Reykjanesbaer increased emphasis on environmental and climate issues

Reykjanesbaer was formed by the merger of the municipalities of Keflavik, Njardvik and Hafnir on 11th June 1994. The municipality is located on the western side of the Reykjanes peninsula. The area is about 145,000 hectares. Reykjanesbaer is the fourth largest municipality in the country with a population approx. 20,380 inhabitants. The municipality is responsible for running basic services such as primary schools, street systems and more.

At the end of 2019, the Reykjanesbaer City Council approved a comprehensive policy for the municipality that takes into account the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development. The policy sets the tone for the municipality's journey for the next 10 years. An eco-friendly society is one of the six policy priorities, and it is accompanied by the Global Goals on Climate Action, Sustainable Cities and Responsible Consumption and Production.

As a result, an environmental and climate policy was approved for the municipality, setting ambitious goals for environment and climate matters. Reykjanesbær has also signed a memorandum of understanding on the acceleration of the circular economy, which i.a. includes a commitment to work diligently to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the municipality's operations.

Why Klappir?

When undergoing major sustainability policy changes it is imperative to have an overview of our ESG factors. Parallel to policy changes in Reykjanesbær in 2019 the Sustainability Platform was incorporated into the IT and administrative landscape of the municipality. Reykjanesbær has measured its carbon footprint through Klappir Sustainability Platform since. The purpose is to have a clear overview of carbon emissions emitted by the municipality, to be able to act and systematically reduce those emissions. So far this year (2022), increased emphasis has been placed on managing emissions even better in scope 1,2 and 3.

Results

Reykjanesbær has issued environmental statements (IS) since 2019, with the aim of placing emphasis and pressure to lower the municipality's carbon footprint. The environmental statements are based on data directly from the software and prepared by Klappir Sustainability specialists for Reykjanesbaer. This year (2022) Reykjanesbær published the first Sustainability Statement for the year 2021, involving all ESG factors, and by doing so were one of the first municipalities in Iceland to do so.

Environmental results