How an Icelandic geothermal energy and utility company will become carbon negative

Abstract

The energy production industry plays a significant role in the emittance of GHG emissions leading to climate change. Reykjavik Energy Group (OR) a leading geothermal energy and utility company in Iceland, has therefore set the goal of decreasing direct and indirect GHG emissions from the group’s operations by more than 90% by 2030 according to a 2015 baseline. Additionally, OR has set goals to bind CO2 through land reclamation to achieve carbon negativity, meaning that the OR-group will emit less GHG than what it binds through land reclamation. Measured according to the GHG Protocol, a global GHG accounting standard, the group will meet this goal through the setting of 13 sub-goals encompassing business operations across the OR-group. Emissions from operations include all emissions from electricity and heat production, fuel use, energy use, and other emissions such as commuting, waste, business travel and land reclamation. The OR-group devised a method to measure these sub-goal’s annual performance against a yearly target and according to the performance of each, an overall environmental indicator was developed to gauge OR’s success in meeting that year’s targets. Using this methodology, it is the aim of the OR-group that the overall goal of being carbon negative will be met by 2030.