Sustainability is a guiding principle in everything we do
Egill Björn Thorstensen, project manager in strategic planning and sustainability at Isavia, discussed the sustainability strategy and sustainability framework for the planned construction at Keflavík Airport in an interview with Fréttablaðið.
"We have detailed goals in our sustainability policy, which include climate issues and resource utilization. We have an action plan that covers the years 2022 to 2026, and we also have defined goals and actions until 2030," he says.
In the interview, Egill Björn talks about the BREEAM certification of the construction at Keflavík Airport. "It is a system that is known worldwide and makes various requirements regarding material selection, pollution, waste issues, resource utilization and more. We intend to achieve BREEAM Excellent certification, which is a lofty goal for this type of building. We have experienced consultants to help us achieve this goal, as it requires meeting strict requirements," says Egill Björn.
We have an action plan that covers the years 2022 to 2026, and we also have defined goals and actions until 2030.
"Our next big project is a connecting building between the north and south terminals in Keflavík, where the gangway is now. It will be demolished and another building built in between, which will be more than 20 thousand square meters.
There we will have much broader and more detailed requirements related to sustainability. In this project we will approach the supply chain in a new way called Smart Procurement. The material then comes from manufacturers who are well informed about the requirements related to both BREEAM and our sustainability framework, so we can make the supply chain more efficient and the construction projects more sustainable," says Egill Björn..
"Sustainability is part of our daily operations and a guiding principle in everything the company does. However, it is always possible to do better and we have set ourselves the goal of constantly improving ourselves in that regard. We use every opportunity to make the Icelandic construction market more sustainable, to the benefit of all of us. Because together we succeed."