Environment and climate policy

The District Prosecutor intends to be a role model in environmental and climate issues and keep the negative environmental impacts of its activities to a minimum. In the fall of 2018, the government presented a climate action plan for 2018-2030, which stipulates that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 40% by 2030. The action plan is intended to ensure that Iceland meets the Paris Agreement goals by 2030 and the government’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2040. The District Prosecutor contributes to the Icelandic government’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and thus plays an active role in the fight against climate change.

A vision for the future

The purpose of the climate policy of the District Commissioner’s office is to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions (GHL) from the activities and to evaluate and disseminate results, thus having a direct and indirect impact on the country’s climate commitments.

Objectives

The District Commissioner’s Office intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2019 and also aims to operate carbon neutral by carbon offsetting all remaining emissions from 2022.

Scope

This policy has the role of promoting the protection of the environment and covers the environmental impact of the internal operations of the District Prosecutor’s Office. The policy covers all activities of the District Prosecutor’s Office and concerns all employees of the office. The climate impact of the office is most because of emissions from flights of employees, driving employees to and from work and other driving on the office’s roads. The impact also includes emissions from waste and energy consumption.

Scope

The Office's environmental and climate policy addresses the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions according to the guidelines for public sector climate policies. The policy covers the following environmental factors that can be monitored and measured at any given time:

Transport

• GHL emissions due to driving of the Office's vehicles

• GHL emissions from rental cars and taxis

• GHL emissions from domestic flights of employees

• Emission of GHL due to flights of employees abroad

• Number of transport contracts the office negotiates with employees

Energy consumption

• Electricity consumption in the establishment

• Use of hot water in the establishment

Waste

• GHL emissions from organic waste generated

• GHL emissions from mixed waste generated

• Total amount of waste generated

• Quantity of printed office paper (based on the recycling of all printed paper)

Purchasing

• Percentage of environmentally certified office paper purchased by the Office

• Percentage of environmentally certified cleaning services and cleaning products purchased by the office

• Percentage of environmentally certified food purchased by the Office

• Quantity of consumables, electronic equipment and printing vessels purchased by the Office

Focus on the environment and climate

• Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from transport, waste and energy

• Move Green Account

• Promote teleconferencing culture, electronic communication and environmentally friendly archiving.

• Reduction of waste generation and increased recycling

• Considering Energy Saving

• Promote environmentally friendly procurement

• Carbon-efficient responsible emissions

• Employees should be empowered to improve their knowledge of climate and environmental issues in general

• Work on projects under Green Steps in Government and meet all five green steps by the end of 2022

The measurements will be examined annually according to the Green Accounting for the year ended next year and the policy and implementation will be reviewed in light of the results.

Follow-up

The environmental and climate policy of the District Attorney’s Office is followed by completing the implementation of Green Steps in Government, which began at the office in 2019.

The results of the Office's climate policy are measured through Green Accounting, where information on transportation, waste generation, energy consumption, and carbon emissions from the activities are collected. Before April 1 every year, the Office's operations officer compiles the previous year's Green Accounts and submits them to the Environment Agency's Data Portal. The results are then used to identify opportunities for improvement, demonstrate the usefulness of the policy and keep staff informed of how it is progressing in implementation.

The climate policy is approved and reviewed annually by the District Attorney. Evaluation of its success, implementation of individual aspects and information on those topics is disseminated on the website of the District Attorney's Office and the internal area of the office.