OekoBusiness Wien - Benefits

Benefits to the environment

A look at the results clearly shows that the environment is the real winner of OekoBusiness Wien. The following aggregate figures illustrate the effects achieved by businesses in Vienna since the launch of OekoBusiness Wien in 1998:

• Savings of operating expenses of 170.9 million Euro
• Reduction of solid waste output by 127,915 tonnes
• Final energy savings of 2.7 terawatt hours
• 832,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions saved
• Reduction of total transport mileage by 102.8 million kilometres
• Drinking water consumption reduced by approximately 3.3 million cubic metres

Benefits for each participating company

The voluntary environmental measures worked out in the context of OekoBusiness Wien also support the companies' profitability. By implementing their environmental protection projects, OekoBusiness Wien participants have been able to cut their operating expenses by a total of 170.9 million Euro. Most investments in environmental protection have a payback period of less than two years.

The effort to integrate ecological policies and measures in economic activities throughout Vienna are endorsed by the evaluation report of the Vienna University of Economics. About 98 percent of participants in OekoBusiness Wien rated the programme as "excellent" or "good".

Businesses responded very positively to the programme's strong points, including consultancy services, the stimulus for change it provides, the raising of environmental awareness, opportunity for a systematic analysis of a business's current situation, and the enhanced company image as a result of winning an award. The innovative impact of the measures proposed was also greatly appreciated by the participating businesses. The high-quality consultancy services provided by OekoBusiness Wien have spawned the initiation and implementation of a wide variety of new policies and measures.