Ecolabel Award for museums.

Three federal museums awarded as Green Museums

The Natural History Museum Vienna, the Austrian National Library and the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) were honoured by Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and State Secretary for the Arts and Culture Andrea Mayer for their sustainable corporate governance and ecological positioning.

"I am particularly pleased that, after the Technical Museum, three more federal museums are taking the path towards consistent environmental and climate protection. As repositories of memory for our social and cultural past as well as innovators and initiators for dealing with the challenges of our time, museums bear a special responsibility. As a museum visitor, I am proud to be able to honour the three largest and most important cultural institutions in this country as comrades-in-arms in the fight against the climate crisis," says Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler.

Austrian Ecolabel Award. Copyright by NHM Wien, Christina Rittmannsperger.

"Our museums are important places of current social debates - with their innovative power they are also a real resource in the commitment to more climate and environmental protection. I am therefore pleased that 50 percent of the Austrian Federal Museums are 'Green Museums' as of today. I would like to thank the teams of the Natural History Museum Vienna, the Austrian National Library and the Museum of Applied Artsfor their great commitment and wish them every success in their further journey towards a more sustainable and climate-conscious museum operation," said State Secretary for the Arts and Culture Andrea Mayer.

The three federal museums were very pleased to receive the Austrian Ecolabel:

Dr. Katrin Vohland, General Director of the Natural History Museum Vienna: "The Natural History Museum Vienna is committed to ecological sustainability in the sense of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. With our activities in research, science communication and now also in building management, we contribute to almost all the goals of the SDGs. The award of the Ecolabel is a milestone for our museum. It makes it even clearer that not only research, but the entire museum operation stands for the protection and preservation of nature and good environmental conditions."

Dr. Johanna Rachinger, Director General of the Austrian National Library: "We are very pleased about this award. It confirms our efforts to implement consistent sustainability management in all areas in view of the current challenges of climate change and dwindling resources."

Dr. Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, General Director MAK - Museum für Angewandte Kunst "We are committed to a holistic eco-social approach and are very pleased to have been recognised as a Green Museum. This award brings the MAK another step closer to its goal of contributing to a turnaround in the climate crisis within the scope of its possibilities! Now we have to implement a roadmap for the targeted climate neutrality by 2030," said MAK Director General Christoph Thun-Hohenstein and Teresa Mitterlehner-Marchesani, economic director of the MAK.

The Ecolabel also goes down well as a Punschkrapferl. Copyright by NHM Wien, Christina Rittmannsperger.

The Austrian Ecolabel is awarded to museums and exhibition halls for consistent sustainable management: from energy and water supply to environmentally friendly procurement and mobility to waste management. It is also very important to communicate environmental and climate protection issues both within the team and to visitors. After all, museums are not only transmitters of knowledge but also of values.

So far, 7 Austrian museums and exhibition halls have received awards for their overall sustainability: in addition to the Federal Museums Natural History Museum Vienna, the Austrian National Library, the MAK Museum of Applied Arts and the Technical Museum, the Kunsthaus Wien is the first ever Green Museum, as well as the Museum of Lower Austria and the Roman City of Carnuntum.

The award-winning museums are a signal that the cultural sector is also an important partner in climate protection and can benefit from common national environmental standards.

Austrian Ecolabel Award. Copyright by NHM Wien, Christina Rittmannsperger.

The Austrian Ecolabel:

A reliable orientation aid in environmental and climate protection for 30 years.

Products and services that receive the label meet strict environmental criteria that must be verified by an independent overall assessment. There are already a total of 1,100 licensees from a wide range of sectors, which underlines the dynamic development and high acceptance of the Ecolabel.

In the tourism and leisure sector, the Austrian Ecolabel stands for consistent sustainable management in excellent hotels, catering establishments, campsites and mountain refuges. Museums and exhibition halls can also be awarded for their overall sustainability.