„Starfsár Festu 2024 hófst með krafmikilli Janúarráðstefnu þar sem fókus var settur á hugrekki leiðtoga til að taka af skarið í sjálfbærnimálum og mikilvægi þess að sýna seiglu frammi fyrir langtímamarkmiðum. Þjóðþekktir einstaklingar stigu á svið í vel heppnuðum nýjum dagskrárlið sem kallaðist Trúnó og ræddu opinskátt um það hvernig hraða megi sjálfbærnivegferð íslensks samfélags. Auk þess var fókusað á félagslegan þátt sjálfbærni og átti það eftir að vera ákveðið þema í áherslum Festu á árinu.
Festa Annual Report 2024
The threads of sustainability run far and wide
Elva Rakel Jónsdóttir, Managing Director and Tómas N. Möller, Chairman
Festa í hnotskurn
Festa – a center for sustainability is an independent platform that aims to accelerate the development towards a circular economy and a sustainable business. Festa’s sole interest is sustainability, which means that all of the company’s activities are focused on paving the way for companies and institutions to integrate sustainability into operations and policies. Festa holds a number of events per year for its member associations and other stakeholders. In 2024, Festa hosted a variety of conferences, networking meetings, educational mornings and seminars on sustainability in collaboration with companies, governments and organizations. In addition to the company’s core activities, Festa continued to be involved in public debate. During the year, numerous news and articles related to Festa’s projects appeared, both in the national media and in the company’s newsletter.
Another thing that stood out
- First-ever seminar for boards and executive committees
- Incentive Award for Outstanding Initiative in the Field of Environmental Affairs and Innovation in the Field of Sustainability with Creditinfo
- Sustainability School with the Open University to be established in autumn 2024
- Work on a roadmap for social sustainability launched
- Partners of the Happiness Forum in Harpa and the International Day of Happiness
- Sold out at Festa's January conference - the country's largest annual event in the field of sustainability
Member associations
Festa's member associations are the core of our work. 27 associations joined the group during the year, bringing the total number to 195 by the end of the year.
"We create a diverse collaborative platform for member organizations to meet the demands and seize the opportunities that await us in sustainability issues."
Festa's project
Environment
Climate projects Climate leaders Crucible meeting on SBTi Review of the government's climate plan Circular economy WCEF 2024 Crucible meeting on circularity in operations Event at the EFTA House in Brussels on plastic pollution in the ocean Nordic Circular Summit Nordic Jury Group
Nánar
Samfélag
Roadmap for social sustainability Networking meetings with ÖBÍ and VMST Young people Happy Day Survey among young people Youth discussion with climate activists Popularity Forum Visit to Bessastaður Review in Snjallræði
Nánar
Prosperity
Málþing fyrir stjórnir og framkvæmdastjórnir
Viðburður á Innovation Week – Sjálfbærar fjárfestingar
Sjálfbærniskólinn
Hvatningarverðlaun með Creditinfo
Viðburðir
Event hosting is central to Festa's work, and the company hosted or participated in a number of events during the year.
- Youth Talk with Katie Hodgetts
- Festa 2024 January Conference – "We Write Human History"
- Hringborð sjálfbærnileiðtoga
- New requirements for providing information about nature and the environment with Svarmi
- Natural Nutrition “LabbRabb”
- Welfare Congress in Harpa
- Happiness of young people
- Sustainable investments with the Sea Cluster
Crucible meetings
- Double significance analysis
- Policy development and communication
- Hringrásarhagkerfið
- Science Based Targets
- Sustainability certifications and standards
- Virðiskeðja og umfang‑3 losun
Tengslafundir
- Deloitte
- Isavia
- Controlling
- ATVR
- ÖBÍ & Directorate of Labour
- Össur/Embla Medical
- KPMG
- COWI
Mediation
Festa in a wide range In addition to its own events, Festa representatives regularly appear as speakers or participants at other people's events. Festa's participation in such forums strengthens external relations and increases the company's visibility as a leading force in sustainability issues in Iceland.
Festa gave some kind of talk or had a seat on a panel at 31 events this year.
In 2024, Festa sent out regular newsletters to members and other interested parties. There were a total of nine newsletters during the year, usually sent at the beginning of the month or towards the end of the month. The newsletters review past events and introduce what is to come, in addition to publishing various articles and columns. The newsletters usually contain news about member association projects, international news from the world of sustainability and announcements, such as application deadlines for funds or awards related to sustainability. The number of subscribers to the newsletter increased steadily during the year, which shows the growing interest and usefulness of this medium. There were about 1300 subscribers to the newsletter at the end of the year.
Festa further strengthened its social media presence during the year. Festa’s LinkedIn page was very active with weekly updates on events and interesting sustainability news and articles. The Facebook page and Instagram were used to share photos and short stories from the work. This diverse use of social media by Festa ensures that its main messages reach a wide audience, both younger and older target groups. In total, Festa has 8434 followers on social media.
Kjölfestur
To further strengthen the activities, several member associations, known as Kjölfestur, have specifically supported Festa's work over the past year. Kjölfestur membership involves a special contribution (1 million ISK per year) in addition to the regular annual fee. Kjölfestur thus systematically supports the more dynamic development of Festa during the decade of action 2020-2030.
In 2024, the following parties were part of Kjölfestur Festa: Arion Bank, Deloitte in Iceland, Festi, KPMG in Iceland, Landsbankinn, Landsvirkjun and Ölgerðin.
Their contribution has, among other things, enabled Festa to launch new projects (eg the development of new road signs) and strengthen the company's infrastructure.
Stjórn, starfsfólk og aðsetur
At Festa's annual general meeting in April 2024, a new board was elected for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Three board members were re-elected for a two-year term: Aðalheiður Snæbjarnardóttir from Landsbankinn, Rakel Eva Sævarsdóttir from Trail Sustainability Consulting and Málfríður Guðný Kolbeinsdóttir from Ölgerðinn (term 2024–2026). Festa's board for the 2024–2025 fiscal year consists of eight strong representatives from the business community. Tómas N. Möller from the Commercial Pension Fund continued as Chairman of the Board (term 2023–2025), Arnar Másson from Marel (2023–2025), Aðalheiður Snæbjarnardóttir from Landsbankinn (2024–2026), Bryndís Björk Ásgeirsdóttir from Reykjavík University (2023–2025), Málfríður Guðný Kolbeinsdóttir from Ölgerði (2024–2026), Rakel Eva Sævarsdóttir from Trail Sustainability Consulting (2024–2026), Kolbeinn Hilmarsson from Svarma (2023–2025) and Þórólfur Nielsen from Landsvirkjun (2023–2025). It is worth mentioning that Tómas will step down as Chairman in the spring of 2025 after an invaluable contribution to Festa since 2019 – Tómas is given special thanks for his leadership role.
Starfsmenn Festu voru fjórir í lok árs 2024. Elva Rakel Jónsdóttir gegnir starfi framkvæmdastýru og stýrir daglegu starfi af krafti. Harpa Júlíusdóttir gegnir hlutverki verkefnastjóra Festu og Ísabella Ósk Másdóttir samskiptastjóra.
Festa is based at Reykjavík University and has had an office there since the company was founded. Festa would like to thank Reykjavík University for hosting Festa's offices and providing the company with both facilities and technical support free of charge.
Partners
Á árinu 2024 hélt Festa áfram góðu samstarfi við ýmsa aðila.
Sjávarklasinn
