At Örugg, we believe that sustainable development is one of the key issues when it comes to planning and designing a community and construction. Sustainable development is based on the balance of the environment, society and the economy, but with targeted actions, it is possible to achieve the goals set by the relevant stakeholders. Apart from the benefits for the environment, environmental certification results in significant savings and financial benefits in the long run. This is therefore an obvious win-win situation for all stakeholders, and we encourage those who want to work with us on environmental matters to get in touch to start the new road trip for an improved environment.

Leó Sigurðsson, civil engineer (M.Sc. Environmental Management) and licensed assessor for BREEAM New Construction and BREEAM Communities, says that it is important and a great pleasure to be able to provide customers with this new dimension in environmental matters. To underline this importance, we point out a newly published report* about a roadmap for sustainable construction in Iceland in 2030, where the goal is to achieve a 43% reduction in carbon emissions from buildings by 2030, from 359,255 to 205,469 tonnes CO₂eq per year. In order to achieve this goal, the actions of individual stakeholders are presented, and this clearly shows the usefulness of sustainable buildings and sustainable communities. For instance, there are 26 actions out of 74 that deal with environmental certificates, sustainable communities and life cycle assessments. Other actions are closely related to the process of environmental certification, e.g. building operation and sustainable economic cycle.

It can therefore be stated with confidence that the certification process for sustainable communities and buildings are an important factor when it comes to sustainable design, shaping the economy, sustainable transport, minimizing environmental impact and for the complete society. Many important stakeholders play a key role in the preparation, consultation, collaboration, consulting, design and communication, most notably investors, municipalities, institutions, financial institutions and consultants involved in the certification process for sustainability.