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Demonstrating Real and Affordable Sustainable Building Solutions with Top-level whole life cycle performance and Improved Circularity (Drastic) About the project Drastic is a four-year Horizon European project that aims to showcase innovative solutions to reduce whole-life carbon and the climate impact of construction across the entire construction value chain in Europe. There are 23 partners in the project from 8 European countries. Green Building Council Iceland worked on the project in 2024 as a part of World Green Building. We were responsible for: gathering profiles of businesses and organisations involved in or influencing circular and sustainable practices within Iceland's construction sector. These actors are listed in the Stakeholder Map ; communication and dissemination activities. Drastic Website Stakeholder map The Drastic project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101123330.

About the project titled: HringRás (Circularity) (2022-2023). Carbon-neutral building in Icelandic conditions About the project The main goal of the project is to define a carbon-neutral building under Icelandic conditions . Project partners The partners of the project are: - Green Building Council Iceland; - Elín Þórólfsdóttir (EFLA, University of Iceland, HMS); - Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir (EFLA, Reykjavík University). View the project's first report here Part of the project was to develop a certification system for carbon-neutral building under Icelandic conditions. The report below provides instructions on how carbon-neutral buildings in Iceland can be developed and lays the groundwork to the certification system NettóNúll. View the project's report on NettóNúll here The project received a grant from Askur – Housing and Construction Research Fund.

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

Some EPDs on cement and masonry mixtures in Iceland. Environmental product declaration (EPDs) - Cement and masonry mixtures in Iceland AALBORG Aalborg Rapid Cement SCHOMBURG Schomburg Aquafin 1K Schomburg Asocrete M30 Schomburg ASOCRETE- VK30 Schomburg ASOCRET-VK100 Schomburg Fúgusement Schomburg Soloflex Schomburg Soloflex - Fast Schomburg SOLOPLAN 30 Schomburg Unifix S3 AALBORG Aalborg White Cement BM VALLÁ Gólfflot 3-50 - 25 kg sack SCHOMBURG Schomburg Aquafin IC Schomburg ASOCRET-KS/HB Schomburg Lightflex BM VALLÁ Innimúr - 25kg sack BM VALLÁ Steypublanda - 25kg sack Sementsverksmiðjan Sementsverksmiðjan Anleggsement, Brevik Standardsement FA, Brevik Sementsverksmiðjan Industrisement, Brevik

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 .

Some information about EPDs,PCR and some EPDs for Icelandic products. Environmental product declarations (EPDs) An environmental product declaration (EPD) is a document providing confirmed information about the environmental impact of the product's life cycle based on the results of performed life cycle assessment (LCA). The EPD also contain the information required by the specific Product Category Rules (PCR) and General Programme Instructions . Eventually, EDP is verified by a third party who evaluates the analysis independently. As the methodology of its preparation is regulated, EPD help build transparency and increase confidence that environmental claims made by manufacturers are accurate. In many ways, such a statement is similar to the ingredient descriptions of food products, but instead of information on nutritional value, there is information on the product's environmental impact. The first Icelandic EPD was published for Steinull , based on the analysis done by EFLA , confirmed by SINTEF building research in Oslo and published by EPD-Norge . More information on EPDs can be found on the International EPD System website or in the presented video. An open EPD database can be found on the InData network website . Product Category Rules (PCR) A Product Category Rule provides specific instructions for how life cycle assessment (LCA) should be performed for a particular product category. More precisely, it includes, among others, the so-called system boundaries (which processes and product's life cycle stages should be considered) and declared or functional units, which should be used for specific products. More information on PCR can be found on the International EPD System website , and the PCR library can be found here . Some of the EPDs for construction products and materials in Iceland Plasterboards Timber Paints Wall coverings Cement and masonry mixtures Concrete Insulating materials Building blocks Steinefni Pípur

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 the project Hringvangur—the first (and only so far) Icelandic network for circular construction—was opened as a public-private project as part of the Nordic Networks for Circular Construction (NNCC) project, realised in Iceland by Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun (HMS) and Grænni byggð . In 2024, Hringvangur was launched and hosted by Grænni byggð with support from HMS and Verkis. Now, operations must be sustained in the following year and built on the existing solid foundation. Overview The project's primary goal is to continue Hringvangur's statutory activities, which are, among others:  managing the platform to promote circular projects and solutions in Iceland; managing the website as a database of existing knowledge on various aspects of circular construction; updating stakeholders with the state-of-the-art; acting as a contract platform to facilitate cooperation between stakeholders. Hringvangur website The project received a grant from Askur - mannvirkjarannsóknasjóður which is funded by Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun (Icelandic Housing and Construction Authority), Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education.

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.

2021 Nordic GBC Webinar #3: Renovation of buildings and the Circular Economy 30/09/2021 The webinar was organised by Green Building Council Denmark within the Nordic Green Building Councils Network initiative. Arnhildur Pálmadóttir (architect at sap architects) and Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir (the board member of Green Building Council Iceland and Docent at the University of Iceland) represented Green Building Council Iceland. Among other things, they presented a new BM Vallá's project on circular concrete. Slides from the event (in English) are available here: → Introduction to circular economy (Lau Raffnsøe, Technical director, Green Building Council Denmark) ; → Sweden: Recycle and reuse an entire building (Magnus Tengberg, Head of real estate, Gothenburg Region, Vasakronan) ; → Norway: First circular building (Trond Simonsen, Manager sustainability, Entra ASA) ; → Finland: Circular approaches to planning in Hartaanselänranta, Oulu (Tuuli Kassi, Circular economy specialist/Architect, Ethica Finland) ; → Iceland: Circular concrete (Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, Architect, sap architects & Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir, Docent, the University of Iceland) ; → Denmark: Construction waste reused as resources in new constructions in the initiative City Loop (Klaus Kellermann, Sustainability architect, Roskilde Municipality). Nordc GBC Webinar #3 Nordic Climate Forum for Construction 2021 27/09/2021 The conference Nordic Climate Forum for Construction 2021 was held on September 27, 2021, at 8-13. The event took place in English. Further information can be found here . Agenda: → Moderator's welcome (Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir, Board member of Green Bulding Council Iceland); → Opening words (Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Minister of Social Affairs in Iceland); → On time and water (Andri Snær Magnason, Writer); → Oslo: How to reduce GHG emissions by 95% by 2030? (Heidi Sørensen, Director of Oslo’s Climate Agency); → European Commission: Construction products regulation and Environmental product declarations (Tapani Mikkeli, Head of Sector, Sustainable Construction, European Commission, DG GROW); → Status and current issues from academia (Jukka Heinonen, Professor, University of Iceland and Aalto University in Finland); → Status and current issues from authority (Kristina Einarsson, Boverket, Sweden & Luzie Rück, Bolig- og Planstyrelsen, Denmark); → Status and current issues from industry (Björt Ólafsdóttir, Real Estate Developer, Iða and former Minister of the Environment in Iceland) ; → Implementation of limit values in the Netherlands (Jos Verlinden, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Netherlands) ; → Limit values in the Nordic countries (Matti Kuittinen, Senior advisor, Ministry of the Environment in Finland) ; → Roundtable discussion: Limit values and Nordic harmonisation 20-24/09/2021 World Green Building Week 2021 In September every year, the so-called "Green building week" is organized by the World Green Building Council. This year, the main topic is "Building resilience", which deals with how to build resilience in the built environment. More information about the event can be found here . Green Building Day 2021 02/09/2021 The annual Green Building Day was held in IÐNÓ this year on Thursday, 2nd September. The talks were given by leading professionals in design, planning and civil engineering, where sustainability in the built environment will be the guiding principle. The event was held in Icelandic but two presentations was given in English. Unfortunately, the recording of the meeting was lost and streaming is not available this year. Facebook event can be found here . Agenda: Moderator : Elín Hirst Opening speech : Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland → Catastrophic warming as an icentive for change (in English) (Jukka Heinonen, Professor, Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, the University of Iceland); Jukka Heinonen's presentation: → Græn framtíðí í Hafnarfirði (Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður); → Tækifæri og áskoranir við það að fjármagna grænni byggð (Kristrún Tinna Gunnarsdóttir, Head of Strategy & Sustainability, Íslandsbanki); → Grænþvotturinn leysir ekki loftslagsmálin (Þorsteinn Víglundsson, CEO, Hornstein ehf); → Kynning á fagviðurkenningunni Græna skóflan (Ragnar Ómarsson, Chairman of the Green Building Council Iceland board); → The change that has taken place in the Norwegian construction industry in terms of sustainability, and the drivers behind this change (á ensku) (Marit Kindem Thyholt, Chief adviser on climate and environment, Skanska); Marit Kindem Thyholt's presentation: → Grænir hvatar í tengslum við uppbyggingu og rekstur fasteigna með fókus á atvinnuhúsnæði (Friðjón Sigurðarsson, Executive director, Reitir); → I nnri og ytri hvatar í umhverfismálum (Hrólfur Karl Cela, Architect, Basalt); → Byggjum grænni framtíð, samstarfsverkefni stjórnvalda og hagaðila byggingariðnaðarins um vistvænni mannvirkjagerð (Þóra Margrét Þorgeirsdóttir, Specialist, Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun). 03/06/2021 Morning meeting - Energy transition at the construction site On June 3, Grænni organized an exciting seminar in collaboration with Landsvirkjun, Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun, and Green Energy. The topic of the seminar was energy transition at the construction site. The live video can be found here (in Icelandic ). Nordic GBC Webinar #2: How can we half emissions from construction in two? 27/05/2021 The webinar was organized by the Norwegian Green Building Council with the Nordic GBC Network initiative. Recordings of the presentations are available here: → Our sector as a solution to the Paris Agreement ( Katharina Th. Bramslev, CEO, Norwegian Green Building Council ) → Marked initiatives and common practice in our countries ( CEOs from the GBCs in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland ) → Concrete goes low carbon in Denmark ( Jan Søndergaard Hansen, Managing director, Unicon A/S ) → Nordic collaboration for low carbon construction ( Matti Kuittinen, Senior advisor, Ministry of the Environment in Finland ) → Low carbon dwellings in Iceland ( Benedikt Ingi Tómasson, General manager, Vistbyggð ) → Lidl Visby and Noll CO2- why and how? ( Mattias Tas, Sustainability manager, Lidl ) Annual Green Building Council Iceland Meeting 21/04/2021 The meeting agenda depends on the general meeting duties according to the GBCI's bylaws and was as follows: 1. The board's report on the GBCI's work in the past year. 2. The board's work plan for the next working year. 3. The board's budget for the following operating year. 4. Invoice submission. 5. Proposals and changes to the GBCI's bylaws. 6. Election of the board of directors. 7. Inspectors' remuneration (cf. Article 9) 8. Other matters. Minutes of the general meeting can be found here (in Icelandic) . Nordc GBC Webinar #2 Strategy meeting with GBCI' partners 17/03/2021 Lectures on sustainability in the construction industry 10/2020-02/2021 IĐAN educational centre and Green Building Council Iceland organised a series of lectures on the sustainability of the construction industry: 1. BYKO's sustainability and environmental strategy. 2. Purchase of building materials and Iceland's first Swan-certified residential building. 3. Swan-certified Kársnes School and Húsasmiðinn's environmental policy. 4. Socially certified Selfoss and vision of sustainability. 5. Innivist and the "unsustainable generation". 6. Garbage as a resource and reuse of structures. See all the lectures that have been given and recordings from them (in Icelandic ) on the IDUNNAR website here.

Green Building Council's (Grænni byggð) events in 2023. 2023 Launching event of the Icelandic network on circular construction - Hringvangur 13/12/2023 It has been decided to create an independent platform for communication about the circular economy in the construction industry. This network will be called Hringvangur. Its establishment is within the Nordic Networks for Circular Construction project, in which the Housing and Infrastructure Agency and Green Building Council Iceland participate. Greenery will manage the venue. Hringvangur's founding meeting was held on the 13th of December from 15:00-16:30 at the Grand Hotel. The event began with a presentation of Hringvangur's goals, scope and budget. Afterwards, we listened to four inspiring talks about ambitious Icelandic circular construction projects, chaired by Halla Helgadóttir (Iceland Design and Architecture ). Agenda (in Icelandic ) : → Áróra Árnadóttir, Grænni byggð - Hringvangur → Björk Úlfarsdóttir, Colas – Endurunnið í malbik → Elín Þórólfsdóttir, EFLA and Perla Dís Kristinsdóttir, Basalt Architects - Hringrásarveggur → Ragnar Ómarsson, Verkís – Um meðferð á bundnu kolefni → Arnhildur Pálmadóttir and Hrefna Sigurðardóttir, Lendager Ísland – Wasteland sýningin Here, you can find Facebook event. Energy efficiency of buildings in Iceland - are we ready to add 35,000 apartments in the next 6 years? 30/11/2023 Agenda and presentations : → Alma Dagbjört Ívarsdóttir, Mannvit Orkunýtni bygginga og bætt innivist - notkun á hermihugbúnaði (in Ice landic) → Ásgeir Valur Einarsson, Iðan Þéttleiki húsa - stórt skref í átt að orkunýtni (in Icelandic) → Egill M Þorbergsson, Veitur Forðamál fyrir höfuðborgarsvæðið - 100 ára sýn Veitna (i n Icelandic) → Katarzyna Jagodzinska, Grænni Byggð Mikilvægi orkunýtingar þegar horft er til sjálfbærni og hringrásarhagkerfið (i n Icelandic) → Matthías Ásgeirsson, VSÓ Ávinningur á bættri orkunotkun eldri bygginga (i n Icelandic) → Þórunn Nanna Ragnarsdóttir, EFLA Framtíð orkuútreikninga bygginga og hlutverk vélrænna loftræsikerfa (i n Icelandic) Panellists: → Ágúst Pálsson, HMS ; → Hilmar Hildar Magnsúsarson, Reykjavíkurborg; → Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Reitir. Moderator: Rósbjörg Jónsdóttir, Icelandic Renewable Energy Cluster . Energy efficiency of buildings in Iceland - are we ready to add 35,000 apartments in the next 6 years? 31/10/2023 Increased energy efficiency in buildings in Iceland → How are we doing? → Is energy saving in buildings in Iceland necessary? → Can we use energy better in buildings? → How can we improve utilization? → Do we have access to sufficient energy to build 35,000 apartments by 2030 as planned? These questions and others were answered at the event organised by Green Building Council Iceland, HMS, and Icelandic Renewable Energy Cluster . The recording of the event can be found here . Agenda and presentations : → Alma Dagbjört Ívarsdóttir, Mannvit Orkunýtni bygginga og bætt innivist - notkun á hermihugbúnaði (in Icelandic) → Ásgeir Valur Einarsson, Iðan Þéttleiki húsa - stórt skref í átt að orkunýtni (in Icelandic) → Egill M Þorbergsson, Veitur Forðamál fyrir höfuðborgarsvæðið - 100 ára sýn Veitna (i n Icelandic) → Katarzyna Jagodzinska, Grænni Byggð Mikilvægi orkunýtingar þegar horft er til sjálfbærni og hringrásarhagkerfið (i n Icelandic) → Matthías Ásgeirsson, VSÓ Ávinningur á bættri orkunotkun eldri bygginga (i n Icelandic) → Þórunn Nanna Ragnarsdóttir, EFLA Framtíð orkuútreikninga bygginga og hlutverk vélrænna loftræsikerfa (i n Icelandic) Panellists: → Ágúst Pálsson, HMS ; → Hilmar Hildar Magnsúsarson, Reykjavíkurborg; → Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Reitir. Moderator: Rósbjörg Jónsdóttir, Icelandic Renewable Energy Cluster . Nordic Circular Summit Partner Session: Nordic Circular Construction ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴄɪʀᴄᴜʟᴀʀ ᴇᴄᴏɴᴏᴍʏ ɪɴ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴛʀᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ɪɴɴᴏᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 18/10/2023 How can we, stakeholders in the construction sector, facilitate the circularity of our work? What could the Nordic Council of Ministers do to push forward circular construction? We explored together the need for innovation in the construction sector, focusing on how stakeholders can promote circularity in their work and the Nordic Council of Ministers' role in advancing circular construction at our event on the 18th of October as part of the Nordic Circular Summit conference. Here you can find the recording of the event. Agenda and presentations: Part I: Circular economy in construction – Is it doable in practice? → Katarzyna Jagodzińska, Project manager, Grænni byggð 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘴 – 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸? → Stefan Eriksson, Project manager, Vasakronan 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴-𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘈𝘑16 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 Part II: Group discussion Topic: New methods and new systems that support the reuse of building materials. Moderator: Otto-Wille Koste, Demos Helsinki . Green Building Council Day 2023 27/09/2023 The Green Building Council Day 2023 was held on the 27th of September from 13:00 to 17:00 in Gróska. The event kicked off with 11 interesting talks delivered by sustainability professionals in the construction industry. After the presentations, the Green Shovel was delivered. The prize was awarded to the FSRE and partners for the nursing home Móberg in Selfoss. At the event, we also had exhibitions of sustainable building solutions from Neuza Valadas , Stúdíó Flétta, Stúdíó Lúdika , and PAGO . See the Facebook event here . Agenda and presentations: Moderator : Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir, EFLA → Opnun stjórnarformanns (Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Reitir ); → Ávarp (Andrés Ingi Jónsson, Member of the Parlament); → Dagsbirta í byggð (in Ic elan dic) (Anna Sigríður Jóhannsdóttir, Architect); → Er græn byggð græn án grænna samgangna? (in Icelandic) (Daði Baldur Ottósson, EFLA ); → Mannlíf, byggð og bæjarrými (in Icelandic) (Magnea Guðmundsdóttir, Stika , og Jón Kjartan Ágústsson, SSH ); → Sjálfbær stýring jarðefnaflutninga (in Ic elan dic) (Davíð Thor Guðmundsson og Hallgrímur Örn Arngrímsson, Verkís ); → Heildrænar áherslur Svansins (in Ic elan dic) (Guðrún Lilja Kristinsdóttir, UST ); → Breytingar á byggingarreglugerð (in Ic elan dic) (Þórunn Lilja Vilbergsdóttir, HMS ); → Áhrif flokkunarreglugerðar ESB á byggingarstarfsemi (in Ic elan dic) (Margrét Helga Guðmundsdóttir, Deloitte ); → Hringrásarsmíði og Hringvangur (Katarzyna Jagodzińska, Grænni byggð); Nordic Sustainable Infrastructure Webinar 13/09/2023 Have you thought about the state of ecological infrastructure in the Nordic countries? On the 13th of September, we, with our sister organizations in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, held a seminar from 10:00 - 11:30. The state of sustainability in infrastructure in each country will be reviewed, and then we will receive two presentations on outstanding examples. It will also be possible to participate in discussions. Agenda : Current state of sustainability in infrastructure from each country: - from Finland Riina Känkänen, Chair of FIGBC Infrastructure Committee and Head of Sustainability, Ramboll Finland; - from Sweden Sofie Absér, Senior Green Transformation Strategist, Sweco; - from Iceland Alexandra Kjeld, Vice-chair of Green Building Council Iceland, EFLA; - from Norway Ketil Søyland, Project director sustainability, Norconsult. Interesting project presentations: - "Crown Bridges - How to make Sustainability part of the project" - Minna Tukiainen, City of Helsinki, Finland; - "Minimizing life cycle emissions from power stations" - Kristinn Jasonarson, Landsvirkjun, Iceland; - "Hammarängen" - David Nordberg and Martin Lundholm, Skanska, Sweden. NordicSustainaleInfrastrucureWebnar Joint Nordic event: Nordic Circular Construction and New Nordic Bauhaus 13/09/2023 What should public bodies do to push for a cycle in construction? How can we, as a society, accelerate the transition to climate neutrality with the circular economy paradigm? On September 13th, we held a seminar in collaboration with Demos Helsinki , Green Building Council Finland , and URBAN AGENDA to answer these questions. Agenda and presentations: Part I: What should the public authorities do to push forward circularity in construction? → Policies Enabling the Reuse of Construction Products in the Nordics (Sidse Zimmermann, Nordic Sustainable Construction project, Denmark) → Material passports and a data dictionary for reused building materials (Katrine Hauge Smith, Senior Consultant - Danish Technological Institute, Denmark) Group discussion on chosen topics: → Secondary materials quality (How could public authorities ensure the quality of secondary materials?) → Cost responsibility (If additional assessment/work is necessary to enable reuse, where does the cost burden sit?) → Data availability (How can public authorities ensure the availability of secondary materials?) → Preparing for the future (What data could be gathered and what infrastructure could be built to avoid issues we're facing now in the future?) Part II: New Nordic Bauhaus – How will we live in a Carbon Neutral world in 2050? How do we want to live and build in the future when we do not strain the earth's balance and resources? What is "the good Nordic life" in the CO2-neutral society of the future? With support from the New Nordic Bauhaus initiative, we focus on the lifestyle of the future and, together with the audience, will formulate how we can develop a joint focus on the climate-neutral society of the future and everyday life where we continue to thrive and feel good - preferably with approaches such as art and culture. The society of the future must be climate neutral, and we must radically reduce our CO2 emissions. But how are we going to build and live, and how do we move forward when we basically know what the problem is, we have legislation, a framework and finances, but still the necessary change is going far too slowly. What can we do in the Nordics, what does the New Nordic Bauhaus look like, and what do we dream of in 2050? Panellists Antti Lehto, Assistant Professor – Housing Design, Aalto University , Finland Charlotte Nyholm, Architect and sustainable construction specialist, Vapaa Collective and Granlund , Finland Gitte Grønfeld Wille, Director, Nordic Culture Point , Finland Matti Kuittinen, Professor, Aalto University , Finland Moderator Nikolaj Sveistrup, Founder and Director, URBAN AGENDA, Denmark Key listener Mads Wolff, Director, Sustainability 2030, Danmörk CIRCON Conference. Circular construction: Are we ready for the leap? 01/09/2023 Green Building Council Iceland held a conference in Laugardalshöll on September 1 from 09:30 to 16:00. The conference was part of the Industrial Exhibition, and we worked together with the Housing and Civil Engineering Agency to combine the conference with their exhibition, where grantees from the Aski - Civil Engineering Research Fund were prioritized. At the conference, practical experience was shared about the circular economy in the construction industry, and the main obstacles were discussed. Agenda and presentations: Moderator : Freyr Eyjólfsson, Project manager - Circular economy, SORPA Session 1: Proof-of-concept - Design: → CIRCON project (Katarzyna Jagodzińska, Project manager - Circular construction, Grænni byggð) → Er verið að steypa nýju fötin keisarans? Þegar gagnsæi og rannsóknir gegna lykilhlutverki í vistvænni mannvirkjagerð (in Ic elandic) (Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir, Director of sustainability and quality, Hornsteinn /BM Vallá ) → Form fylgir framboði (in Ic elan dic) (Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, Architect and co-owner, Lendager Island) → Jarðsetning: tímans rás (in Ic elandic) (Anna María Bogadóttir, Founder, URBANISTAN ) First panel discussion : → Bjarma Magnúsdóttir, Environment director, ÍAV → Halla Helgadóttir, Executive director, Iceland Design and Architecture → Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Environment manager, Reitir → Perla Dís Kristinsdóttir, Architect, Basalt Architects → Sigríður Maack, Chairman, Architects Association of Iceland Session 2: Proof-of-concept - Materials: → Kortlagning – en hvað meira? (in Icelandic) (Guðný Káradóttir, Team leader - The green way, VSÓ ) → Rúststeinar (in Ic elandic) (Narfi Þorsteinsson, Graphic designer, Narfi ) → Biobuilding: start small, think big (Jan Dobrowolski, Founder, Studio Ludíka ) → PAGO BYLTINGIN (Byggingarefni framtíðar) (in Ic elandic) (Ólöf Salmon Guðmundsdóttir, CEO, PAGO ) → CIRCULA PackWall Byggingaplötur (in Ic elandic) (Sighvatur Lárusson, Founder, CIRCULA) Second panel discussion : → Aðalheiður Atladóttir, Project manager, FSRE → Ásgeir B. Torfason, Financial expert → Björg Ásta Þórðardóttir, Director - Construction, the Federation of Icelandic Industries → Hulda Hallgrímsdóttir, Project Manager - Economic and Urban Development, Reykjavíkurborg → Þórunn Sigurðardóttir, Team leader, HMS → Boltinn byrjar að rúlla (in Icelandic) (Hrafnhildur Sif Hrafnsdóttir, Project manager, HMS ) (in Ic elandic) Watch the recording of the event here . 35,000 apartments in 10 years: What is the best way to do this? 22/08/2023 During Design March 2023, the Icelandic Association of Architects , in collaboration with Green Building Council Iceland and the Housing and Construction Authority , held a seminar in Gróska where quality, the environment and society were prioritized. The seminar arose from a new housing plan, where the state and local authorities plan to ensure the construction of 35,000 new apartments in the country over the next 10 years. The seminar began with presentations from architects and writers, which fed into panel discussions. The meeting was chaired by Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir. 35,000 apartments in 10 years: What is the best way to do this? 05/05/2023 During Design March 2023, the Icelandic Association of Architects , in collaboration with Green Building Council Iceland and the Housing and Construction Authority , held a seminar in Gróska where quality, the environment and society were prioritized. The seminar arose from a new housing plan, where the state and local authorities plan to ensure the construction of 35,000 new apartments in the country over the next 10 years. The seminar began with presentations from architects and writers, which fed into panel discussions. The meeting was chaired by Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir. Presentations: Anna María Bogadóttir, Architect and writer Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, Architect Friðgeir Einarsson, Writ er Kristján Örn Kjartansson, Architect Double discussion panel: Andri Snær Magnason, Writer Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, Architect Ásdís Hlökk Theodórsdóttir, Planner Borghildur Sturludóttir, Architect Dagur B. Eggertsson, Mayor of Reykjavík Gylfi Gíslason, Manager of J áverk Hermann Jónsson, CEO of the Housing and Construction Authority Jóhannes Þórðarson, Architect Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjarðarbær Sigurður Hannesson, Executive Director of the Icel andic Industry Association (SI) Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Infrastructure Thráinn Hauksson, Landscape architect Green Leap in Iceland’s construction sector 27/04/2023 Around 300 people took part in the Grænt stökk í mannvirkjagerð (Green Leap in Iceland’s construction sector) event discussing the transition to more sustainable and circular construction. The main message that can be taken from all of the speeches is: we can do it, but we have to work together to make the transition happen. The key lecture was given by Anders Lendager, the CEO at Lendager, who proved that circular construction is possible and dispelled the myth that circular building is always much more expensive than conventional one. His partner in Iceland, Arnhildur Palmadottir, showed her projects proving that circular construction is possible also in Iceland by playing with locally available materials. In the same subject, we presented a brief overview of new challenges and changes in the roles of stakeholders when switching to more circular construction, one of the outcomes of the CIRCON project. We also discussed other ongoing and recently completed projects, with an emphasis on those related to the Byggjum grænni framtíð - Roadmap towards sustainable construction . Agenda and the recordings of the presentations: Moderator: Björg Ásta Þórðardóttir, Director - Constructio n, the Federation of Icelandic Industries → Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Infrastructure, Opening speech (in Ice landic) → The invention of the (un)natural system (Anders Lendager, Architect, founder and CEO, Lendager Group ) → Nordic Sustainable Construction: The Nordic journey in ecological construction (Helle Redder Momsen, Project manager Nordic Sustainable Construction ) → Byggjum grænni framtíð: Íslenska vegferðin í vistvænni mannvirkjagerð (in Icelandic) (Þóra Margrét Þorgeirsdóttir, Director of Infrastructure and Sustainability, HMS ) → Hvernig byggir Grænni byggð grænni framtíð? (in Icelandic) (Áróra Árnadóttir, CEO, Green Building Council Iceland ) → Urban society and urban agglomeration. The circular economy (Jukka Heinonen, Professor, University of Iceland ) → Arkitektúr og mannvirkjagerð með sjálfbærni og hringrásarhagkerfið að leiðarljósi (in Icelandic) (Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, Architect and co-owner, Lendager á Íslandi) → Circular construction: Can we continue with business as usual? ( Katarzyna Jagodzińska, Project manager, Green Building Council Iceland) → Loftslagsmarkmið, vistvæn steypa og byggingariðnaður (in Icelandic) (Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir, Environmental affairs director, Hornsteinn ) → Askur styður við stökkið (in Icelandic) ( Hrafnhildur Sif Hrafnsdóttir, Project manager of Askur , HMS ) → Panel discussion Anders Lendager (Arkitekt, Architect, founder and CEO, Lendager Group ) and Sigurður Hannesson (Director, the Federation of Icelandic Industries ) The event was organised by Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnunar (HMS) with the Federation of Icelandic Industries and Green Building Council Iceland. The way towards emission-free construction sites - Online event 16/03/2023 Throughout the first phase of this work package, the focus has been on gathering Nordic and European input to publish a report that analyses and determines the general definitions, boundaries, and terminology of the emission-free construction site area. This describes the status of the field today and is a good preparation for the next steps in the area. A standard definition of construction site boundaries and what emissions are included is a foundation for cooperative Nordic development in this field. Read the report: https://www.norden.org/da/node/79878 An online event was held to promote the publication of the report. There, we also introduced the Nordic network of cooperation and displayed the video from the site visit to the Green Construction Site of the Future. The event's moderator was Hólmfríður Bjarnadóttir, and specialists from Volvo CE and SiteHub talked about their way towards emission-free construction sites. Recording of the event: An urgent need for change 19/01/2023 On 19th January stakeholders in the building industry came together for the workshop Round Table for Circularity and had a meaningful conversation on how to implement a circular system in the industry. This is a pressing matter as there is an urgent need for change. The workshop was organized by Iceland Design and Architecture (Miðstöð hönnunar og arkitektúrs ), Architectures Association of Iceland (Arkitektafélagi Íslands) , EFLA, and Green Building Council Iceland in collaboration with the Federation of Icelandic Industries (Samtök iðnaðarins) , Reykjavik City (Reykjavíkurborg), and The Government Property Agency (FSRE) . Around forty important people from all of the value chain of the building industry took part in the workshop. There were representatives from real estate companies, contracting firms, engineering firms, institutions, architect firms and the government. The conclusion from the workshop was very clear: Compared to the neighboring countries, Iceland is behind when it comes to implementing circularity within the building industry and there is urgent need for change. What needs to be done? > New regulations for circularity. > A market square for used construction products. > A dynamic research center for the building industry. > Design new buildings with an emphasis on recycling and flexibility. > Redesign and reutilise older buildings. > A green incentive system for the building industry. > A strong collaboration between all stakeholders. It is clear that there is a great need for a focused conversation and collaboration across all invested parties. All participants at the workshop agreed on how important it is that the whole building industry unites in actions needed to implement a circular system across all fields of the industry. These issues are already being worked on in many parts of the field, but the entire chain must work together in order to ensure success. At the beginning of the meeting, participants got inspiring talks by Helle Redder Momsen, Head of Secretariat for the Nordic collaboration on Sustainable Construction in Denmark and Alexander van Leersum, director of Build to Impact in Rotterdam, Netherlands, who shared their experience of implementing circular systems in the building industry. Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, architect, and Áróra Árnadóttir, from Green Building Council Iceland, went over recent examples of sustainable projects in Iceland and what the current status is of the implementation of a circular system in the building industry in Iceland. After the workshop there was an open meeting in Gróska where guests got insight into this important conversation. A lively panel discussion was a part of the meeting. Participants in the panel were Borghildur Sturludóttir, head of department at Reykjavík’s planning office (Reykjavíkurborg ), Friðjón Sigurðsson, director of development at Reitir real estate, Halldór Eiríksson, director of Samark , Hermann Jónsson, director of HMS and Kristrún Tinna Gunnarsdóttir, director of strategy and sustainability at Íslandsbanki . The project Round Table for Circulation (Hringborg hringrásarinnar) is realised with support from the Askur research fund for construction .

Torfhús - getum við lært af fortíðinni? About the project In the preliminary study done in 2024, we analysed the climate sustainability of turf houses by performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) for a model turf house and estimating its carbon footprint throughout its whole life. This gave us a baseline for addressing the following question: Could we learn from the past and change our ways of living and building inspired by turf houses? In this project, we'll investigate past techniques, attitudes toward material use, and living conditions we could adopt to current practices. Within the project, we'll also work on designing a circular house that can be built in Icelandic conditions. Eventually, we'll compare the carbon footprint of a modern circular house to that of a model turf house. Grænni byggð works with Lendager Island and Minjastofnun in this project. Collaborators Overview The project's objective is twofold. It aims to facilitate circular construction in Iceland by providing a proof-of-concept in the form of a circular house design and, simultaneously, bringing attention back to a vital part of Icelandic heritage: turf houses. 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.