The Green Steps Program (Græn skref) is developed for government agencies in Iceland with the overall aim of promoting environmental awareness among employees as well as decreasing environmental impacts from daily operations in the public sector. The program was established in 2014 and the Icelandic Environment and Energy Agency oversees it and assists and guides government agencies in its implementation. The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources finances the program and participation is therefore free of charge. According to the Government Offices‘ Climate Policy, all government agencies must complete all five steps and keep Green Accounting as well.

The prime minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and her co-workers at the ministry, happy to have finished the fourth step in 2019. They have now finished all five steps.

Participating agencies follow five steps from which the last one includes the implementation of an environmental management system. Each step includes actions that are categorized into seven different categories:

1. 1. Electricity and Heating
   2. Waste Sorting and Waste Reduction
   3. Meetings and Events
   4. Transportation
   5. Procurement
   6. Communication and Management
   7. Kitchen and Cafeteria

Certain actions are required to complete each step and the challenge becomes greater with every step. The actions include reducing energy use and waste, implementing green public procurement, promoting sustainable transport and keeping Green Accounting. Each step needs to be completed before the next one starts. When an agency finishes their first step a representative from the Environment and Energy Agency carries out an audit before the agency is granted an acknowledgement of completing the first step. After that the agency can proceed with the next steps.

Green Accounting is one of the actions of the Green Steps Program, but it dates back to 2011. It‘s a simple accounting form that generates statistical information regarding the main environmental aspects of an agency‘s operations, e.g. fuel use, energy consumption, paper use, cleaning products, and waste generated. Using Green Accounting, agencies can monitor their purchases, consumption, resource use and emissions more effectively, keep track of their environmental impacts, set appropriate goals, and track progress towards these goals.

The staff at Vatnajökull National Park in Skaftafell back in 2019 when they finished the first green step.

In addition to reducing the environmental impacts of the public sector and increasing environmental awareness, the objectives of the project are also to increase employee well-being, reduce operating costs and make the environmental operations of the public sector visible.

As of June 2024, 178 agencies with a total of 17.850 employees participate in the program. That makes up 5% of the Icelandic population!

Here you can find a presentation on the program that explains it in more detail.

For further information regarding The Green Steps Program, please contact Bergljót Hjartardóttir at the Icelandic Environment and Energy Agency via graenskref@graenskref.is