Welcome to the „Green World “ of the Austrian Ecolabel

Nature and environmental protection as well as cultural heritage in the network for sustainable tourism destinations are the topics of the event on 2 June 2022 in Salzburg.

Through the new, forward-looking training focus "Fair Business & Food Management", the environmental idea will be conveyed to young people at HLTW Berheidengasse from the school year 2022/23.

The primary school in Leobersdorf demonstrates how climate protection can succeed with "simple" organisational measures.

Originally conceived as a certification for hotels, the UZ 200 guideline has also opened up to culture in recent years. After museums, other actors are also interested in credibly demonstrating their efforts in the field of sustainability. Theatres and cinemas are particularly committed to this and so in the future it will also be possible for them to receive an award for their sustainable orientation.

What applies to Ecolabel products should actually apply to all: to contain as few harmful substances as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. With the help of the Scan4Chem app, you can get information on chemicals of particular concern in products.
A competition will be held from May to December 2022. 

Electric cars are becoming more and more popular. They are environmentally friendly, efficient and have lower running costs for a driving school. They also have advantages when learning to drive and therefore it is only logical to use them in driving schools. In a video, Mr Skarabela explains to you exactly why.

The European Union has set itself ambitious climate goals with the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Green Deal. Achieving these goals requires constructive interaction between the real economy and the financial sector in order to mobilise sufficient capital for sustainable activities. Banks and credit institutions face major challenges, as they play a key role in the transformation of the economy.

"Sustainability is booming - especially in the last two years, because there was time to think about other ways of doing business," says Julia Weger, who advises on Ecolabel processes in Vorarlberg, among other places. "Many have used this difficult time for sustainable change and development. Now we face the challenge of maintaining this drive after Corona," says Weger.

46 companies from the fields of finance, tourism, film and TV production, educational institutions as well as from sectors such as construction & housing, cosmetics and paper processing were awarded the Austrian Ecolabel for sustainable products and services on 26 April at the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology in Vienna. Eleven of the companies also received the EU Ecolabel. The award was presented at the ceremony by Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler.

Bioeconomy stands for an economic concept that aims to replace fossil resources with renewable raw materials in as many areas and applications as possible. This makes it, along with the circular economy, an important building block on the path to climate neutrality.

Our colleagues from the VKI investigated the slogan "100 per cent recyclable" as part of a greenwashing check - and were surprised. Consumers will probably expect complete recycling. Unfortunately, this is very often not the case. What is meant is the theoretical recyclability - not the actual recyclability.

In March 2022, the EU Commission presented the new circular economy package: It is a turning point for sustainable products and textiles as well as for the strengthening of consumers' rights.

The sharp increase in the use and consumption of resources in recent decades is causing considerable environmental pollution. Climate protection therefore requires a fundamental transformation: from a linear "take-make-use-waste" economy to a circular economy.

What contribution does the Austrian Ecolabel make to tackling the climate crisis - and to what extent did Ecolabel-certified equity funds differ from conventional equity funds in terms of carbon footprint? This question was investigated in a recent study by the VKI.

It is important to inform and sensitise young people about the dangers posed by the World Wide Web. Schools also have a role to play here. Promoting the digital skills of students is therefore also particularly important to the Private Secondary School for Agriculture and Nutrition in the Styrian capital.

Many children who start their school adventure this year usually get their first school bag at Easter. The elaborately and often globally produced bags can fulfil their task for a long time if the right considerations are taken into account at the time of purchase. In addition to ergonomics and safety, this now increasingly includes environmental criteria.

How? Well, it's not the plate itself that protects the climate. It's what's on the plate: if seasonality and regionality are taken into account when cooking, then the climate is also being helped. For these reasons, Österreichische Mensen Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (ÖMBG) is introducing a cafeteria climate plate, so called Klimateller. Read more here about this project, which is not only challenging from a culinary point of view.

Anyone who works in a home office has certainly already experienced that it takes a lot of self-discipline to be able to work in a concentrated manner. Then there is the equipment and the question of how to avoid the big ergonomic mistakes? There are practical solutions for all of this. 

Everyone talks about climate protection, but what does that mean in concrete terms in the kitchen? The Austrian Ecolabel and the Austrian Hoteliers Association show how it can be done....

A survey on the Ecolabel guideline for kindergartens shows that the label has a favourable effect on kindergartens and their environment. The positive effects affect many areas and range from knowledge about sustainability to exciting activities on climate protection or healthy nutrition.

The Austrian Ecolabel for Schools celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! At the awarded schools, the environment is perceived, experienced and treated with care in a special way. Furthermore, the quality of the educational work and the promotion of health are the focus of the activities.

The European Commission plans to make the calculation of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) mandatory and invites all companies to participate in a survey on this.

8 October is World Ecolabel Day - the international day for national Ecolabels. Independent, governmental Ecolabels are based on transparent criteria and sound third-party verification and are a credible barrier against greenwashing. What is your opinion? Support your colleagues by answering a short questionnaire.

Not only the strict, transparent criteria and the independently prepared expert opinion ensure that Ecolabel products also deliver what they promise. The Association for Consumer Information (VKI) also tests products from all guidelines for correct use of the Austrian Ecolabel.

While a driver's license allows us to use cars, it does not exclude so-called multimodal mobility, i.e. the use of multiple methods of getting around. The Austrian Ecolabel driving schools are thinking different ...

What does biodiversity mean? What can everyone contribute to the protection of biodiversity? Every contribution is important!

The guideline UZ 72 "Travel Offers" is all about designing sustainable travel offers. It was known long before it came into force in 2008 that man-made climate change is a major problem. And that is also the core of the requirements.

The guideline for tourism and leisure enterprises contains specific requirements for museums. The first mandatory criterion is: "Integration of education for sustainable development into the educational work". What`s about?

In the guideline for tourism and leisure businesses, there is a requirement in criterion UZ 200-F05 to motivate businesses to contribute to the promotion of biodiversity.