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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 Stofnaður var samstarfsvettvangur / tengslanet fyrir hringrásarhagkerfið í íslenskum byggingariðnaði í loks árs 2023. Vettvangurinn heitir Hringvangur , og Grænni byggð hýsir hann fyrst um sinn. Heimasíða er 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 .

Subscribe to our mailing list Become a member Membership categories for 2022: 1st Category - 665.000 ISK/year, 6 votes at the general meeting 2nd Category - 400.000 ISK/year, 4 votes at the general meeting 3rd Category - 133.000 ISK/year, 2 votes at the general meeting 4th Category - 25.000 ISK/year, 1 vote at the general meeting, support membership for individuals As a Green Building Council Iceland (GBCI) member, you are part of a group of ambitious professionals and enthusiasts for increased environmental focus in the construction industry and planning. 90% of GBCI members are somewhat or very satisfied with their membership 90% of the members believe that GBCI fulfil its role well 96% of the members would recommend GBCI membership Thank you for submitting! Senda 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. Our members Donations and grants Contact us if you are willing to support our organization with individual grants. The individual grants go to the Green Building Council Iceland's projects. ​ ​You can also make a direct donation to our account: Kennitala number: 460510-1550 Bank account number: 0537-26-460510 Reference: Donation

Green Building Council Iceland members The following companies, organizations, institutions, and individuals are members of Green Building Council Iceland: 1. Flokkur BM Vallá Eik fasteignafélag Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun Heimar fasteignafélag Reitir fasteignafélag Verkís verkfræðistofa Framkvæmdasýslan Ríkiseignir 2nd Category Fasteignir ríkissjóðs Landsvirkjun Tark-Teiknistofan 3. Flokkur Alta ráðgjöf Alverk Arkís ehf ASK arkitektar Basalt Arkitektar Byko Eignaumsjón exa nordic HJARK Hornsteinar Húsasmiðjan Iðan fræðslusetur Íslandsbanki Íslenskir aðalverktakar Jáverk Klasi ehf. Landmótun sf Landslag ehf. Langeldur Límtré Vírnet Lota ehf Maison Mannvit verkfræðistofa Pago Samstæða Orkuveitu Reykjavíkur Skipulagsstofnun Steinull hf. Steypustöðin Teiknistofan Tark ehf. Teiknistofan Tröð ehf. THG arkitektar Umhverfisstofnun Urriðaholt ehf. VA Arkitektar Vegagerðin Vista verkfræðistofa VSB verkfræðistofa VSÓ Ráðgjöf 4th Category - Arnhildur Pálmadóttir - an architect at Studio Arnhildur Pálmadóttir; - Finnur Sveinsson - environmental scientist at Visthús; - Hildur Ýr Ottósdóttir - an architect at Ydda arkitektar; - Magnús Jensen - an architect and chairman Miðgarðs byggingarfélags; - Sigríður Maack - an architect at Arktika ehf.

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.

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) - Wall coverings in Iceland Pre-insulated single steel pipes and fittings Set ehf./GmbH

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.

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) - Paints in Iceland JOTUN Jotun Heftgrunning Universal JOTUN Jotun Lady Pure Color JOTUN Jotun Sparkel Fin Gipsplate JOTUN Jotun Jotaproff Akryl 10% JOTUN Jotun Pilot WF Primer JOTUN Jotun Sparkel Vegg & Tak medium JOTUN Jotun Jotaproff Primadekk JOTUN Jotun Prosjektsparkel JOTUN Jotun Trebitt Oljebeis

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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.

Documentation The bylaws of Green Building Council Iceland can be found here. Annual and financial reports, work plans (in Icelandic) 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Annual report Annual report Annual report Annual report Annual report Annual report Annual report ​Annual report Annual report Annual report Annual report Annual report Financial report Financial report Financial report Financial report Financial report Financial report​ Financial report ​Financial report Financial report Financial report Financial report Financial report Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting Annual meeting ​Annual meeting ​Annual meeting Annual meeting Founding meeting Work plan Work plan ​ ​ Board meeting minutes (in Icelandic) 2022 01/2022 02/2022 03/2022 04/2022 - 01 | 04/2022 - 02 05/2022 - 01 | 05/2022 - 02 06/2022 09/2022 10/2022 11/2022 2023 01/2023 02/2023 03/2023 04/2023 05/2023 - 01 | 05/2023 - 02 08/2023 09/2023 10/2023 12/2023 2024 01/2024 02/2024 03/2024 04/2024 05/2024 06/2024 08/2024 09/2024 12/2022 2018 08/2018 09/2018 -01 | 09/2018 - 02 10/2018 11/2018 12/2018 2019 01/2019 02/2019 03/2019 05/2019 2020 01/2020 02/2020 03/2020 04/2020 05/2020 06/2020 08/2020 10/2020 11/2020 2021 01/2021 02/2021 03/2021 04/2021 05/2021 06/2021 - 01 | 06/2021 - 02 08/2021 10/2021 11/2021 12/2021 Other documents → Review of the updated action plan of the City of Reykjavík regarding climate matters (28/01/2021). Document in Icelandic. ​ → Review of the updated climate action plan (01/10/2020). Document in Icelandic. ​ → Comment on the climate-related action plan (01/10/2020). Document in Icelandic. ​ → Comments to the housing matters group on social sustainability and environmental priorities (10/01/2019). Document in Icelandic. ​ → Comment on a meeting with Minister of Transport and Local Government Sigurður Inga Jóhannsson (11/2018). Document in Icelandic. ​ → Comment on incentives to increase the number of green buildings. Document in Icelandic. ​ → Icelandic summary of the World GBC Report on Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront (2020). Document in Icelandic. ​ ​ → The draft target plan of the Board . Document in Icelandic.

Past events - 2022 Morning meeting - emission-free construction sites 15/12/2022 In this morning meeting, emission-free construction sites were discussed. There was a presentation on work package 4 in the Nordic Sustainable Construction project, which relates to emission-free construction sites. The Ministry of Infrastructure is responsible for that part of the project and is working on it in collaboration with Green Building Council Iceland (GBCI) and the Housing and Infrastructure Authority. GBCI's staff discussed the system boundaries of the site and solutions, but the emphasis was on discussions and a dialogue between stakeholders. The conversation was rich in knowledge, and therefore the discussion part of the morning meeting has been included in the published recording. ​ Slides are available here . Morning meeting - The design process of the kindergarten in Urriðaholt 25/11/2022 At the meeting, Hulda Jónsdóttir , owner and architect at HJARK , presented the design process of the kindergarten in Urriðaholt. The presentation was in Icelandic. ​ The kindergarten will be located at Holtsvegur 20 and will accommodate up to 120 children. The kindergarten's design process focused on ecological solutions, and Hulda, among other things, reviews this process considering the requirements of Nordic Swan Certification. The building will be made of cross-laminated timber (CLT) on concrete foundations. Reception of construction waste 25/11/2022 The Icelandic Industry Association (Samtök iðnaðarins ) and the Contractors' Association (Mannvirki – félag verktaka ) hosted a meeting on the reception of construction waste. You can find the recording here . The meeting was held in Icelandic. The heating supply - is there always enough? 17/11/2022 Samorka held a morning meeting on the heating utilities and the state of the geothermal resource and reserves. It was also reviewed how the government can support the sustainable development of heating systems. ​ You can access the recording of the meeting here . Carbon footprint of construction - priorities and actions 16/11/2022 Landsvirkjun , Vegagerðin and Isavia , held an open meeting on the carbon footprint of construction and how to minimize it (including what actions are needed). ​ You can access a recording of the meeting on the Facebook page of the event . 03/11/2022 Morning meeting - Design and implementation of Brákarborg This morning meeting discussed the design and implementation of the structure that won the Green Shovel in 2022 - the Brákarborg kindergarten in Reykjavík at Kleppsvegi 150-152, owned by the City of Reykjavík. Gyða Mjöll Ingólfsdóttir and Sólveig Ingimarsdóttir gave the presentation on behalf of the City of Reykjavík, and they both work in the construction and maintenance office of the City of Reykjavík. Gyða Mjöll is project manager for environmental affairs and Sólveig is project manager for new buildings and also project manager for construction. The presentation was given in Icelandic. There are many things that are exemplary in the reconstruction of Brákarborg. The goal setting of the project was ambitious, both in terms of the community activities and results in environmental matters. During design, a life cycle analysis was used and a comparison was made of the environmental impact of building materials, and the choice of materials was then based on the results. The building is BREEAM certified for design and construction, so the follow-up will confirm the sustainability goals. The building houses important social services, but the site can also be used by those who live in its immediate vicinity. The concrete structure was used continuously, and thus the carbon footprint of the building was kept to a minimum. ​ Green Building Day 2022 30/09/2022 The annual Green Building Day was held in IÐNÓ this year on Friday, September 30, 2022. The event began with 12 interesting professional talks given by experts in sustainability in the construction sector. After the presentations, Ragnar Ómarsson, the Chairman of the GBCI board, gave the Green Shovel Award for the first time. Over 130 participants took part in the event. The event was held in Icelandic. ​ The Facebook event can be found here. ​ Agenda: Moderator : Kristjana Ósk Jónsdóttir ​→ Byggjum grænni framtíð: Staða á aðgerðum á ábyrgð HMS sem eru komnar af stað (Þóra Margrét Þorgeirsdóttir, Team leader of the Innovation team , Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun); → Umhverfisvænasti fermeterinn - Sóknarfærin í samfélagslega ábyrgum rekstri eignasafns FSRE (Guðrún Ingvarsdóttir, CEO , Framkvæmdasýslan-Ríkiseignir); → Þegar núllið verður ætlunarverkið – vegferðin í átt að vistvænni steypuframkvæmdum (Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir, Environmental affairs director, Hornsteinn); → Góðir hlutir gerast (of) hægt (Brynjólfur Bjarnason, Business manager and member of the sustainability committee, Íslandsbanki); → Nýr sjálfbærnisrammi í framkvæmdum (Jón Kolbeinn Guðjónsson, Head of the Faculty of Engineering, Isavia); → Sjálfbærnivegferðin hjá Regin. Hvernig náum við hámarks árangri sem fyrst (Helgi S. Gunnarsson, CEO, Reginn); → Viðbrögð við loftslagsbreytingum (Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Environmental manager, Reitir); → Ártúnshöfðinn - BREEAM vottað hverfi í Reykjavík (Ólöf Kristjánsdóttir from Mannvit – f.h. Reykjavíkurborgar ); → Lágmörkum lífsferilsáhrif virkjana (Jóhanna Hlín Auðunsdóttir, Director of Climate and Green Solutions, Landsvirkjun); → UAveiro green buildings – Dæmi um hringrásarhagkerfi í byggingariðnaði (Ragnar Ómarsson, Expert in the sustainability of structures, Verkís); → Hvernig skilar hönnun lægra vistspori í mannvirkagerð – dæmi frá EFLU (Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir, Energy and environmental engineer, EFLA); → Umhverfisvæn hús í Urriðaholti (Benedikt Ingi Tómasson, Executive director, Vistbyggð). Project meeting of the Nordic Sustainable Construction project in Oslo 07/09/2022 On September 7, the Nordic Sustainable Construction project meeting was held. Green Building Council Iceland is responsible for work package 4 (Emission-free Construction Sites), and the scope of the work package was presented at the meeting. ​ More about the project can be found here . Byggjum grænni framtíð. Roadmap to green infrastructure 2030: Emissions, targets and actions 08/06/2022 On June 8, an event was held organized by Byggjum grænni framtíð about the publication of the 2nd and 3rd parts of the 2030 Environmental Roadmap . Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Infrastructure, and Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate, addressed the guests. Áróra Árnadóttir, CEO of Green Building Council Iceland, and Þóra Margrét Þorgeirsdóttir, project manager of Byggjum grænni framtíð (Build a green future), gave a talk on the roadmap after the two ministers' speeches. The event was held in Icelandic. ​ More information about the road map can be found here . The program can be found here . ​ A recording of the event can be accessed here . Morning meetings 02-05/2022 The first meeting (16/02) was on green building certification systems. The presentations (in Icelandic ) can be found here: Svanurinn BREEAM ​ The second meeting (16/03) was about the circular economy and was held in collaboration with KLAK Icelandic Startups. The presentations (in Icelandic ) can be found here: Hringiða Hringrásarbyggingar SORPA ​ The third meeting (28/04) was combined with the Annual Green Building Council Iceland Meeting. Bridge engineer, Andri Gunnarsson, presented the example of using Icelandic timber in an outdoor bridge over the Þjórsá river. The presentation summary can be found in the meeting minutes (point 6; meeting minutes are in Icelandic ). ​ The fourth meeting (18/05) was on the concrete. The presentation (in Icelandic ) can be found here: Hornsteinn ​ Annual Green Building Council Iceland Meeting 28/04/2022 The Annual Green Building Council Iceland Meeting took place on 28th April at 15:00 in the Verkís lecture hall. In addition to the traditional general meeting activities, the following was on the agenda: → a new project manager introduced the CIRCON project; → the winning proposal from the idea competition for the Green Shovel prize was presented; → Andri Gunnarsson, bridge engineer at EFLA, presented the use of Icelandic timber in a bridge over Þjórsá river. ​ Minutes of the general meeting can be found here (in Icelandic ). Forum on improved energy efficiency in buildings 31/03/2022 OR / Veitur and Green Building Council Iceland held a seminar on the responsible use of natural resources and reducing energy waste. ​ Live video on Facebook can be found here . ​ The event was held in Icelandic. Nordic GBC Webinar #5: Circular Economy in the Real Estate and Construction Sector 10/03/2022 The event was organised within Nordic Green Building Council Network and was held in English. Agenda: ​→ On the importance of Circular Economy (Green Building Council Finland) ; ​→ Introducing the Nordic Network for Circular Construction (Matti Kuittinen, Ministry of the Environment of Finland) ; → State of the Art Analysis on Circularity in the Nordic Construction Sector (Sabine Barth, WSP) ; → How to work with Circularity – New Handbook by the City of Copenhagen (Jens Runge, Chief consultant & head of sustainability) ; → Practical Examples from the Field : - Regional Circularity (Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadótti) ; - Reusing concrete slabs in commercial construction (Henning Fjeldheim, Skanska Norway) . Nordic GBC Webinar #5 Nordic GBC Webinar #4: Resilience and Climate Adaptation 19/01/2022 Live video hér : This webinar was organised within the Nordic Green Building Councils initiative in cooperation with IĐAN Educational Center. Experts in the Nordic countries educated us about the dangers posed by climate change in the Nordic context and climate adaptation of the built environment. The event was held in English. ​ Agenda: ​→ Climate changes in the Nordic countries - The IPCC report and how climate change will act out in the Nordic hemisphere (Dr Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, Professor of Geophysics, University of Iceland)) ; ​→ Potential impact on the built environment and infrastructure - How the effects of climate change differ between regions (Miisa Tähkänen, Expert in a sustainable built environment, GBC Finland) ; → Scenario Analysis in Climate Related Risks & Opportunities - A scenario approach to baselines for assessment of actions towards resilience and climate adaption (Sigurður Freyr Jónatansson, Expert on financial stability, the Central Bank of Iceland) ; → Climate change adaption in a man-made environment : - Climate Adaption for urban rainwater & sewage systems (Dr Kim Haukeland Paus, Engineer, Asplan Viak) ; - Sankt Kjeld’s Square and Bryggervangen, a case study (Alexandra Vindfeld Hansen, Landscape architect and Head of SLA’s R&D division sLAB). ​ Nordi GBC Webinr #4

Past events - Before 2021 The renovation of Swan-certified office building 12/11/2020 On September 18, Reitir received a Swan certification for the renovation of the Environment Agency's (Umhverfisstofnun) office building at Suðurlandsbraut 24. The construction was the first to receive certification according to Swan standards for environmentally certified renovations. During the briefing, the experience and lessons learned from the project were reviewed. The moderator was Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir, manager of Green Building Council Iceland. Slide presentations from the meeting can be found below (in Icelandic ): → Svansvottaðar endurbætur - hver eru viðmiðin fyrir vottun (Guðrún Lilja Kristinsdóttir, Team leader, Umhverfisstofnun); → Lærdómur eiganda hússins (Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Environmental manager, Reitir); → Reynsla framkvæmdaraðila (Þráinn Fannar Gunnarsson, Project manager, THG arkitektar). ​ Office of the Environment Agency - video with the Director General Green operation of apartment buildings at the Living better conference 31/10/2020 Green Building Council Iceland gave a presentation on the Green operation of apartment buildings at the Living better conference on health and environmental issues. Housing associations can have a very positive impact on the environment, whether it is related to maintenance, waste management, common property, transport or gardening. Þórhildur Fjóla and Elísabet Sara tell about the many ways you can go, and some advice is also relevant for those who live in a single-family house, two-family house or three-family house. The lecture was prepared based on the guidelines for Green apartment buildings that GBCI prepared in 2019 (available here - in Icelandic ). The presentation can be watched here: Green bonds and real estate 28/10/2020 Morning session on the value of environmentally certified buildings for investors, was organised in collaboration with IcelandSif. Þórhildur Kristjánsdóttir, CEO of GBCI, opened the meeting and introduced different certifications, e.g. BREEAM, Leed and the Swan. Members from both Regin and Reitum review their experience with such certificates - their advantages, disadvantages and benefits for property owners. Gréta Þórsdóttir Björnsson, architect at the Environment and Planning Department of the City of Reykjavík also gave a talk. Slide presentations (in Icelandic ) can be found below: → Vottanir bygginga (Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir, Green Building Council Iceland); → BREEAM vottun (Baldur Már Helgason og Sunna Hrönn Sigmarsdóttir, Reginn); → Reynsla Reita af Svansvottun endurnýjunar skrifstofuhúsnæðis (Einar Þorsteinsson, Reitir); → Reynsla Reykjavíkurborgar ( Gréta Þórsdóttir Björnsson, Reykjavík City's Department of Environment and Planning). Annual Green Building Council Iceland Meeting 11/09/2020 The GBCI general meeting was held on Friday, September 11 at 12-2 pm in Hannesarholt, Grundarstíg 10. The usual general meeting activities took place. ​ The meeting minutes can be found here. Green Building Day 2020 10/09/2020 The annual Green Building Day was held in Reykjavík City Hall's Tjarnarsal on Thursday, September 10, 2020. As in previous years, interesting talks were given by leading professionals from the fields of design, planning and civil engineering, where sustainability in the built environment will be the guiding principle. Among the speakers is the Norwegian architect Tine Hegli, who can be considered one of the world's leading experts in the field of carbon-neutral design. Facebook event can be found here . ​ Full live video can be found here. Slides and presentation recordings can be found below. The event was held in Icelandic with one presentation in English. Agenda → Welcoming (Moderator, Kristjana Ósk Jónsdóttir, GBCI Board member and marketing director, Reitir) ; ​ → Opening speech (Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Ministry of Housing in Iceland); → Carbon neutral buildings ( in English; video recording is missing ) (Tine Hegli , Architect, Snøhetta and professorr, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design) ; ​ → Grænni byggingar hjá borginni (Dagur B. Eggertsson, the Mayor of Reykjavík); ​ → Reynsla verktaka af BREEAM (Bjarma Magnúsdóttir, Project manager, ÍAV); → Græn skuldabréf og fasteignir (Hrefna Ösp Sigfinnssdóttir, Managing Director, Landsbankinn); → Umhverfisstefna BYKO (Sigurður Brynjar Pálsson, CEO, BYKO); → Aðlögun að loftslagsbreytingum með grænum lausnum (Halldóra Hreggviðsdóttir, General manager and founder, Alta); → Kolefnisspor viðmiðunarhúss á Íslandi (Ólafur H. Wallevik, Professor, Háskólinn í Reykjavík and Director of the Construction Industry Laboratory, NMÍ); → Vistvænn vegvísir fyrir byggingariðnaðinn (Þóra Margrét Þorgeirsdóttir, Specialist, Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun); → Vistvottun skipulags (Íris Þórarinsdóttir, Environmental manager, Reitir); → Loftslagsáskorun arkitekta (Björn Guðbrandsson, Architect, ARKÍS); → Grænni byggð og loftslagmálin (Ragnar Ómarsson, Construction engineer, Verkís and chairman of the GBCI Board); Nordic Climate Forum for Construction 27/08/2020 Nordic Climate Forum for Construction was held online on August 27, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Icelandic time. It was organised by Trafik-, Bygge and Boligstyrelsen in Denmark in collaboration with other housing and infrastructure organizations in the Nordic countries, The Swedish Life Cycle Center in Sweden and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun (HMS) is the Icelandic partner in this Nordic collaboration. Its purpose was to have a conversation about how the Nordic countries can better control the environmental impact of the construction industry and reduce emissions from construction. The detailed agenda can be found here . The presentation recordings are available here . Rafhjólavæðingin - Hádegisfundur 25/08/2020 Græna Orkan, GBCI, and Hjólafærni hosted a lunch meeting on the electric bike market in Iceland at Green Energy (Orkustofnun). The event was held in Icelandic. Moderator : Anna Margrét Kornélíusdóttir, Project manager, Græna Orkan. Agenda: → Reynslan hjá Reykjavíkurborg (Kristinn Eysteinsson, Project manager, Reykjavíkurborg); → Rafhjólareynslan hjá Norðurorku (Erla Björg Guðmundsdóttir, HR manager, Norðurorku); → Örflæði: Lítill mótor fyrir stuttar ferðir (Jökull Sólberg Auðunsson); → Aðstaða við verslunar- og þjónustukjarna (Baldur Már Helgason, Managing director, Reginn); → Rafhjól: Þjónn á þeytingi (Sesselja Traustadóttir, Hjólafærni). ​ Upptökur frá viðburðinum : Morning talk: Travel habits in urban environment after Covid 19 23/06/2020 The event was held in Icelandic. Agenda: → Skipulagsmál, loftslagsmál og endurskoðun langtímamarkmiða eftir Covid19 (Hrafnhildur Bragadóttir, Skipulagsstofnun); → Hvað segja tölurnar um ferðavenjur á höfuðborgarsvæðinu (Daði Baldur Ottósson, EFLA); → Græni stígurinn í Græna treflinum (Þráinn Hauksson, Landslag); → Sveigjanlegri ferðavenjur og grænir innviðir (Ólöf Kristjánsdóttir, Mannvit); → Kófið, lýðheilsan og skipulagsmálin (Matthildur. Kr. Elmarsdóttir, Alta). Leap towards sustainability after Covid19 15/05/2020 GBCI had a tpresentation on Green infrastructure (Grænir innviðir) at the climate strike's lunch meeting on Leap towards sustainability after Covid19. ​ The presentation can be found here (in Icelandic ). 07/05/2020 BREEAM - Annexe Green Building Council Iceland presented a summary of the results of research projects on the BREEAM certification system and ideas from the BREEAM - IS annexe. BREEAM in the UK has approved this work and will review the GBCI 2020 proposals. Sustainability in the construction industry - Course 29/04/2020 The course was held in Icelandic by IĐAN in cooperation with Green Building Council Iceland. There are four lectures which were: → Sjálfbærni í mannvirkjagerð - almenn yfirferð ( Ragnar Ómarsson); → Stig - Ný sjálfbærni viðmið Evrópusambandins (Levels) (Ragnar Ómarsson); → Bundið - kolefni (Embodied carbon) (Ragnar Ómarsson); → Hringrásarhagkerfið í byggingariðnaði - áskoranir og möguleikar (Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir). The 10th anniversary of Green Building Council Iceland! 24/02/2020 Presentations (event held in Icelandic ): → Niðurstöður rannsóknarverkefna Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir); → Myndir frá starfinu við ávarp frá Hlökk Theodórsdóttur → Loftlsagsmál og byggingar (Harpa Birgisdóttir). Morning meeting: Icelandic glulam, wooden buildings and furniture 05/12/2019 The morning meeting was organised in Hafnarborg (Strandgatu 34, Hafnarfjörður). The moderator was Ragnar Ómarsson, chairman of Green Building Council Iceland and construction engineer at Verkís. The event was held in Icelandic. The Facebook event can be found here. Agenda: → Umhverfisáherslur fyrir byggingar í Hafnarfirði (Sigurður Haraldsson, Chairman of Hafnarfjörður Environment and Planning Department); → Framleiðsla á límtré úr íslensku timbri - niðurstöður rannsókna (Logi Unnarson Jónsson, Construction engineer, LímtréVírnet); → Hönnun timburbygginga á Íslandi (Sigurður Einarsson, Architect, Batteríið arkitektar); → Timburbyggingar (Svava Björk Hjaltalín Jónsdóttir, Architect) → Að hanna húsgögn úr íslensku timbri (Björn Steinar Blumenstein, Designer) → Staða nytjaskóga á Íslandi (Hlynur Gauti Sigurðsson, CEO, Landsambands skógareigenda). Conference - Indoor air quality, energy efficiency and environmental certification 14/11/2019 GBCI's autumn conference on indoor air quality, energy efficiency and eco-certification (in Icelandic) . See event on Facebook here . Agenda: → Af hverjum erum við hér í dag? Áskoranir varðandi loftræstingu og orkunýtni (Björn Marteinsson, Associate professor, Háskóli Íslands); → Orkuhermun og Raunnotkun – Er gott samhengi þar á milli? (Sveinn Áki, Engineer, VSB Verkfræðistofa); → Loftræstilausnir í BREEAM verkefnum (Brynjar Örn Árnason, Engineer; EFLA); → Loftræsting og loftgæði í skólum: Svansvottaðurskóli á Íslandi (Alma Dagbjört Ívarsdóttir, Engineer, Mannvit); → Áherslur Betri Bygginga (Ólafur H. Wallevik, Director of the Construction Industry Laboratory, NMÍ); → SIMIEN Orkuútreikningar fyrir BREEAM verkefni (Bjartur Guangze Hu, Engineer, VSÓ Ráðgjöf); → Betri byggingar (Sylgja Dögg Sigurjónsdóttir, Construction engineer, EFLA); → Rekstur loftræstikerfa og orkunýtni á Íslandi (Karl H. Karlsson, Blikksmiðjan and HR). Workshop on BREEAM 31/10/2019 Workshop on BREEAM in the context of Icelandic conditions. How is adaptation to local conditions generally managed? What is the experience with BREEAM in Iceland and how can the requirements of BREEAM be adapted to Icelandic conditions? Experts shared their experience with BREEAM and how its requirements can be met, taking into account Icelandic conditions. This was a closed workshop among members of the Green Building Council Iceland. Educational session on BREEAM 31/10/2019 GBCI organised a meeting with BREEAM expert Glen Watts in the Verkís office. The discussion included trends and trends in new construction and in-use versions of BREEAM environmental certification and how BREEAM adapts to Icelandic conditions. BREEAM is one of the world's best-known and most widely used environmental certification systems. The system covers many factors related to the impact of a building on the environment, but the number of Icelandic buildings with BREEAM certification is increasing rapidly every year. ​ See the Facebook event here . What to do with the methane? 23/10/2019 Græna orkan, Green Building Council Iceland and Orkustofnun organised a lunch event entitled "What to do with the methane?" Wednesday, October 23. Ways to increase the utilization of methane in this country, and its role in the energy exchange, were discussed, especially in light of the planned increase in its production. Also, Sorpa's gas and composting plant was introduced. The chairperson was Fundarstjóri var Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir, CEO of GBCI. The event was held in Icelandic. The prelegents were as follows: → Björn Halldórsson, Managing director, Sorpa; → María Jóna Magnúsdóttir, Executive director, Bílgreinasambandsins; → Hafsteinn Helgason, Head of development, EFLA; → Auður Nanna Baldvinsdóttir, Business development manager, Landsvirkjun and the chairman of the GBCI Board; → Guðmundur B. Friðriksson, Office manager, Office of Environmental Quality at the City of Reykjavík. Morning talk on the school grounds design for ecological transport 18/10/2019 Agenda (presentations in Icelandic ): → Ólöf Kristjánsdóttir - the transportation specialist at Mannvit Verkfræðistofa presented a presentation based on data from and work with Reykjavík City's Cycling Plan. → Herborg Árnadóttir from Alta ráðgjöf delivered a talk based on his project on active transport from the point of view of the movement and how to design an urban environment that encourages it. → Hermann Georg Gunnlaugsson from Teiknistofunni Storð gave a talk titled "The school site from the children's point of view - School site design and sustainable transport ". Hermann recently defended his Master's thesis in planning studies on the environment of preschools and the effects of built density on preschool sites. → Dagur Bollason from GBCI discussed what the involvement of administrative and planning authorities can be to better foster sustainable transport at all school levels. Morning talk on Swan certification 31/05/2019 Agenda (presentations in Icelandic ): → Guðrún Lilja Kristinsdóttir from the Environment Agency of Iceland (Umhverfisstofnun) discussed the Swan certification for Icelandic buildings in general. Umhverfisstofnun is working on Swan certification for the renovation of its office building owned by Reitir. → Finnur Sveinsson reviewed the experience of using the Swan certification both in his own single-family house and also the experience with the IKEA block that recently received Swan certification. → Björn Marteinsson from the University of Iceland (Háskóla Íslands) reviewed the energy solution that was chosen for Finnur and Þórdís' house (above). → Rakel Sif S. Thorarensen newly graduated construction technician, delivered a talk on construction waste in the context of a Swan-certified building. Morning talk on Oakland EcoBlock 30/04/2019 Gregory Thompson is an architect and analyst at the California Institute for Energy and Environment, a subsidiary of UC Berkeley. He discussed the Oakland EcoBlock project, where the goal is to implement a holistic solution to dramatically improve the ecological footprint of the already built environment. The moderator was Halldór Eiríksson from T.ark architects. The meeting was held in English. ​ Gregory's lecture is avialable here . Green Building Day 2019 11/04/2019 ​A conference on sustainability in the construction industry and planning was held in HT103 in Háskólatorgi. The conference was well attended and many informative talks were given. It was held in Icelandic with two presentations in English. ​ See the Facebook event here . ​ Presentations: → The Property Sectors Roadmap towards 2050 (in English ) (Katharina Bramslev, CEO, Norwegian Green Building Council); → Hugmyndir Byggingarfélags um bíllausan lífstíl (Magnús Jensen, Architect, Miðgarðs byggingarfélags); → European trends in Green Buildings (in English ) (James Drinkwater, CEO, European Green Building Councils); → Sjálfsþurft (Margrét Harðardóttir, Architect, Studio Granda); → Sjálf / bær (Anna María Bogadóttir, Architect); → Í eina átt (Ólöf Örvarsdóttir, Director of the Environment and Planning Department of the City of Reykjavík); → Grænar lausnir fyrir byggingar (Helga Jóhanna Bjarnadóttir, Engineer and director of the environmental department, EFLA); → Af hverju Vistvottun? (Jón Pálmi Guðmundsson, CEO, Urriðaholt); → Hvernig er að búa í vistvottuðu húsi? (Finnur Sveinssson, Environmentalist and project manager of the first swan-certified building in Iceland); → Ný rannsóknarverkefni um sjálfbærar byggingar ​(Ólafur H. Wallevik, Director of the Construction Industry Laboratory, NMÍ). Morning talk on the experience with the BREEAM eco-certification system 21/03/2019 Agenda (in Icelandic ): → Egill Guðmundsson , architect at ARKÍS discussed their experiences as ARKÍS took part in several projects including the BREEAM certification system. → Olga Árnadóttir , architect and project manager for environmental affairs at Framkvæmdasýslan, discussed the results of her Master's project: The environmental certification system BREEAM - Analysis of the adaptability of the assessment system to Icelandic conditions. → Karl Magnús Karlsson and Ólafur Axelsson from VA arkitektar discussed Hönnun á Sundhöllinni (the Design of the Sundhöllinn), which has recently received BREEAM design certification. → Elín Vignisdóttir , a geographer at Verkís discussed Consultants' experience in BREEAM projects. Morning talk about ALDIN Biodome, growing herbs and green walls 07/03/2019 Agedna (event held in Icelandic ): → Ræktun Kryddjurta (Auður Rafnsdóttir, Author of a book: Kryddjurtaræktun fyrir byrjendur); → Gróðurveggir, gerðir, upsetning og umhirða (Magnús Bjarklind, Horticulturist, EFLA); → Aldin Biodome verkefnið (Hjördís Sigurðardóttir, Organisational analyst). Morning talk on architecture, people's well-being and social sustainability 31/01/2019 Presenters: → Hildigunnur Sverrisdóttir; → Hildur Gunnarsdóttir ; → Áslaug Traustadóttir. Morning talk about the design of intersections for diverse modes of travel 06/12/2018 Agenda (presentations in Icelandic ): → Skipulagsmál og ferðavenjur (Sóley Ósk Sigurgeirsdóttir, Skipulagsstofnun); → Borgin, áskoranir og framtíðarsýn varðandi fjölbreyttar samgöngur ( Edda Ívarsdóttir, Reykjavíkurborg); → Hönnunarleiðbeiningar ( Bryndís Friðriksdóttir, EFLA); → Hönnun gatnamóta með áherslu á almenningssamgöngur ( Lilja Guðríður Karlsdóttir, Viaplan); → Hönnun gatnamóta með tilliti til hjólreiða ( Hörður Bjarnason, Mannvit); → Hönnun gatnamóta við þjóðvegi ( Erna B. Hreinsdóttir, Vegagerðin). Morning talk about criteria for ecological construction 22/11/2018 Here you can find the lectures from the morning talk about the criteria for ecological construction. We had lectures on: → Rýmisnýtingu og sveigjanleika - Anna Sigríður Jóhannsdóttir, VA arkitektar; → Efnisnotkun og úrgang - Gyða Mjöll Ingólfsdóttir, EFLA and Elín Vignisdóttir, Verkís; → Innivist - Sandra Rán Ásgrímsdóttir, Mannvit; → Lóðamál og vistvænar samgöngur - Ólöf Kristjánsdóttir, Mannvit; → Orkumál og stýringu - Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjansdóttir, Green Building Council Iceland. Conference on construction waste 08/11/2018 The conference on construction waste was a collaborative project between FENÚR, GBCI, and Samtaka iðnaðarins. The meeting was moderated by Bryndís Skúladóttir, a consultant at VSÓ ráðgjöf. The event was held in Icelandic. ​ Presentations: → Source separation and organization og the work on construction site (Eirik Wærner, Consultant, Multiconsult, Osló); → Niðurrif og nýbyggingar – staðan og áskoranir hjá Reykjavíkurborg (Rúnar Gunnarsson, Department head of Primary design, Reykjavíkurborg); → Getur BIM minnkað byggingarúrgang? (Ingibjörg Birna Kjartansdóttir, BIM development menager, ÍSTAK); → BREEAM verkefni hjá Framkvæmdasýslu ríkisins ( Olga Árnadóttir, Project manager for environmental affairs, Framkvæmdasýslu ríkisins); → Reynsla verktaka: Eyjólfur Bjarnason , Quality manager, Framkvæmdafélaginu Arnarhvoli; Örn Tryggvi Johnsen , Project and operations manager, ÞG Verk; → Endurvinnslufarvegur byggingarúrgangs ( Arngrímur Sverrisson, Operations manager, Gámaþjónustunni hf.); → Dæmi um endurvinnslu/endurnýtingu ( Harpa Þrastardóttir, Environment and quality Manager, Hlaðbæ Colas); → Reynsla úr norskum verkefnum ( Haukur Þór Haraldsson, Consultant, Verkís); → Efnismiðlun Sorpu (Guðmundur Tryggvi Ólafsson , Operations manager of recycling centers, Sorpa); → Leiðbeiningar um byggingarúrgang (J ón Guðmundsson, Professional director of the construction department, Mannvirkjastofnun). Business Environment Day 17/10/2018 The GBCI' CEO, Þórhildur Fjóla Kristjánsdóttir gave a lecture on Eco-friendly structures on Business Environment Day. Morning talk about ecosystem analysis and sustainability in the Greenlandic construction industry 17/08/2018 Agenda (event held in Icelandic ): → Vistferilsgreiningar í byggingariðnaði by Gyða Mjöll Ingólfsdóttur, Environmental engineer at EFLA. → ​Sjálfbærni áherslur í Grænlenskum Byggingariðnaði by Ragnar Ómarsson, Construction engineer at Verkís. Morning talk about transport agreements 01/03/2018 Do transport agreements work? From the morning talk of GBCI on March 1st about transport agreements (in Icelandic ): → Reynsla Orkuveitu Reykjavíkur by Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir, Environmental manager at Orkuveita Reykjavíkur; ​→ Reynslan hjá Landspítalanum by Hulda Steingrímsdóttir; → Reynsla Reykjavíkurborgar by Lóu Birna Birgisdóttir; → Reynsla Verkís by Elín Vignisdóttir. Morning talk on Græna Stíginn í Græna Treflinum 31/01/2018 Presenters: → Brynjólfur Jónsson, manager of the Forestry Association of Iceland (Skógræktarfélags Íslands); → Þráinn Hauksson, landscape architect at Landslag.