Green Building Council Iceland's materials on other topics than construction and demolition waste or certification systems. Emission-Free Construction Sites Grænir verkstaðir - Bæklingar Green Building Council Iceland, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Housing and Construction Authority, and the University of Iceland are working on the Emission-Free Construction sites project. The project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The final report from the project can be read by clicking on the brochure below. Frekari upplýsingar um dæmi í bæklingunum: CityLoops verkefnið Útboðskröfur í Osló Stovner sundlaugin Útgáfur Nordic Sustainable Construction verkefnisins Útgáfur Losunarlausir verkstaðir - Skýrslur 2025 Green Building Council Iceland, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Housing and Construction Authority, and the University of Iceland are working on the Emission-Free Construction sites project. The project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The final report from the project can be read by clicking on the brochure below. The final report from Emission-Free construction sites: How barriers and Policies Influence the Transition to Emission-Free Construction Sites. 2024 Green Building Council Iceland, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Housing and Construction Authority, and the University of Iceland are working on the Emission-Free Construction sites project. The project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The second report from the project can be read by clicking on the brochure below. The second report from Emission-Free construction sites: Knowledge Gaps and Research Needs. Aðra skýrslu verkefnisins má lesa með þvi að smella á bæklinginn hér að neðan. 2023 Green Building Council Iceland, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Housing and Construction Authority, and the University of Iceland are working on the Emission-Free Construction sites project. The project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The first report from the project can be read by clicking on the brochure below. The second report from Emission-Free construction sites: Knowledge Gaps and Research Needs. The first report from the Nordic Sustainable Construction project on Emission-free Construction sites. It provides an overview of the emerging concept of emission-free construction sites - the background, definitions, technology and methods.

Some EDPs on aggregates in Iceland. Environmental product declaration (EPDs) - Building blocks in Iceland Steypustöðin Bakki aggregate Jarðefnaiðnaður ehf. Steypustöðin Hólabrú aggregate Björgun Steypustöðin Vatnsskarðs aggregate Björgun Pumice and scoria (hekluvikur) Natural and Crushed Aggregates from Lambafell Natural and Crushed Sea-dredged Aggregates from Álfsnesvík

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Members The following companies, organizations and individuals are members of Green Building Council Iceland. Mynd: Ástrós Steingrímsdóttir 1st Category BM Vallá Eik fasteignafélag Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun Reitir fasteignafélag Verkís verkfræðistofa 2nd Category Búseti Efla Hafnarfjörður Isavia ohf. Heimar Reykjavíkurborg 3rd Category Alta ráðgjöf Basalt HJARK Hulda Jóns arkitektúr Arkís COWI Hornsteinar Ask arkitektar Eignaumsjón HNIT Artelia Group BYKO Húsasmiðjan Iðan Fræðslusetur ÍAV Íslenskir Aðalverktakar Íslandsbanki Jáverk Klasi Langeldur Lota Landsvirkjun Landslag Landmótun Pago Stika solutions Steinull Steypustöðin T.ark Teiknistofan Tark ehf. Teiknistofan Tröð THG arkitektar VSB verkfræðistofa Vegagerðin Umhverfis- og orkustofnun Verkvist VA Arkitektar Vista Verkfræðistofa VSÓ Ráðgjöf exa nordic Staðlaráð Íslands Íslenskir staðlar Örugg verkfræðistofa 4th Category Arnhildur Pálmadóttir architect and owner of sap arkitektar Anna María Bogadóttir , architect and owner of URBANISTAN Finnur Sveinsson , Visthús Hildur Ýr Ottósdóttir, Ydda arkitektar Sigríður Maack , architect, arctic space Anna Sigríður Jóhannsdóttir , architect Heimir Hermannsson , CEO, GigOver Bryndís Ósk Jökla Björnsdóttir , MPM Stefanía Sigfúsdóttir , architect at Atrium arkitektar

Certifications There are many different types of environmental certificates for buildings, but in general, it can be said that the goals of using them are to: - Increase the quality of buildings. - Reduce negative environmental impact. - Build healthy and safe buildings. - Reduce operating costs. In Iceland, two certification systems have been extensively used to certify buildings and areas: BREEAM and the Nordic Swan. BREEAM BREEAM is one of the most well-known environmental certification systems for buildings today, which encourages sustainable building design and ecological management during construction and operation. The BREEAM certification system uses a recognized requirements framework to assess the performance of a building's design, construction time and operating time, taking into account numerous factors, from ecology to energy consumption. These factors are included in the form of nine environmental sections having varying degrees of weight, as can be seen below: More about the BREEAM certification can be found here . BREEAM-certified buildings and construction in Iceland can be found here . The annexe for the BREEAM certification of Sundhöll Reykjavíkur (swimming pool in Reykjavik) in Icelandic can be found here . THE NORDIC SWAN ECOLABEL The Nordic Swan is a co-Nordic certification system that can be seen widely on products of various kinds. The Swan's certification system is rapidly growing buildings in the Nordic countries and elsewhere. In Iceland, the Environmental Agency is the coordinator of the Swan, and its staff is responsible for assisting companies through the certification process and granting permission to use the logo. More information on the Swan certification and the list of Swan-certified buildings can be found here . Other certification types LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system commonly used in the U.S. and Canada. It was created in the early 90s by the United States Green Building Council. More information on LEED can be found here . Level(s) Level(s) is a framework developed by the European Commission to assess and report on the sustainability performance of buildings. More information on Level(s) can be found here or in the video below.

About our partners in the CIRCON project. Project partners Our project partners have long-standing experience in both practical and research aspects of circular economy implementation in the construction sector. Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) has realised the mission of making sustainable construction the norm in Poland since 2008. To do so, they cooperate with a broad range of experts, ranging from architects through local governments, scientists, other NGOs, enterprises to media companies. The key areas of their activities are buildings decarbonisation and adaptation to climate change, circular economy in the construction sector, biodiversity increase, and improvement of society's quality of life. Home Silesian University of Technology (SUT) The Silesian University of Technology (SUT) is one of the leading Polish universities in technology and innovation. The team appointed to the project has over 30-year experience in waste management and circular economy principles, gained while working with national and international research, governmental, and industrial partners. Home

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 .