Institution, company or association |
|---|---|
| Alda Marín Kristinsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Anna Berg | Fjarðabyggð |
| Anna Sigurveig Magnúsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Arnar Úlfarsson | Austurbrú |
| Árni Jóhann Óðinsson | Landsvirkjun |
| Berglind H Svavarsdóttir | Múlaþing/Sveitarstjórn |
| Björn Ingimars | Múlaþing |
| Bryndís Elfa Valdemarsdóttir | Jafnréttisstofa |
| Bryndís Fiona Ford | Hallormsstaðaskóli |
| Bylgja Borgþórsdóttir | Múlaþing |
| Dagmar Ýr Stefánsdóttir | Alcoa Fjarðaál |
| Esther Ösp Gunnarsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Freyr Ævarsson | Múlaþing |
| Gauti Jóhannesson | Múlaþing |
| Guðrún Á. Jónsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Hekla Kolka Hlöðversdóttir | Alcoa Fjarðaál |
| Helen Garðarsdóttir | Landsvirkjun |
| Helgi Hlynur Ásgrímsson | Múlaþing |
| Hjalti Jóhannesson | Rannsóknamiðstöð HA |
| Jóna Árný | Austurbrú |
| Jóna Bjarnadóttir | LV |
| Kenneth Svenningsen | Launafl ehf |
| Ketill Hallgrímsson | Fjarðabyggð |
| Kristján Valur Sigurðsson | Á eigin vegum |
| María Ósk Kristmundsdóttir | Alcoa |
| Óðinn Gunnar Óðinnsson | Múlaþing |
| Ólafur A. Jónsson | Landsvirkjun |
| Páll Freysteinsson | Alcoa Fjarðaál |
| Ragna Fanney Jóhannsdóttir | Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður |
| Ragnheiður Ólafsdóttir | Landsvirkjun |
| Rebekka Rán Egilsdóttir | Alcoa |
| Sandra María Ásgeirsdóttir | Alcoa |
| Signý Ormarsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Sigrún Hólm Þórleifsdóttir | Múlaþing |
| Smári Kristinsson | ALCOA |
| Sturla Jóhann Hreinsson | Landsvirkjun |
| Tinna K. Halldórsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Unnur Birna Karlsdóttir | HÍ |
| Valdís Vaka Kristjánsdóttir | Austurbrú |
| Þröstur Jónsson | Múlaþing |