07. júni 2022

Sustainability reports of the Merchants' Pension Fund and Play's selected reports of the year

Acknowledgments for the year's sustainability reports were awarded earlier today at a ceremony in Nauthól. This time, an airline and a pension fund were considered to have published the most noteworthy reports of the year.



Earlier today, the Festa Center for Sustainability, Administration and the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce awarded recognition for the sustainability report of the year. This is the fifth time that such awards have been given, and there was a festive atmosphere when the representatives of the publishers of the reports received the awards. The recognition is given to companies and organizations that publish information about their sustainability in a targeted and high-quality way.

This time, it was Lífeyrissjóður verzlunarmanna and the airline Play that were considered to have published the most noteworthy sustainability reports of the year 2022, for the operating year 2021.

Skýrslur Lífeyrissjóðs verzlunarmanna og Fly Play hf. voru valdar úr metfjölda tilnefninga en að þessu sinni bárust 48 tilnefningar þar sem skýrslur frá 33 aðilum voru tilnefndar, sem er tæplega 40% fleiri en hlutu tilnefningu árið 2021.

Svanhildur Hólm Viðskiptaráði, Gunnhildur Arnarsdóttir Stjórnvísi, Gunnlaugur B. Björnsson Viðskiptaráði, Guðmundur Þ. Þórhallsson, framkvæmdastjóri Lífeyrissjóðs verzlunarmanna, Birgir Jónsson forstjóri Play, Harpa Júlíusdóttir og Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir frá Festu. Mynd: hag

Concise and honest presentation of important points

The activities of this year's awardees are very different, although high requirements and strict regulations apply to both of their activities. On the one hand, it is a pension fund, with over 60 years of history, whose mission is to guarantee pensions to its fund members, and on the other hand, a young low-cost airline that strives to offer low prices to fun destinations.

In the justification of the jury for the choice of the year, it is stated that the sustainability report of the Merchants' Pension Fund is a good example of providing information on sustainability aspects as best as possible, while the report reviews the fund's goals, results and actions.

"The information is measurable, comparable and relevant to the fund's operations. The presentation is understandable and the main points are presented in a sincere manner. Pension funds have a huge influence in Icelandic business life, and it is therefore important that other pension funds take the information provided by the Traders' Pension Fund as a model."

Play is a young company and therefore taking its first steps in reporting. The assessment of the report was considered up to this point, but in the reasoning of the jury it is said that the report clearly shows that the first sustainability report of a company does not have to be limited in content, nor does it specifically indicate that companies are taking their first steps in providing such information.

"Play's sustainability report is concise, focusing on important aspects for the company, in this case greenhouse gas emissions. The report also covers how the company plans to act on climate issues, which is a positive thing for a company in an industry as polluting as the airline industry."

Links:

Sustainability report of the Pension Fund of VerzlunarmannaAnnual and sustainability report of Fly Play hf. All reports that received a nomination can be accessed here on Festa's website

"The disclosure of sustainability aspects of many Icelandic companies has now become of the same quality as we see from those who perform best abroad"

Sara Júlía Baldvinsdóttir, Nikólína Dís Kristjánsdóttir and Ísak Grant. Photograph Vilhelm/Vísir

Jury and newly appointed professional council

This year's jury included Reynir Smári Atlason, director of sustainability at Creditinfo who was chairman of the jury, Jóhanna Hlín Auðunsdóttir, director of climate and environment at Landsvirkjun and Stefán Kári Sveinbjörnsson, project manager in strategy and sustainability at Isavia.

Reynir Smári Atlason, chairman of the jury, says that many Icelandic companies deserve praise for their high-quality information: "The sustainability aspects of many Icelandic companies are now of the same quality as we see from those who perform best abroad," said Reynir Atli Smárason, chairman of the jury and explains that these companies are better prepared for the coming regulations and calls from investors than those companies that have not focused on such disclosure."

The aim of Festa, Stýrnvíris and the Chamber of Commerce with the recognition is, among other things, to promote the use of measurable goals and careful disclosure of information in the field of sustainability. To deal with that, along with the greatly increased number of published sustainability reports, a special professional council was set up this time to evaluate all the reports that received a nomination and prepare the work of the jury.

Fagráðið var skipað þremur útskriftar nemendum við Háskólann í Reykjavík en þau hafa öll lokið sérstöku námskeiði með áherslu á sjálfbæran rekstur og upplýsingagjöf, en það eru þau Nikólína Dís Kristjánsdóttir, Ísak Grant og Sara Júlía Baldvinsdóttir. Vísir birti í vikunni áhugavert viðtal við meðlimi fagráðsins og má nálgast það hér: „Stundum verða þessar skýrslur of mikið „sjáið hvað við erum frábær““ – Vísir (visir.is).

Stefán, Jóhanna Hlín og Reynir við afhendingu hvatningarverðlauna fyrir Sjálfbærniskýrlslu ársins í júní 2022

„Opið og upplýst samtal við þá sem hagsmuna hafa að gæta skiptir miklu máli fyrir öflugan rekstur og aðlögun sjóðsins að síbreytilegu rekstrarumhverfi.“

Guðmundur Þórhallsson framkvæmdastjóri Lífeyrissjóðs verzlunarmanna og Birgir Jónsson forstjóri Play. Mynd: hag



Það skiptir okkur máli að sjálfbærni sé hluti af viðskiptamódeli félagsins og þar með hluti af allri ákvarðanatöku

Guðmundur Þ. Þórhallsson, framkvæmdastjóri veitti viðurkenningunni móttöku fyrir hönd Lífeyrissjóðs verzlunarmanna. Guðmundur sagðist taka við viðurkenningunni með stolti og hún væri stjórn, stjórnendum og öllu starfsfólki sjóðsins mikil og góð hvatning til að halda áfram á sömu braut:

"It requires good cooperation and perseverance to change working practices and accepted habits. During the preparation of the report, the attitudes of fund members regarding the sustainability of the fund's operations were sought, and their strong emphasis on the importance of responsible investments and good governance was revealed. With the LV sustainability report, the fund presents to fund members and other stakeholders the strategy, goals and results of the pension fund's sustainability journey. An open and informed conversation with those who have interests is very important for strong operations and the fund's adaptation to the ever-changing operating environment."

On behalf of Play, it was Birgir Jónsson, CEO, who accepted the award. Birgir said that to receive recognition like this in the first meters of the airline is a great honor for the company, but no less motivation:

“Það er okkur mikill heiður og ekki síst hvatning að hljóta viðurkenningu sem þessa á fyrstu metrum flugfélagsins. Frá fyrsta degi hefur PLAY lagt mikla áherslu á sjálfbærni. Það skiptir okkur máli að sjálfbærni sé hluti af viðskiptamódeli félagsins og þar með hluti af allri ákvarðanatöku. Við höfum nú þegar byggt upp sterkan grunn og sett okkur háleit markmið í þessum efnum. Næstu skref eru að innleiða og fylgja eftir þeim markmiðum og lykilmælikvörðum sem við höfum sett okkur. Við förum tvíelfd inn í þá vegferð eftir að hafa hlotið þessa ánægjulegu viðurkenningu” 

„Það skiptir okkur máli að sjálfbærni sé hluti af viðskiptamódeli félagsins og þar með hluti af allri ákvarðanatöku“

The teams that produced the sustainability reports that received this year's motivational awards



Reynir Smári Atlason, chairman of the jury, gave an informative speech and handed out the year's awards.