6th Sustainability Conference

10. April 2026 at 09:00-16:30
The annual international conference on sustainable and environmental issues at the University of Akureyri
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Join our interdisciplinary platform to rise hope in the fight against climate change!

The environmental council and the Stefansson Arctic Institute at the University of Akureyri invite everybody to the 6th Sustainability Conference at the University of Akureyri. Participation is free of charge.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format, to accommodate both on-site interaction but also online, environmentally friendly participation of international speakers and guests. The conference's language is English.

Registration & Participation

  • We invite you to register for the conference by 8 April 2026
  • Registration is not mandatory, but it greatly helps us plan responsibly for refreshments and minimize food waste.
  • Using the link below, you can register for the conference.

Register

Published Abstracts

All abstracts from the conference will be peer-reviewed. Only accepted abstracts and only those passing peer-review will be published in the journal Nordicum Mediterraneum, you can access them here.

Programme

09:00 - 09:45 | Opening and Keynote session

9:00 - 9:15 | Opening
 
9:15 - 9:45 | Keynote Address
Affluence and the climate-sustainability illusion in the Nordics Jukka Heinonen, University of Iceland, Iceland

09:45 - 10:45 | The Arctic, Conservation, and Climate Change 

09:45-10:00 Trading for Conservation: Leveraging AI to evaluate CITES’s Impact on Arctic Conservation.
Tom Barry & Magnus Smári Magnusson, University of Akureyri, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Iceland

10:00-10:15 Are subarctic nations’ fisheries benefiting from climate change?
Hreiðar Þór Valtýsson, University of Akureyri, Iceland

10:15-10:30 The RECET project and its progress in NE-Iceland
Ottó Elíasson, Eimur, Iceland

10:30-10:45 Coffee Break (Miðborg)

10:45 - 11:15 | Microbiology 

10:45-11:00 Climate warming habitat shifts as revealed by dog lichen microbiomes in Icelandic and UK habitats
Oddur Þór Vilhelmsson, University of Akureyri, Iceland

11:00-11:15 Turn up the heat: the role of thermophilic microbes in sustainable development
Eva María Ingvadóttir, University of Akureyri, Iceland, & Ingunn Ósk Grétarsdóttir,
University of Iceland, Iceland  

11:15 - 11:45 | Pollution

11:15-11:30 The Global Critical Minerals Rush and Its Developmental Implications for Resource-Rich Countries in the Global South: A Case Study of Lithium Extraction in Zimbabwe.
Ray Clemence Tondoi, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, & & Kjartan Sigurdsson, University of Akureyri, Iceland

11:30-11:45 ICEWATER: Valorising wastewater
Karen Mist Kristjánsdóttir, Eimur, Iceland  

11:45 - 13:00 | Lunch Break

13:00 - 13:30 | Story and Vision for Climate change

13:00-13:15 Story for Climate and Nature Recovery
Jules Pretty, University of Essex, UK

13:15-13:30 Transforming Education and Science for a Climate-Friendly Future
Lars Keller, University of Innsbruck, Austria

13:30 -14:40 Poster session with coffee in Miðborg

13:30-13:40 Geopolitical Dimensions of Climate Change: Displacement and Migration Flows into the EU.
Evangelos Barmpas, University of the Aegean, Greece

13:40-13:50 Methane Emission Reduction at a Landfill in Northwest Iceland
Ottó Elíasson, Eimur, Iceland

13:50-14:00 Applied Education in Oils and Biodiesel through Laboratory Skill Development Using Cod Liver Oil from an Icelandic Industry
Mariana Lara Menegazzo, Carmem Cicera Maria da Silva Campelo, Kristín Tómasdóttir & Gustavo Graciano Fonseca, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Brazil

14:00-14:10 Grænn Iðngarður á Bakka: Pioneering Eco Industrial Parks in Iceland
Karen Mist Kristjánsdóttir, Eimur, Iceland

14:10-14:20 The Hidden Cost of Concrete: How Sand and Gravel Mining Threatens Global Water Bodies and Why Recycling is the Answer?
Nicole Kocierz, Barbara Słomka-Słupik, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Building Structures, Poland & & Kjartan Sigurdsson, University of Akureyri, Iceland

14:20-14:30 Eimur: Improved utilisation of resources in North Iceland
Alessandra Schnider, Eimur, Iceland

14:30-14:40 Role of Delphi Municipal Corporations in Promoting Household Waste Segregation: Effectiveness in Low-Income Urban Communities
Gulshan Kumar, School of Extension and Development studies, Ignou New Delhi, India

14:40-15:00 Break

15:00 -15:15 Stefanson Student Sustainability Award Ceremony and Talk

15:15 - 16:15 | Case studies

15:15-15:30 Barriers to changing travel modes in Reykjavik, Iceland
Johanna Raudsepp, University of Iceland, Iceland

15:30-15:45 Climate Extremes, Infrastructure Risk, and Local Adaptation in Hornafjörður, Iceland
Isabella Chittumuri, Colorado School of Mines, United States of America

15:45-16:00 Hot Water Bleeds in Northern Iceland: Mapping Lost Energy for Local Reuse and Innovation
Alessandra Schnider, Eimur, Iceland

16:00-16:15 Shaping the future: Community perceptions of the Northeast Iceland Hope Spot and marine management
Belen Garcia Ovide, Ocean Missions, Iceland

16:15-16:30 Closing remarks

Contact

For additional inquiries, please contact the conference organization committee below:

Programmes from recent years

1st Sustainability Conference
2nd Sustainability Conference and Recordings from the 2nd Sustainability Conference
3rd Sustainability Conference and Recordings from the 3nd Sustainability Conference
4th Sustainability Conference and Recordings from the 4th Sustainability Conference
5th Sustainability Conference and Recordings from the 5th Sustainability Conference