Team Board Team and board GBCI's team consists of three employees. GBCI's board is comprised of seven representatives who are elected for two years at the GBCI general meeting. Mynd: Ástrós Steingrímsdóttir Our team Valur Klemensson CEO of GBCI valur [at] graennibyggd.is M.Sc. Sustainable resource management Sarah Olson Project manager sarah [at] graennibyggd.is PhD Environmental studies Our board Elín Þórólfsdóttir Chair of the board elin.thorolfsdottir [at] hms.is Team leader of the civil engineering work - environment at Housing and Construction Authority Jónína Þóra Einarsdóttir Secretary jonina [at] steypustodin.is Leader in sustainability, safety and quality at Steypustöðin Bergþóra Góa Kvaran Treasurer bergthora.kvaran [at] uos.is Specialist at Umhverfis- og orkustofnun Emilía Borgþórdóttir emilia [at] husa.com Project manager of sustainability at Húsasmiðjan Alex Ingi Espersen alexe [at] cowi.com Manager of improved buildings, indoor quality and maintenance team at COWI Perla Dís Kristinsdóttir perla [at] basalt.is Architect and co-owner at Basalt arkitektar Alma Dagbjört Ívarsdóttir alma [at] verkvist .is CEO and co-owner of Verkvist

We work to create a healthy, sustainable built environment that promotes well-being for all. More about us can be found here. Grænni Byggð members Join us By becoming a member you: - get discounts at events; - you become a role model; - your company takes an active responsibility in environmental matters; - you can increase your knowledge about environmental issues; - you get opportunities for networking; - you support professional work and discussions on environmental issues in construction and planning; - your company can be an active participant in Green Building Council Iceland's projects, professional groups and events; - your company can influence the work and strategy of Green Building Council Iceland. Thank you for submitting! Senda Publications Emission-free construction sites C&D Waste Certification systems Other publications

Green Building Council's (Grænni byggð) events in 2023. 2025 Morning meeting: Frakkastígur 1 03/12/2025 The project on Frakkastígur 1 , owned by Iða fasteignaþróunarfélags and designed by Lendager Ísland, is another example of ambitious construction aiming to reduce the carbon footprint by 50% compared to conventional buildings. Do you want to hear more about how it was done and what the experiences and challenges were for the designer and material provider? Grænni byggð and the GBCI networking group on LCA held a morning meeting on 3. December at 9:00-10:00 on Zoom. Watch the recording below ⬇ Recording Morning meeting: Standards in the built environment - the knowledge in the standard 26/11/2025 GBCI and Icelandic Standards (IST) have joined forces to promote a sustainable construction industry - where standards play a key role. If you want to know more about: the importance of standards in a sustainable construction industry current and upcoming standards …and hear about the upcoming mirror committee with the European Technical Committee TC350, join us for a morning meeting on November 26th from 9-10 am on zoom. The Technical Committee TC350 discusses standards related to sustainability in the construction industry, with the subcommittee on the circular economy and working groups working on building simulation, construction, digital transformation, etc. The mirror committee will monitor the development of new standards and have the opportunity to influence their creation, in addition to receiving first-hand news from the standards world. At the meeting, Helga Sigrún Harðardóttir, Director of the Icelandic Standards, will bring us closer to the above topics and answer your questions at the end. The meeting will be moderated by Bergþóra Góa Kvaran . Recording Nordic Climate Forum for Construction 28/10/2025 On 28 October, Nordic stakeholders gathered at the Nordic Climate Forum for Construction in Copenhagen. The conference discussed practical steps towards a green transition in the construction industry. The conference focused on two topics: Life cycle assessments and how to make them more efficient, cost-effective and digital. Better utilisation of existing buildings and their reuse instead of new construction. The conference discussed the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) and new rules on the lifetime carbon footprint (GWP) of buildings in Europe, as well as sufficiency in connection with the increased emphasis that the European Commission intends to place on the utilisation of existing buildings in Europe. Representatives from the Nordic countries reported on progress and innovations in their countries, including Elín Þórólfsdóttir from HMS, who reported on, among other things, the new building regulations in Iceland and the digital LCA submission portal. Stakeholders from various countries and sectors reported on innovative projects related to digital solutions and building reuse. Discussion and ideas from the conference are a good starting point for the Nordic Sustainable Construction 2025–2027 project, which aims to promote a green transformation in the construction industry with a focus on circularity and digital solutions, among other things. More on NCFC Healthy Buildings Conference Series, Europe 2025 (HB 2025) 08/06/2025 - 11/06/2025 The European Regional Conference on Healthy Buildings was held in Reykjavík from 8 to 11 June. During these times of climate change, we must ensure that buildings do not harm the planet or the health of those who live in them. We need to focus on both the environment and people. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and promote sustainability, we need to combine diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. At the same time, we must ensure that indoor air is as safe and healthy as possible. The condition and design of buildings play a key role in shaping indoor air quality. The conference lasted three days and after the main program ended, a symposium was held for Icelandic professionals on 11 June at 13:00. HB 2025 Webpage HB 2025 Facebook page HB 2025 Event Icelandic symposium | Event Katarzyna Jagodzińska from Green Building Council Iceland gave a talk on New European Bauhaus at the end of the symposium and discussed how NEB can be used to improve the quality of buildings. A recording of the seminar can be found below. Recording Workshop: Can New European Bauhaus be the answer to the challenges Icelandic architecture and design face? 04/06/2025 A workshop on the New European Bauhaus concept was held on Wednesday, June 4th, at 9:30-11:00 in Fenjamýri in Gróska in collaboration with the Icelandic Association of Architects and GBCI. Elín Þórólfsdóttir gave a short talk about New European Bauhaus and Katarzyna Jagodzinska from Grænni byggð then took over and explained the ideology further. After that, the participants took part in a workshop where discussions took place in smaller groups and at the end the groups shared their ideas with the whole group. About 35 people participated and interesting and necessary discussions took place about sustainability, beauty and inclusion in the construction industry! Background Beauty and sustainability For several years now, there has been much discussion about sustainability in relation to Icelandic architecture and design, and the environmental impact has often dominated the discussion. However, social and aesthetic aspects are gaining more and more importance, as can be seen from the recent and ongoing discussion about the aesthetics of new Icelandic buildings. The question that arises most is whether it is possible to combine these three aspects - aesthetics, the social aspect and sustainability? New European Bauhaus (NEB) The idea of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) could answer this question, as it combines sustainability, beauty and inclusion in the construction industry. It defines these three aspects in a clearer and more practical way that is on the verge of being measurable. But what is the usefulness of NEB in the Icelandic context? Can NEB help solve the problems that Icelandic architecture and design are facing? What is New European Bauhaus? New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a policy and funding initiative that makes green transformation in the built environment – and beyond – attractive, enjoyable and accessible for all. Even the smallest communities have the right to a quality of life in spaces that enhance their well-being and sense of belonging. The project promotes solutions that are not only sustainable, but also inclusive and beautiful, while respecting the diversity of places, traditions and cultures in Europe and beyond. Niðurstöður Eftirfarandi eru niðurstöðurnar úr vinnustofunni . Þátttakendur röðuðu lykilatriðum innan þriggja aðalhluta NEB - sjálfbærni, fegurðar og inngildingar - eftir mikilvægi. Ítarlegri umfjöllun um niðurstöðurnar, auk niðurstaða úr annarri vinnustofu um NEB sem haldin var 11. júní á málþinginu Byggjum til framtíðar (Healthy Buildings 2025) kemur út í fréttabréfi Grænni byggðar í haust (skráðu þig á póstlista ). Við stefnum á að halda umræðunni um NEB á lífi áfram - fylgist með samfélagsmiðlunum okkar! Sjálfbærni: Tvö lykilatriði voru sett í efsta sæti í hlutanum um sjálfbærni, þó margir hópar hafi einnig talið mörg önnur lykilatriði mikilvæg: - Hringrásarhagkerfi í byggingargeiranum (S.9); - Að ná sem bestum grænum áhrifum opinbera geirans hvað varðar efnahagslega þátttöku hans í sjálfbærni byggða umhverfisins (S.7). Algengasta ástæðan fyrir því að Hringrásarhagkerfi í byggingargeiranum var valið var að hugtakið er margþætt og nær yfir mörg atriði, sem gerir það yfirgripsmikið og þar af leiðandi viðeigandi fyrir stóran hluta af hagsmunaaðilum byggingargeirans. Hóparnir lögðu einnig áherslu á mikilvægi þess að fjármálageirinn og opinberir aðilar taki þátt í sjálfbærni aðgerðum. Eftirfarandi tvö lykilatriði enduðu í neðstu sætunum: - Lágmarka umhverfisáhrif á loft og vatn sem ekki tengjast orku (S.5); - Lágmarka notkun jarðefnaeldsneytis í byggðu umhverfi (S.1). Ástæðan fyrir þessu var að samkvæmt þátttakendum hefur mikil áhersla þegar verið lögð á þessi atriði og fjölmargar aðgerðir nú þegar í gangi í tengslum við þau. Fegurð: Líkt og í sjálfbærni hlutanum voru tvö lykilatriði í efstu sætunum: - Að hámarka endingu og líftíma (B.6); - Að tryggja heilsu, þægindi og vellíðan íbúa (B.4), en Stafræn umbreyting í byggingariðnaði (B.1) var afgerandi sett í neðsta sæti. Margir hópar lögðu áherslu á mikilvægi þess að lengja líftíma bygginga og byggingarhluta, sem og mikilvægi þess að leggja meiri áherslu á vellíðan fólks í byggðu umhverfi (dagsbirta var til dæmis nefnd sem eitt af mikilvægustu atriðunum í þessu samhengi). Í tengslum við umræðu um að lengja endingu bygginga nefndu hóparnir einnig að hugarfarsbreyting væri nauðsynleg og að meðhöndla þurfi byggingar öðruvísi en aðrar neysluvörur sem er hent/breytt í samræmi við tískustrauma. Þegar kom að Stafrænni umbreytingu í byggingariðnaði þótti þátttakendum erfitt að sjá tengslin milli skilgreiningar NEB á fegurð og forsmíði bygginga og byggingarhluta, forsmíði virðist vera andstæða fegurðar, sérstaklega hvað varðar fagurfræði. Inngilding: Þessi hluti vinnustofunnar var mesta áskoruninn fyrir þátttakendur, en þeim fannst skorta sérhæfða þekkingu til þess að meta þessi atriði. Mörg atriði voru einnig talin nátengd og sum sköruðust við lykilatriði í hlutanum um fegurð. Tvö atriði voru samt sem áður metin mikilvægust í íslensku samhengi: - Hagkvæmni (e. affordability) (I.2); - Alhliða gæði, jafnrétti og aðgengi (I.3). Í tengslum við Hagkvæmni (e. affordability ) voru vandamál á íslenskum húsnæðismarkaði nefnd og áhrif þeirra á samfélagið í heild, en sérstaklega áhrif á viðkvæma hópa (t.d. hversu erfitt það er að eignast húsnæði á Íslandi). Alhliða gæði, jafnrétti og aðgengi var talið tengjast Hagkvæmni á beinan hátt sem og lengri endingu bygginga (þ.e. rétt viðhald rýma og þjónustu). Hér má finna ýtarlega skýrslu um NEB sem og tól sem hægt er að nota til þess að meta atriði úr NEB í eigin verkefnum. Dagur Grænni byggðar - GBCI Day 08/10/2025 Green Building Council Iceland Day was held at IÐNÓ on October 8! The program began at 1:00 PM and ended with the presentation of the Green Shovel at 5:00 PM. After that, drinks and snacks were served. Moderator was Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir from Hornsteinn and board member of GBCI. This year's conference placed a special emphasis on the social aspects of sustainability - the well-being of users in the built environment. ✨Program ✨ 💡Keynote speaker: Natalia Olszewska 💡 🏡 Natalia Olszewska is a doctor and also holds an MSc degree. She is passionate about health-oriented design and the creation of environments that support health and well-being. With this goal in mind, she specializes in utilizing neuroscience and psychology in architecture and building design, basing her work on a deep understanding of physiology and medicine. 📖 Natalia has a unique interdisciplinary background, with degrees in medicine, neuroscience, and neuroscience in architecture, as well as research at Harvard University and the Collège de France. ✏ Natalia is one of the founders of IMPRONTA, a research and consulting firm focused on the science behind design that focuses on health and well-being. She has worked on architectural projects around the world that have in common the design of buildings to support cognitive, emotional, and social development. 👩🏫 Natalia teaches Neuroscience in Architecture at IUAV University in Venice. All of her work is based on the belief that architecture should do more than just serve its basic purpose and should fulfill our deepest biological, emotional, and social needs. She lectures and writes on the connections between health, neuroscience, and the built environment. 💡 Lecture: The healing power of nature – landscape design with an emphasis on recovery - Íris Reynisdóttir, Efla💡 🏗 The built environment and its inhabitants are diverse, landscape architecture works in an interdisciplinary way to create green spaces for different user groups. The talk discusses how the team of landscape architects at Efla approaches their projects to create a healthy environment for all. 💡 Lecture: The present and future of daylight in Icelandic buildings - Ásta Logadóttir, Lota💡 🏗 Light has a direct impact on health, vision and our experience of spaces. In the lecture, Ásta Logadóttir, team leader at LOTU, discusses the state of daylight in Icelandic buildings and RB blöð connected to it. 💡 Lecture: Energy classification of houses in Iceland - Björn Marteinsson💡 🏗 Presentation of the activities of the working group organized by HMS regarding the energy classification of residential buildings in Iceland and ongoing work regarding the energy classification of other types of buildings. 💡 Lecture: Action Plan Building a Greener Future - new actions - Elín Þórólfsdóttir, HMS 💡 🏗 The latest actions in the Action Plan Building a Greener Future will be presented. They support the goals of carbon neutrality, circular economy, sustainability in the construction sector and the implementation of nature-based solutions. 💡 Lecture: New hotel site rises with sustainability at the forefront - Berglind Ósk Ólafsdóttir, Reitir 💡 🏗 Reitir is currently building a HYATT hotel at Laugavegur 176. The talk will discuss how sustainability has been integrated into the design, construction and future operation of the hotel on this historic building site at Laugavegur 176. 💡 Lecture: Less waste and more value creation - Emilía Borgþórsdóttir, Húsasmiðjan 💡 🏗 Húsasmiðjan has worked diligently to improve processes within its operations, which promotes the renewal of materials and the value creation of building materials. In the talk, the sustainability project manager at Húsasmiðjan will discuss how sustainability is used in innovation within the company. 🗣 Panel: User Well-being in the Built Environment - The Biggest Challenge of Our Time 🗣 🏗 The panel will include experts and representatives from various stakeholders within the construction industry. Confirmed panelists are Páll Jakob Líndal from ENVALYS and Reykjavík University, Guðrún Ragna Yngvadóttir from ASK Architects, Guðrún Álfheiður Thorarensen from EIK and Ingvi Jónasson from Klasi. Moderator of panel discussion is Anna Sigríður Jóhannsdóttir, architect and board member of GBCI. Opening: New European Bauhaus in an Icelandic context 21/08/2025 Green Building Council Icelands thanks everyone for coming to the opening of the exhibition New European Bauhaus in an Icelandic Context in Arctic Space on August 21st! The exhibition introduces the concept of New European Bauhaus (NEB) and places special emphasis on its applicability in the Icelandic context. The history, development and background of the NEB concept are reviewed, as well as the main elements, values and working principles related to NEB are explained. Examples of Icelandic projects that follow the values and working principles of NEB are also shown. New European Bauhaus is a concept that promotes solutions in construction, architecture and design that are not only sustainable but also inclusive and beautiful. Could NEB help us solve the problems that Icelandic architecture and design are facing? What aspects of the NEB concept can we use in architecture and design in Iceland? All are welcome to view the exhibition during Arctic Space opening hours: Fri : 15:00 - 18:00 | Sat : 13:00 - 16:00 or by appointment by sending an email to info@arcticspace.is Arctic Space Visit to Urriðaból - 2024 Green Shovel Award winner 23/05/2025 On May 23, Green Building Council Iceland and HJARK hosted a visit for GBCI members to Urriðaból preschool in Garðabær, the winner of the Green Shovel Award in 2024. During the visit, Hulda Jónsdóttir from HJARK, the main designer and design manager of the building, walked with participants through the building in its entirety and talked about the design process, the construction, the certification process and more. The participants then had the opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable insight into various aspects of the design process. Information about Urriðaból can be found on our website under Green shovel. Thank you to those that came on the visit and to Hulda for an interesting introduction! GBCI General Meeting 2025 29/04/2025 Green Building Council Iceland general meeting was held on Tuesday, April 29th at 3:00 PM in the HMS offices in Borgartún. All member companies of GBCI were invited to the meeting and there was a good turnout. Traditional general meeting business was carried out in addition to elections for three board seats. The following were elected to the GBCI board: Alex Ingi Espersen, structural engineer at COWI Anna Sigríður Jóhannsdóttir, architect FAÍ Bergþóra Góa Kvaran, specialist at the Icelandic Environment and Energy Agency Alex and Bergþóra are new members of the board and Anna Sigríður is re-elected. Anna Kristín Hjartardóttir, Elín Þórólfsdóttir, Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir and Sunna Hrönn Sigmarsdóttir have a mandate for one more year and will therefore remain on the board. Íris Þórarinsdóttir and Alexander Helgason are stepping down from the board and we would like to thank them very much for their good work. The annual report and financial statements for GBCI's operations in 2024 can be found under Documentation on the website. In addition to the traditional general meeting activities, GBCI staff gave short presentations on two exciting projects that GBCI is working on. Aðalsteinn and Ástrós presented new guidelines for emission-free construction sites that are intended to be useful to all those who want to reduce emissions from construction sites. The brochures with the guidelines can be found under Publications - Emission-free Workshops on the website. Katarzyna spoke about the New European Bauhaus concept and GBCI's role in the Bauhaus Goes North project. Morning meeting - Car cellars or parking garages: impact, hindrances and future visions 25/02/2025 Green Building Council Iceland held a morning meeting on February 25th at 9:00 AM about parking garages and car cellars. The meeting consisted of two presentations and a panel discussion. Over 90 people attended the meeting, which was live streamed. Recordings of the presentations and panel discussions can be found below. Thanks for coming! Carbon-neutral Reykjavík 2030: development and climate impact - Hrönn Hrafnsdóttir and Herdís Sigurgrímsdóttir , City of Reykjavík Hrönn and Herdís presented a project that recently began at the City of Reykjavík and revolves around revolutionizing residents' choices of transportation and how different parking solutions hinder or facilitate changes in transportation habits in the city. One of the questions the project aims to answer is: will car cellars change our transportation habits or solidify the car as our primary mode of transportation? Parking garages and Borgarlína in Keldnaland - Þorsteinn R. Hermannsson , Betri Samgöngur ohf. Þorsteinn presented a proposal for the development of a new district at Keldur and Keldnaholt with three Borgarlína stations, which envisages the construction of several parking garages in the area. The parking garages, each of which will be shared by a number of apartments and commercial buildings on nearby plots, will largely replace private basements and private parking on plots. It is intended that the buildings can accommodate central services for the adjacent area on the ground floor and that they can be converted into commercial or residential premises if the need for parking decreases in the future. Panel discussion The panel included: Elín Þórólfsdóttir, team leader from Húsnæðis- and mannvirkjastofnun Borghildur Sölvey Sturludóttir , architect and head of the department of local planning, City of Reykjavik. Ólafur Árnason , Director, Icelandic Planning Agency. Íris Þórarinsdóttir, the chair of the board of Green Building Council Iceland, was the meeting moderator. Upptaka Upptaka Upptaka Small steps, big impact – reducing the environmental effect of the construction industry 03/04/2025 In connection with DesignMarch, the Icelandic Association of Architects, in collaboration with Green Building Council Iceland, Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun, Miðstöð hönnunar og arkitektúrs and Viska union, held a symposium on eco-friendly construction. The symposium was also supported by Starfsþróunarsetur háskólamanna. One of the keynote speakers at the symposium, architect Sinus Lynge , is one of the founders of EFFEKT design studio. His vision is to reconnect people with nature through good design in a broad sense. EFFEKT is also one of the founders of the non-governmental organization Reduction Roadmap , which has published a roadmap of the same name. Sinus Lynge presented the philosophy behind the roadmap, which is very ambitious and also shows how much emissions from construction need to be reduced in order to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement. The other keynote speaker was Harpa Birgisdóttir, Professor and Head of the Department of Sustainable Buildings at Aalborg University. She has worked on developing software that calculates the ecological footprint of buildings, research that has supported the implementation of legislation regarding the ecological footprint of buildings, and research that shows what actions are needed to ensure that buildings do not exceed planetary boundries. Elín Þórólfsdóttir , architect MAA , MA in environmental and resource science and team leader at HMS, then discussed Vegvísir að vistvænni mannvirkjagerð (roadmap for sustainable construction) , the achievements made and the next steps. She also discussed life cycle assessments (LCA) in regulations, how they are implemented in Iceland and what impact they have on the construction industry. After the lectures, a panel discussion took place, with the following members of the panel: Sinus Lynge, speaker Harpa Birgisdóttir, speaker Elín Þórólfsdóttir, speaker Logi Einarsson, Minister of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education Borghildur Sturludóttir, architect and Department Head at City Planning in Reykjavik Municipality Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, architect and Icelands representative in the Venice Biennale in Architecture Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir, engineer og CEO of the Environment and Quality Department at Hornsteinar Andri Snær Magnason, writer and environmentalist Morning meeting: the benefits of the maintenance of embodied carbon in real estates 24/01/2025 Green Building Council Iceland recently held a morning meeting in collaboration with Iðun fræðslusetur and Verkís , about the benefits of maintaining embedded carbon in real estate. Real estate maintenance is rarely discussed in the context of reducing carbon emissions. Much more is discussed about the economic feasibility of maintenance measures. Ólafur Ástgeirsson , leader of the construction and civil engineering sectors at Iðan, opened the meeting and welcomed the audience. Ragnar Ómarsson, structural engineer and business manager for sustainability at Verkís, then gave a lecture and discussed among other things how reducing carbon emissions and cost efficiency can go hand in hand, what it means to maintain embedded carbon, what the rescue value of buildings is and how it is calculated. There was a good turnout at the meeting, which was livestreamed. A recording of the meeting will be available here shortly. Visit to Landsbankinn 23/01/2025 Members of Green Building Council Iceland were invited to visit the Landsbankin's new building at Reykjastræti 6 on 23. January. The building was nominated for the Green shovel award in 2024 and has a BREEAM certification for example. Attendees got a lecture on the history of the building and construction, design, use, certification process and more. After that attendees were invited to walk through the building with a guide. Thank you to Landsbankinn for inviting us!

Rannsaka möguleikana og tækifærin á innleiðingu hringrásarhagkerfis í auknum mæli tengt notkun byggingarefna About the project Grænni byggð works with Lendager Island , Minjastofnun , SORPA , and Verkís hf on this project. There is a noticeable interest in the Icelandic construction sector in material and product reuse; however, the reuse is in its infancy due to: a lack of knowledge among stakeholders on how to reuse construction materials and products the common belief that the reuse of materials and products is blocked by current legal regulations (e.g., building code, need for CE marking, lack of standards for reused materials/products) in Iceland. The project aims to address these aspects. The project outcome will provide an overview of opportunities and identify risks for reusing various construction materials and products. The information on the legal requirements the secondary material and products need to meet to be approved for use will also be included, followed by suggested possible directions to change these legal requirements to facilitate reuse. Mynd: Ástrós Steingrímsdóttir Collaborators The project received a grant from Askur - mannvirkjarannsóknasjóður which is funded by Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun, Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education.

Green Building Council Iceland's materials on certification systems. Certification systems 2023 Green Building Council Iceland published the reports: 1) The impact of building materials and energy efficiency on the carbon footprint of buildings - Comparison of the carbon footprint of building materials and energy consumption in BREEAM certified and non-certified buildings (Áhrif byggingarefna og orkunýtingar á kolefnisspor bygginga - Samanburður á kolefnisspori byggingarefna og orkunotkunar í BREEAM vottaðri og óvottaðri byggingu) and 2) Stakeholder experiences with certification systems - Interviews with the construction industry (Reynsla hagaðila að vistvottunarkerfum - Viðtöl við byggingariðnaðinn). The reports were written in cooperation with the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS), with a grant from the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate, and are a part of action 5.2.1 in Vegvísir að vistvænni mannvirkjagerð 2030 (roadmap to sustainable construction) : Analysing the benefit and cost of environmental certifications. Click on the reports below to read. 2019-2020 GBCI worked together with the Icelandic Civil Engineering Agency (Mannvirkjastofnun) on a research project on the certification system of buildings. Two certification systems were chosen for research - BREEAM and Swan. The project goal was to carry out tests and instructions on the systems and to study how they adapt to the conditions in the Icelandic construction market. The reports can be read below. BREEAM certification scheme for buildings - Brochure (in Icelandic) BREEAM 2016 Energy requirements and the experience of meeting them in Icelandic projects (in Icelandic) BREEAM - Visual comfort (in Icelandic) BREEAM quality and environmental management - The requirements and how they have been met in Iceland (in Icelandic) The experience of the environmental certification Swan for buildings - Part I General review (in Icelandic) BREEAM In-Use (in Icelandic) BREEAM Construction materials and waste - The requirements and how they have been fulfilled in Iceland (in Icelandic) Transport and land use requirements in BREEAM international 2016 (in Icelandic) BREEAM Building materials - Introductory brochure on the requirements (in Icelandic) The experience of the environmental certification The Swan for buildings - Part II The rating system (in Icelandic) The annexe can be found here (in Icelandic). Environmental certification system for buildings - analysis of the feasibility and adaptability of foreign certification systems for the Icelandic construction market (in Icelandic)

Energy use – designed and measured About the project The main goal of the project is to collect information on the (purchased) energy demand of buildings (kWh/m² anually; due to heating and/or cooling on one hand and general electricity consumption on the other) and compare the purchased energy and the estimated energy demand according to calculations . Partners Project partners are: - EFLA ; - the University of Reykjavik ; - Björn Marteinsson. The project received a grant from Askur – Housing and Construction Research Fund. Skoðið skýrslu verkefnisins hér

Circular economy 1) Eliminate waste and pollution Waste is the result of decisions made at the design stage. Therefore, it is essential to change our mindset when it comes to design and consider waste generation a design flaw. The construction sector plays a crucial role in implementing a circular economy as it is responsible for considerable resource use and waste generation. To prevent our planet's resources from running dry, we need to change our consumption habits and production methods radically. The circular economy can be explained using three main principles from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation :  2) Circulate products and materials (at their highest value) It is important that the products and materials we produce remain within our economy. Therefore, ways of their reuse, repair, or recycle must be widely available. 3) Regenerate nature The circular economy plays in favour of nature in multiple ways by moving from extraction to regeneration, for instance, by reducing the amount of raw materials needed to be mined, thereby returning more land to nature. Currently, a few of the most significant barriers to implementing circular economy principles in the construction sector are: - lack of legal frameworks regulating the reusing of materials, - lack of data on material flows and the quality of materials, - lack of knowledge of circular design. There are several initiatives to solve the above issues. The first example is the criteria for circular buildings created by FutureBuild , stating that a circular building must consist of at least 50% of reused and reusable components. The criteria also cover other aspects, like, for example, design-for-adaptability. More information can be found here (FutureBuilt kriterier for sirkulære bygg ; in Norwegian ). The second example is the EU's set of guidelines for legal and technical stakeholders and policy-makers in the construction sector on how to implement circular economy principles, which can be found here . Hringvangur A network for circular construction in Icelandic building industry was created at the end of 2023. The network is called Hringvangur and Green Building Council Iceland is the host for now. The website is www.hringvangur.is Additional information Does it cost more to renovate than to build new? Answers to this and other questions can be found in GBC Norway's publications Tenk deg om før du river (Think before tearing down; in Norwegian ). Guidelines and business tools for companies in the construction sector on how to implement circular solutions in their activities can be found in Nordic Circular Economy Playbook 2.0 .

About the project Nordic Networks for Circular Construction (NNCC) was a two-year project aiming at accelerating the implementation of circular economy principles in the Nordic construction sector. It is financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers . The project consisted of six work packages of which GBCI and the Housing and Construction Authority of Iceland (HMS ) work towards realising Work package 6: National Fora . Other work packages dealed with, among others, analysing the barriers and possibilities in implementing a circular economy in Nordics and metrics for circularity. Skýrsla Work package 6: National Fora One of the crucial parts of sustainable and circular construction development is sharing know-how and hands-on experiences along the entire chain of construction stakeholders. This is often realised by the so-called national fora (networks) consisting of the cross-section of the construction sector. Therefore, one of the goals of Work package 6: National fora was creating such a network in Iceland to facilitate spreading the knowledge on circular construction, especially focusing on the Icelandic and Nordic context, but not excluding European and global state-of-the-art solutions. Additionally, workshops with various stakeholders were organised to strengthen the implementation of a circular economy in Nordic construction. At these workshops, the findings on the barriers to adopting circular construction (Work Package 2: Analysis of Barriers and Possibilities ) were presented, and possible solutions were discussed to define further steps necessary to accelerate the implementation of circular construction. Main objectives > Creating the network on circular construction in Iceland to facilitate sharing of know-how and hands-on experiences among Icelandic and foreign construction sector stakeholders; > Defining further steps necessary to accelerate the adaptation of circular economy in Nordic countries.

Information on Byggjum grænni framtíð (Let's build greener future - Icelandic roadmap to sustainable construction). Byggjum grænni framtíð - Roadmap towards sustainable construction Following Iceland's climate action plan , the public road map towards sustainable construction was introduced as a result of a joint project between the government and construction sector stakeholders (Byggjum grænni framtíð - Let's build a greener future), including the Green Building Council Iceland. The road map includes goals and a set of actions to reduce the carbon emissions of construction activities. The actions are divided into six main categories: Building materials. Construction stage. Building use stage. End of life stage. Planning and design. Incentives and other means to encourage change. The project management board consists of representatives from the Green Building Council Iceland, the Industry Association , the Road Administration , the Environment Agency , the Union of Icelandic Municipalities , the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS). Elín Þórólfsdóttir from HMS is the project manager. More information can be found on the BGF website .

Grænir verkstaðir About the project Green Construction Sites encompass building projects as well as other infrastructure developments. The Green Building Council Iceland worked on the project Emission-Free Construction Sites over a two-and-a-half-year period from 2022 to 2024. The outcomes of this work included four reports, newsletters, a video presentation, and more. The objective of the Green Construction Sites project is to adapt the findings from the Emission-Free Construction Sites project to the Icelandic market and make them accessible to various stakeholder groups within the industry. This will be achieved by publishing 5–6 brochures containing detailed yet easy-to-read information about emissions from construction sites and guidelines for reducing those emissions.

Information on LCA and LCC. Life cycle assessment (LCA) Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate a product or service's local and global environmental impact over its lifetime or "from cradle to grave". More precisely, the overall environmental impact is analysed, so the one occurring at all stages of the ecosystem or across the entire value chain, i.e. due to the acquisition of raw materials, production, use and disposal. The framework and methodology of performing LCA for buildings are presented in the EN 15978 standard (Sustainability of construction works - Assessment of environmental performance of buildings - Calculation method). According to the standard, the LCA results are presented for five main phases, and each phase is identified with a letter and serial number: The following software can, for example, be used to create an LCA for buildings: One Click LCA - Simple LCA calculations in the design phase of buildings Danish LCAbyg - From Denmark: Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut, Aalborg Universitet Copenhagen Green Delta’s OpenLCA – From GreenDelta in Berlin, Germany Life cycle costing (LCC) Often, Life-cycle costing (LCC) is performed together with LCA. LCC is used to analyseall the costs incurred during the asset's lifetime (e.g., product, service, building). The considered costs are, among others, purchase costs and costs associated with that (e.g., delivery or installation costs), operation costs (e.g., energy or fuel costs, maintenance costs), and end-of-life costs (e.g., disposal or recycling costs). LCC can also include the asset's residual value, so potential revenue from its reuse or sale.

Green Building Council Iceland's materials on other topics than construction and demolition waste or certification systems. Other published materials On this page you can find reports that GBCI has published or been involved in the publication process of. Click the reports to read them. 2026 Updated average values for emissions from construction sites The report compiles and analyzes data on emissions from construction projects and compares them with Icelandic average values for phases A4 and A5 in life cycle assessments, in order to increase the accuracy of Icelandic average values by relying on measured real data. 2025 Nettó Núll - Carbon neutral construction in Icelandic conditions The report provides guidance on how to develop and implement carbon-neutral buildings in Icelandic conditions and lays the foundation for a Net Zero certification system. 2024 Nordic Circularity Accelerator Recommendations on how to expedite circular construction nationally, in the Nordics and in Europe. Nordic Networks for Circular Construction Policy patways for fostering circular transition in construction in the Nordic Region 2021 Parents and children's travel habits to kindergarten (in Icelandic) 2020 Let's build a greener future (Byggjum grænni framtíð) - Summary of the state of environmental issues in the construction industry in the Nordic countries (in Icelandic) 2019 The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Umhverfis- og auðlindaráðuneytið )granted GBCI a grant to prepare guidelines for apartment buildings that want to promote more environmentally friendly priorities in their operations. The guidelines were drawn up in collaboration with Sorpa and Eignaumsjón . The guidelines can be read below (in Icelandic). A greener apartment building (in Icelandic) Overview of energy consumption, energy prices and energy requirements for heating in Icelandic buildings (in Icelandic) LCA - Environmental impact of buildings and building materials from cradle to grave (in Icelandic) Environmental description of building materials (in Icelandic) Environmentally friendly building in the Icelandic context (in Icelandic) 2013-2017 Material quality - an overview of common building materials, their properties and main environmental aspects (in Icelandic) Housing and health - the health effects of buildings and the benefits of green buildings (in Icelandic) Ecological urban planning (in Icelandic)