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Past events - 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.

Koma á skýrri kröfu um skil á rauntölum um magn úrgangs og virkja eftirfylgni (BGF 4.7 ) About the project Grænni byggð worked within an action 4.7 Skil á rauntölum um magn byggingarúrgangs in Vegvísir að vistvænni mannvirkjagerð 2030 aiming to improve data collection and processing on construction and demolition waste in Iceland. We were responsible for preparing an overview of systems and ways of collecting and processing data on waste in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. This overview was based on desk research and interviews with key stakeholders dealing with waste data in the Nordic countries. This overview will provide a foundation for further work of the parties responsible for the action.

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.

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)

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 .

Leiðbeiningar um endurnýtingu byggingarefna og ábyrgt niðurrif (BGF 4.9 , 4.10 ) About the project Grænni byggð worked within two actions in Vegvísir að vistvænni mannvirkjagerð 2030: 4.9. Gefa út leiðbeiningar um úrgangsforvarnir, undirbúning fyrir endurnotkun, endurvinnslu og aðra endurnýtingu byggingarefna við hönnun nýrra mannvirkja og á endurbótum . 4.10. Gefa út leiðbeiningar um ábyrgt niðurrif . To address the objectives of these two actions, the concise yet informative materials were published on the Hringvangur website . The two actions were tackled collectively as they are interwoven (i.e., reuse and recycling of materials is a significant part of selective demolition). The materials contain information on, among others: Circularity potential of most commonly used materials and products (e.g., concrete, steel, wood, glass, sanitary equipment, fire equipment, indoor products – windows, door, ventilation ducts); Environmental motivation standing behind circular practices and selective demolition with examples of real-life circular solutions and projects; New roles and responsibilities of chosen main stakeholders in circular projects.

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 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. 2025 Nettó Núll - Carbon neutral construction in Icelandic conditions 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)

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 World Green Building Council and Europe Regional Network. World Building Council The Green Building Council Iceland is a member of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) since November 2018. WorldGBC is an umbrella organisation of over 70 Green Building Councils around the world enabling its members to work closely on reducing emissions from the building and construction sector by 2050. If you want to know more about the WorldGBC and its activities, courses, and events, click here . From World Green Building Councils AGM, which GBCI's CEO, Áróra Árnadóttir, and GBCI´s project manager, Katarzyna Jagodzińska, attended. Europe Regional Network WorldGBC network is divided into five regional networks as different regions face different challenges. We are a part of the Europe Regional Network (ERN), gathering not only European Green Building Councils but also key regional partners from the construction and materials sector, and thousands of other members. The ERN's mission is to ensure that sustainability is embedded across the whole sector value chain by leveraging the power and knowledge of our network to transform the European buildings market. To know more about ERN activities, click here . From World Green Building Councils AGM, which GBCI's CEO, Áróra Árnadóttir, and GBCI´s project manager, Katarzyna Jagodzińska, attended.

Online Event and Report An online event was held to promote the publication of a new report on the status and prospects of emission-free construction. There, we also introduced the Nordic network of collaboration and displayed the video from the site visit to the Green Construction Site of the Future. Volvo CE and SiteHub talked about their way towards emission-free construction sites. Recording of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNRE0HAhaSw Read the report: https://www.norden.org/da/node/79878 Testing of a battery-electric excavator in Oslo Emission-free excavators have been tested in three different construction sites in Oslo in the last year. In a new report from SINTEF, the results are summarised. The electric excavators from Nasta ran for a total of 6817 hours and saved NOK 372 000 in energy, and emission reductions were in excess of 91 tons CO2. Read the report here. Emissions from a construction site in Oslo n a SINTEF report calculations and results are presented for CO2 emissions on a construction site in Oslo.

Some EPDs on wall coverings in Iceland. Environmental product declarations (EPDs) - Wall coverings in Iceland ALUCOBOND Alucobond 3A Composites GmbH ISOPAN Sandwich panels with steel facings and expanded polyurethane or polyisocyanurate insulating core KME KOPARINN TECU® Oxid copper sheets and strips VM ZINC ALPOLIC Alpolic Composite Panels KME KOPARINN TECU® Bronze copper alloys sheets and strips KME KOPARINN TECU® Patina copper sheets FALZONAL Falzonal aluminium outdoor panels KME KOPARINN TECU® Classic copper sheets and strips VM ZINC ANTHRA-ZINC QUARTZ-ZINC PIGMENTO