Statistics Iceland is publishing the Environmental goods and services sector (EGSS) account on its data repository. This account summarises key economic values for goods and services from environmental protection and resource management activities. These services form what is known as the green economy. The measure in the account covers the income of businesses, funds allocated to government agencies, research grants, and financial support to non-governmental organisations associated with such activities. This measure is similar to production value, as defined in the production approach in the system of national accounts (SNA), and that term is therefore used here.
In addition to production value, the gross value added and the number of full-time employment equivalents in the green economy are estimated. The EGSS is meant to be a satellite account to the System of national accounts and is based on a harmonised European definition of goods and services that belong to the green economy.
The definition of goods and services falling under the green economy covers a range of activities undertaken across the economy. Examples of services include waste management, recycling, sewage services, installation of cleaning systems, and environmental quality monitoring. Typical products include eco-friendly insulation, organic agricultural products, exhaust cleaning systems, and renewable energy.
The use of a common methodology and definitions makes these statistics comparable with those of other European countries and helps to give a better insight into how environmental protection is manifested in an economic context.
According to the account, the output value of the green economy was 292 billion ISK in 2023. This corresponds to some 3.9% of the output value of the Icelandic economy, according to Statistics Iceland's national accounts. Within the EEA countries, this share ranges from 1% (Malta and Hungary) to 9% (Finland).
Iceland ranks 12th out of 31 EEA countries where comparable figures are available. In Iceland, green energy plays a major role in the green economy, while the construction of power plants, sewage systems, and noise barriers is also prominent. On the other hand, production that is important to other countries, such as organic agriculture, the production of machinery related to environmental protection, and the production of firewood from cultivated forests, is minor in Iceland. Such production is often extensive in countries such as Italy, Austria, and Finland.
The calculations also show that 4,841 full-time employment equivalents were connected to the green economy in 2023. This is approximately 2.2% of the total number of persons employed according to national accounts’ labour data.
Within the EES countries, this ratio ranges from 1% (Romania and Hungary) to 5% (Finland). Iceland ranks 24-25th out of the 32 economies for which figures are available. Iceland's position in this ranking could be explained by the fact that key production in Iceland, such as the production of energy via environmentally friendly means, requires relatively few employees to deliver significant output value. On the other hand, other sectors such as organic farming are more labour-intensive but deliver less output value per job.
The figures also provide a more detailed breakdown of how different economic sectors contribute to the green economy, and a detailed breakdown of environmental protection activities and resource management activities. Additionally, the figures distinguish whether the production is a market or non-market output.