Broadening our approach to Corporate Social Responsibility will assist us in strengthening the sustainability of our operations. Our goal is always the same: to effectively measure our sustainability performance, to share our progress and to identify any challenges. We published our first sustainability performance report this year, in accordance with the international GRI Standards guidelines.
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In harmony with the environment and society
Landsvirkjun’s operations can have an extensive social impact, especially in local communities in close proximity to the Company’s power stations. Social and environmental impact assessments are therefore an essential component of our operations. We effectively manage external communications with our stakeholders by developing a stakeholder analysis and communication plan for each project and within each division.
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Emphasis on sustainability
Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy, which was introduced in 2012, is subject to regular review and revision, and continuously evolves as our knowledge expands. We have chosen to focus on the concept of sustainability, which better describes our objective of balancing the economic, environmental and social aspects of our operations.
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Sustainability was one of our top-priority projects in 2019, along with gender equality and responsible operations, and was the main theme of a one-day workshop held in March.
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Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The implementation of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards continued this year.
The GRI Standards are global standards for sustainability reporting on economic, environmental and social impacts.
The GRI Standards will help us progress towards increased sustainability and provide efficient tools for assessing progress and successful knowledge dissemination.
Notkun GRI mun styðja við frekari vinnu í átt að aukinni sjálfbærni og veita okkur skilvirka leið við mat á árangri og við upplýsingagjöf.
Opinion surveys among stakeholders
One aspect of the adoption of GRI is the so-called ‘materiality assessment’.
This entails consultation with the Company’s major stakeholders as well as extensive internal analyses in order to identify key focus areas for sustainability policy development and reporting.
Main stakeholder groups include the general public, local communities, local authorities, non-governmental organisations and organised interest groups, the government, customers and employees. The general public, local communities, customers, and Landsvirkjun employees participated in opinion surveys for the materiality assessment in 2019.
Participants were asked to evaluate the importance of twenty-three categories pertaining to sustainability in Landsvirkjun’s operations. The GRI’s fundamental categories of economic, environmental, and social issues were the basis for the survey. The research company Gallup was enlisted to handle the execution of the survey and to ensure that the fundamental principles and rules regarding data protection and privacy were fulfilled.
The survey was sent out to nearly 2,000 individuals, half of whom responded. The data is enormously valuable to the Company, and we are grateful to those who participated. Further analysis and consultation with a wider range of stakeholders will continue in 2020.
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Open communication with stakeholders, gives us a better sense of the impact of Landsvirkjun’s operations on society.
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Developing priorities
The survey data revealed many similarities between the views of employees and external stakeholders.
Categories that ranked high in importance among the majority of respondents were categories that Landsvirkjun has focused on, both now and in the past.
Topics ranked highly by respondents included employee health and safetyprofessional development, education, and training. Good corporate governance, transparency, and prudence also ranked highly. Landsvirkjun is currently developing an anti-corruption training and awareness scheme for employees, as this was one of the categories respondents also felt strongly about.
More information on Landsvirkjun‘s corporate governance, policies, and codes of conduct can be found in the Company´s financial statements under Appendix I: Corporate Governance.
The topics of energy production in harmony with nature, collaboration with local communities, measures to combat climate change and waste management were all considered important in both surveys. We have been actively involved in combatting climate change. The fact that our carbon footprint is one of the lowest in the energy industry worldwide is testimony to this. More extensive information can be found in our Climate Accounts and the discussion on achieving carbon neutrality in 2025.
In 2020, further analytical work will be carried out in conjunction with broader stakeholder consultation. The results will be used to analyse our achievements and challenges in the field of sustainability and shape our future policy in this domain.
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First edition of GRI report
Landsvirkjun will now publish a GRI report for the first time, as part of its annual report for 2019. The GRI report details selected criteria in economic, environmental, and social issues relevant to the Company’s operations.
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GRI report
Here you can download Landsvirkjun's GRI report for 2019.
