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Midgard & The Environment

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Our Environmental and Sustainability Policy

Regenerative tourism is actively revitalising and regenerating the environment, the local community and economy. We aim to practise regenerative tourism and leave our beautiful nature in a better place than it was before we visited and have positive impacts on our nature and society.

We believe that everyone can make a difference when it comes to minimising our impact on the environment. We have integrated the Sustainable Development Goals into our environmental and sustainability policy.

We are committed to decreasing our impact on the environment and making environmental consideration a priority throughout our operation. We will continue this journey by educating ourselves and sharing what we learn with our guests.

ENVIRONMENT AND RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

Food waste 

Worldwide about one third of all food is wasted and the industrialised countries are responsible for a big part of that waste. Reducing food waste has the highest social, economic and environmental benefits compared to other waste management approaches. At our restaurant we strive to minimise food waste and aim to reduce food waste by 20% in 2023. We’d rather run out of a dish than throw away food.

How do we do it?

• We measure all food waste after breakfast and dinner
• Our menu is designed with this in mind. We have reduced the number of dishes on our menu and optimised our ordering
• All organic waste is collected and used for compost
• For group meals we offer free refills rather than make too much, and anything leftover goes on a staff shelf for our staff to enjoy

Recycling

Our goal is to reduce waste for landfill. Producing less waste and recycling is a vital step to reduce landfill waste. We have monitored our waste since 2021, but due to the pandemic we don’t have accurate data. When we get the data from 2022 we can set a realistic goal for reduction of landfill waste.

How do we do it?

• We recycle paper, plastic, beverage containers, organic waste, metal, candle wax, batteries, electric equipment and glass
• We have waste bins in the hallway instead of bins in the bunk rooms to encourage people to recycle. Please help us do this and make sure you put your trash in the correct bin
• Through our waste collection company we collect data and monitor how much  waste goes into landfills  versus recycling waste and monitor our waste management
• We try to find new uses for as many items as possible. For example: Our old jeep tires are reused as tables in the Midgard lounge.
• We are redesigning our lunch boxes and the food we send out of house with less packaging in mind to reduce waste on our tours
• Our guides carry bags with them on tours to be able to collect all waste they see in nature and they encourage guests to do the same
• We are going to set a date in the spring with employees to clean the local black sand beach
• We participate in the national “plokkdagur” (this is a national day here in Iceland where everyone is encouraged to go out and collect rubbish)

Electricity

Primary energy sources in Iceland are renewable with geothermal, hydro and wind energy. More than 90% of all houses are heated up with renewable energy. Although our energy is green and sustainable, we want to reduce our electricity consumption wherever possible.

How do we do it?

• We shut down all energy consuming appliances when not in use and we turn off lights when they are not needed
• We encourage our guests to do the same
• Wherever possible our lights have motion sensors

Water

Less than  3% of water in the world is drinkable and 2,5% of that is frozen in the Arctic! We acknowledge how incredibly privileged we are in Iceland with our pure water. We aim to protect our water sources and reduce all possible pollution effects on the wastewater.  Our tap water is pure spring water, naturally filtered through lava for centuries. There is no need to buy water in Iceland.

How do we do it?

• We encourage our guests to drink tap water from reusable bottles or to fill their plastic bottles with tap water instead of buying new ones
• We lend Midgard reusable bottles with our lunch boxes and don’t sell any bottled still water. On our tours we teach guests how to drink safely from rivers and streams
• We use as few chemicals as possible as well as using environmentally certified products that are emitted into the wastewater system.
• In the car cleaning area the wastewater goes into a oil separator to prevent oil and other harmful chemicals going  into the sewage system

Purchasing

We aim to practise responsible purchasing and conduct a circular economy. To minimise transportation and support the local community, we aim to purchase as much locally as possible. We aim to buy as little single use as possible and reuse.

How do we do it?

• All take-away cups, containers, straws and napkins are biodegradable
• The menu is designed with local ingredients in mind. We buy local ingredients for the restaurant and bar when possible
• All cleaning chemicals and candles are environmentally certified

Transportation

We recognise that most of our guests travel by aeroplane and car to reach us and that we use buses and super jeeps on our tours. However, we are committed to reduce the carbon emissions that we have control over. We have calculated our yearly carbon footprint from our fuel use, electric use, waste  and compost and we have purchased certificated carbon credit from Gold Standard. Our aim is to reduce our footprint each year. As this journey has just started and due to the pandemic, our programme is not up and running as usual. We only have data for 2021 and therefore, we will set a realistic goal for 2023 after the 2022 data is clear.

How do we do it?

• We ensure that we use the vehicle with the lowest fuel consumption for each trip and encourage our staff to come to work on foot or by bike.
• In 2023 we will set a date for all employees to plant trees for Landgræðslan  (The Icelandic Soil conservation )
• We have chosen Gold Standard to carbon offset the climate impacts of our operation. Gold Standard chooses where the money goes and at the same time which units will be depreciated against. We value greatly that Gold Standard cooperates with Fairtrade and the model revolves around projects that have already produced verifiable results. Through Global Standard we can support emissions reductions from various global projects, from clean cooking solutions to household biogas to renewable energy, like solar and wind.
• When booking we offer our guests to carbon offset their tours (currently this is only offered on our most popular tours but we are working in making this available on all tours)
  

Community

Community is very important to us at Midgard, we’re a local operation and most of us grew up here or fell in love with the area and moved here. We aim to support the local community.

How do we do it?

• We are registered here in Hvolsvöllur and our taxes get put straight back into the local community. This is different from a lot of big tourism companies in Iceland which are registered in the capital
• We encourage our employees to settle in the area by creating year-round jobs.
• We host monthly events at Midgard where locals and travellers can meet, have fun and get to know each other
• Most of our guides are members in the rescue team and we support them among with multiple youth work and sports organisations in the area with gift certificates or grants
• We host educational events at Midgard for our employees and the local community

WELL BEING, GENDER EQUALITY AND DECENT WORK

Employment

We pride ourselves on integrating our employees into the family and the local community. It is important to us that our employees feel part of the community and become locals. We respect workers rights at all times and go beyond our best to create a healthy and happy work environment. Psychosocial security of our employees is equally as important as their physical health.

How do we do it?

• Employees get physical fitness grants
• Employees get free Icelandic lessons
• We do ensure psychosocial security with regular interviews and good communications
• Employees join our tours regularly to get to know the country better and they are encouraged to travel and join cultural activities in the area
• We have Occupational Health and Safety guidelines that address issues of bullying, harassment and violence.

Gender equality 

Iceland ranked first for gender equality in 2022. However there is still much work to be done. We pledge to work towards better gender equality and to be a role model for other businesses.

How do we do it?

• We pay equal wages for the same role
• We encourage all genders to apply for jobs at Midgard
• In cases where we have employees in non typical gender roles (example: female super jeep guides, female CEO, female owners) we do our best to bring this to the attention of the younger generation because we know the importance of role models
• The music industry has a long way to go in terms of gender equality. Historically in Iceland, female musicians have been less visible than male musicians. Kíton, The Organization of Icelandic Women in Music, was established in 2012 with the purpose of increasing the visibility of women in the Icelandic music scene. We want to do our part in changing things and that’s why we have decided that we will have as many female musicians as male musicians performing at Midgard Base Camp. We feel strongly that without a decision like this nothing will change. We encourage other businesses that organize concerts to do the same.
• We offer women’s adventure trips with the focus of empowering women in nature and outdoor activities. When we started the company in 2010 there were few female guides in Iceland. Since then things have changed and the number of female guides has increased and so has the number of women that practise outdoor activities. With these women’s trips we want to help women to become more independent in their nature exploration and empower them with knowledge and confidence.

EDUCATION AND INNOVATION

Continuous education and innovation

We strive to seek more knowledge and education in terms of environmental and sustainability issues. We take pride in educating and informing our team, guests, locals and partners about things we already know. We are humble in our journey and we are looking forward to the future. Innovation is our passion, coming up with new experiences and improving our operations with the environment and sustainability as our foremost aim.

How do we do it?

• We encourage our guests to recycle and we educate them on our Food Waste Programme
• Our guides talk about climate change, our “leave no trace” concept and focus on connecting with nature
• We encourage our employees to participate in projects connected to sustainability and the environment. These projects are often organised by entities such as The Iceland Tourism network
• We have a sign at the bar and information on our menu that says “Ask us about our sustainability policy and food waste program” in order to start the conversation on sustainability and create awareness
• We have regular meetings and workshops with our employees on sustainability to educate and improve our policy

We encourage you to take

The Icelandic Pledge

The pledge is extremely important to us at Midgard. When we travel the pledge
is our guiding light. We encourage all our guests to take the pledge and to be
responsible when exploring, not only in Iceland but everywhere they go.

>> Take the Icelandic pledge!

Drink responsibly!

The Icelandic “Kranavatn”