Eco-innovation in Austria - 2016-2017 EIO Country Profile - Europa EU
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Eco-innovation in Austria EIO Country Profile 2016-2017
Eco-Innovation Observatory The Eco-Innovation Observatory functions as a platform for the structured collection and analysis of an extensive range of eco-innovation information, gathered from across the European Union and key economic regions around the globe, providing a much-needed integrated information source on eco-innovation for companies and innovation service providers, as well as providing a solid decision-making basis for policy development. The Observatory approaches eco-innovation as a persuasive phenomenon present in all economic sectors and therefore relevant for all types of innovation, defining eco-innovation as: “Eco-innovation is any innovation that reduces the use of natural resources and decreases the release of harmful substances across the whole life-cycle”. To find out more, visit www.eco-innovation.eu and ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap Any views or opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Commission.
Eco-Innovation Observatory Country Profile 2016-2017: Austria Authors: Burcu Gözet, Stefan Giljum Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) Coordinator of the work package: Technopolis Group Belgium
Acknowledgments
The document has been prepared with the kind support of the following experts:
- Mrs. Karin Hiller, Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism
- Mr. Harald Grill, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ)
A note to Readers
Any views or opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the position of the European Union. A number of companies are presented as
illustrative examples of eco-innovation in this report. The EIO does not endorse these companies.
The report is based on an updated methodology for calculating the Eco-Innovation Index, which
has also been applied retroactively to all previous years, hence the outcome in the Eco-Innovation
Scoreboard (Eco-IS) for 2017 presented in this report can be compared with the analysis in the
previous reports to a limited extent.
Comments and suggestions on this document can be sent to Asel Doranova
asel.doranova@technopolis-group.com
This brief is available for download from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/country_profiles_enTable of contents
Summary ................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2
1 |Eco-innovation performance ..................................................................... 3
2 |Selected circular economy and eco-innovation areas and new trends ........ 6
3 |Barriers and drivers to circular economy and eco-innovation in Austria ..... 9
4 |Policy landscape in Austria ...................................................................... 11
References ............................................................................................................... 16
ANNEX: Policy measures addressing circular economy and eco-innovations in Austria
17Summary
Austria is a strongly export-oriented and a highly developed country. Environmental sectors play
a key role in the Austrian economy, in which environmental technology sectors are particularly
relevant drivers for export-oriented growth. In many areas, Austria has a high environmental
performance, covering waste management and recycling, water quality, organic farming and
sustainable forestry. At the same time it faces environmental policy challenges, most
importantly, regarding climate policy and air pollution.
In recent years, Austrian companies have established an internationally leading position in several
green technology markets. The environmental technology sector is fast-growing and innovative.
Austria also continues to be in a leading position in ecological construction regarding the
technology of passive house building and the recycling of waste with respect to construction and
demolition processes. In general, Austria has a well-established recycling industry reaching the
highest recycling rates across Europe, which provides an important precondition for a future
transformation of Austria towards a circular economy.
Apart from the flourishing environmental technology sector, main driving forces towards eco-
innovation are high environmental standards, well-functioning environmental protection laws,
and various environment-related financial incentives offered by the state, as well as increasing
funds for enterprises conducting research in the area of eco-innovation.
In recent years, some policy initiatives have also been started particularly focusing on circular
economy aspects. Examples are the Austrian Recycled Construction Materials Regulation and the
new waste prevention program (‘Bundes-Abfallwirtschaftsplan’).
The small-scale, SME-dominated supplier structure of the Austrian environmental technologies
industry represents one of the main barriers to eco-innovation activities. Limited financial and
human resources often prevent a strategic handling of the market, particularly regarding research
and development (R&D) activities. A lack of interconnectedness among environment technology
clusters and networks and the less considered domestic market for environmental technologies
are further barriers.
With a total score of 113 in the overall Eco-Innovation Index 2017, Austria ranked eighth in the
list of EU countries, located between Italy and Spain and slightly above the EU average. In two of
the five components (eco-innovation inputs and socio-economic outcomes), Austria’s
performance is below the EU average, while performance is above EU average regarding eco-
innovation activities, eco-innovation outputs, and resource efficiency outcomes.
1Introduction
Austria has a highly developed country with a strong export orientation. The structure of its
economy is characterised by a large service sector (consisting mainly of trade and transport
services, healthcare, social services and tourism) that has a major impact on value generation. In
2016, it accounted for 71% of GDP. Austria also has a stable industrial sector, including machinery
and vehicles, metals, chemicals, and wood and paper products as main industries, and a small,
but highly developed agricultural sector. In general, exports of products and services contributed
around 52% of Austria’s GDP in 2016, up from 33.5% in 1995 (Statistik Austria, 2017).
Environmental goods and services represent a dynamic area of the Austrian economy. Between
2008 and 2015, turnover generated by the environmental sector increased in total by 3.4%,
reaching 32.1 billion Euro in 2015. In the same year, around 181,845 people were employed in
the environmental sector, covering 4.4% of the overall employment in Austria. This employment
rate increased by 8.5% between 2008 and 2015 (Statistik Austria, 2018). The environmental
technology sector, in particular, implies more knowledge and innovation intensity in comparison
to average Austrian industries (IWI, 2017). Due to its high orientation towards international
markets, exports cover 73% of the total turnover in the Austrian environmental technology sector.
In many areas, Austria has a high environmental performance, covering waste management and
recycling, water quality, organic farming and sustainable forestry. In the “Sustainability Contest
2017”, performed by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) in which 56 environmental
indicators (mainly from EUROSTAT) were considered, Austria ranked 1st among all EU countries
(WKÖ, 2017). Thus, with its environmental performance, Austria passed Sweden and Denmark,
which were ranked higher than Austria in the pervious “Sustainability Contest 2015”.
However, Austria also faces important environmental challenges. With regard to air pollution, for
example, emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (particularly through transport) are
in many areas above the levels allowed by EU regulations. Emissions in 2015 (79 mill. tonnes CO2-
equivalents) were above 1990 levels by 0.1% (UBA, 2017). Thus, in order to achieve the 2020
targets, the implementation of further energy efficiency measures and further promotion of the
use of renewable energy sources are key requirements. In addition, many species and several
habitats are in a precarious situation, as urban areas continue to expand (UBA, 2016).
Austria faces further challenges in terms of high engagement in eco-innovation and circular
economy activities due to the structure of the Austrian business sector: 99.7% of all Austrian
companies are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This implies a lack of financial and
personnel resources to invest in eco-innovation-related research and development (R&D) as a key
driving force for eco-innovation acceleration.
21 |Eco-innovation performance
In the Eco-Innovation Index for the year 2017, published by the Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO),
Austria ranked eighth among all EU-28 countries, with a score of 113, and was located between
Italy and Spain (see Figure 2.1). Compared with previous indices, Austria remained on the same
rank compared to the index 2016 but climbed one place up from the index 2015.
Figure 2.1: EU28 Eco-Innovation Index 2017, composite index
Source: EIO, 2018
Figure 2.2 below zooms into the aggregated index and illustrates Austria’s performance in the five
index components compared to the EU average. A similar performance pattern, as observed in
previous versions of the index, can be seen. In two of the five components (eco-innovation inputs
and socio-economic outcomes), Austria’s performance is below the EU average, while
performance is above EU average regarding eco-innovation activities, eco-innovation outputs,
and resource efficiency outcomes.
The component of eco-innovation inputs in Austria (total score of 91) consists of three indicators.
Despite the implementation of various research programmes (see Section 4 below), with 0.02%
of GDP, Austria´s overall government R&D outlays in the area of environment and energy was
below the EU average (0.04%) in 2016 and less than half compared to the leading countries
Germany, Finland and Portugal with 0.07% each. However, Austria´s total R&D personnel and
3researchers is above the EU average, comprising 1.78% of Austrian employees in 2016. Total value
of green early-stage investments was around €17 per capita in the period of 2014-2017, resulting
in an aggregated eco-innovation input score of 91.
With a score of 142, Austria’s aggregated performance in the component of eco-innovation
activities was above the EU average, yielding the highest overall score for Austria. The two
indicators with regard to enterprises introducing an innovation with environmental benefits
obtained within the enterprise or obtained by the end user, Austria´s performance (32% and 25%,
respectively, of all Austrian companies) was significantly above the EU average (22% and 14%).
As in previous indices, Austria’s performance was comparatively low regarding ISO 14001
certifications (Austria 1,190 certifications; EU average 3,982), mainly because Austrian
organisations more often implement the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) system
rather than ISO.
Figure 2.2: Components of the eco-innovation index for Austria, 2017
Source: EIO, 2018
Referring to the component of eco-innovation outputs, Austria reaches a score of 115. This
performance is determined by a relatively high score of the eco-innovation-related patent
indicator, where 213 eco-innovation-related patents were registered in 2014. In addition, with
249 publications in 2016, the performance in publications on eco-innovation issues is slightly
4higher than EU average). However, the number of electronic media related to eco-innovation (792
hits in 2017) represents one of the lowest performances among European countries.
With regard to the four resource efficiency indicators, Austria’s average performance is slightly
above EU average (score of 128 in 2017). With €1.79 per kilogramme of material consumption,
Austria´s material productivity is rather low compared to other EU countries. This is particularly
due to the high consumption of fossil fuels and construction minerals in Austria. However,
performances in terms of energy productivity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity are
above the EU average.
With an average score of 89, the Austrian performance shows its lowest score for the component
of socio-economic outcomes. Austria scores well with the indicator exports from eco-innovation
industries (more than €1 billion of eco-industry exports in 2016). This result supports the success
of the various export-related initiatives in environmental areas (see Section 4 below). However,
scores regarding the indicators on employment and turnover in eco-industries (2.09% of total
employment and 1.37% of total turnover) are below the EU average (2.69% of total employment
and 1.82% of total turnover). Although the score for turnover increased regarding the previous
index (1.11% of total turnover), compared to the overall economic structure of the Austrian
economy, eco-industries still play a relatively minor role.
52 |Selected circular economy and eco-
innovation areas and new trends
According to the Eurobarometer 2016, 84% of Austrian SMEs have undertaken circular economy
activities in the last three years. Around 51% of these companies have implemented activities to
re-plan energy usage in order to minimise energy consumption. Among the EU, Austrian
companies have largely undertaken activities to use renewable energy (38%). Regarding financing
activities related to circular economy, 46% of the companies self-financed their activities.
However, compared to the rest of the EU, for Austrian companies it is more likely to use a
government grant for circular economy activities (Eurobarometer, 2016).
Another survey among more than 100 Austrian enterprises active on eco-innovation activities
revealed that more than 85% of eco-innovations in Austria were realised in three thematic areas:
energy (42% of all eco-innovative products), construction (27%) and mobility (17%) (IHS, 2014).
However, in addition to these three thematic areas, the circular economy-related activities of
waste management and recycling are also important in the Austrian economy.
Regarding waste management and recycling, Austria is among those countries that reach the
highest recycling rates across Europe (EEA, 2016). Although the trend of the past few years reveals
decreasing recycling rates of municipal waste, Austria remains among the leading EU countries.
Thus, recycling innovations from Austria are very popular on international markets and often refer
to holistic systems solutions, for instance, systems developed for treating, collecting and recycling
waste, high-level logistics, or the development of regional waste management plans.
Furthermore, Austria continues to be in a worldwide leading position in ecological construction
in general, and particularly, in the technology of passive house building. The passive house
concept occurs for new construction work but also to refurbishments. Since the mid-1990s,
passive houses and buildings have attained a 25% market share in the construction of new
buildings in Austria (IG Passivhaus, 2011). In 2013, the Raiffeisen-Tower was constructed in
Vienna, representing the worldwide highest passive house back then. In 2015, the first “Austrian
Green Building Star” certificate for energy efficient construction has been awarded, representing
Austrian construction competencies on an international level (BMNT, 2015).
Austrian companies have a leading position regarding clean energy technologies. In comparison
to other EU countries, Austria reaches a high share of renewable energy (29.5% in 2016) in total
energy consumption (BMWFW, 2016). In comparison to the previous year (29.7%), the
consumption of renewable energy increased slightly and is expected to increase further to 34% in
order to follow the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Austria´s innovativeness towards green
technologies (e.g. renewable energy, waste management) is seen by the amount of green patents
that are above the OECD average; 12% of Austrian environmental technology firms belong to the
leaders of EU markets (ABA, 2015).
6© issmich.at
ISS MICH! the good food company
ISS MICH! is a catering and delivery service for organic food. Any meal provided by ISS MICH! is
based on food that would have been thrown away. The food, mainly vegetarian, is delivered by
bike couriers to ensure low carbon emissions. Furthermore, the menus are provided in bottling
jars in order to avoid packaging. All menus can also be picked up in their grocery store in Vienna,
which is combined with a Bistro offering a weekly changing menu. The initiator of this project,
Tobias Judmaier, is also chef of the TV series wastecooking that has received various
international awards by showing menus prepared from food waste.
In 2014, ISS MICH! received the VIKTUALIA award by the Austrian Federal Ministry of
Sustainability and Tourism. This award is handed out to projects that aim to reduce food waste
in an exemplary way.
Keywords: zero-waste food; organic and regional food;
Internet link: www.issmich.at
© tim-graz.at
tim
tim (täglich. intelligent. mobil) is an innovative mobility model in Graz, Austria. At central
locations around the city, tim provides car sharing, car rental or e-taxis. All locations can be
reached easily by bike or public transport in order to ensure environmental friendly mobility.
Once registered, provided vehicles can be used for an hourly price but also private e-cars can
be charged for free at tim locations. This mobility service can also be adopted in other regions
and cities.
In 2017, tim was awarded with the state prize for mobility, which was the ninth time that the
Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology awarded Austrian companies and institutions
regarding their innovativeness in the mobility sector.
Keywords: car sharing, mobility service; e-taxis
Internet link: www.tim-graz.at
7© neuschnee.co.at
Neuschnee
Neuschnee is a green start-up founded by the Technical University of Vienna and the University
of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. The company produces snow by adapting the
process of nature, and thus, represents an environmental friendly alternative to artificial snow.
Instead of freezing water drops, as for artificial snow, Neuschnee technology generates “real”
snow by letting ice crystals grow slowly. In comparison to artificial snow, the process requires
half of the energy and 60% less water. Thus, the application of this snow producing technology
in ski areas is both economic profitable and environmental friendly.
This technique has been awarded with the State Prize Patent of the year in 2016. In 2018, the
first Neuschnee ski area has opened in Sellraintal (Tirol).
Keywords: snow; green-tech; start-up
Internet link: www.neuschnee.co.at
© Baukarussell.at
Baukarussell
Baukarussell is becoming the 1st Austrian provider for recycling oriented demolition. Building
on the new Austrian Recycled Construction Materials Regulation, Baukarussell aims at meeting
these new requirements with regard to demolition waste. Working together with Viennese
property developers, Baukarussell undertakes consulting activities, but also separates
recyclable materials manually.
This project, launched in 2017, is supported by several local initiatives and the Federal Ministry
for Digital and Economic Affairs.
Keywords: construction, re-use, recycling
Internet link: www.baukarussell.at
83 |Barriers and drivers to circular economy
and eco-innovation in Austria
In Austria, a number of drivers for, and barriers to, achieving circular economy and eco-innovation
can be observed. A survey conducted among 200 Austrian eco-innovative entrepreneurs revealed
the most important driving forces and framework conditions for business actors regarding eco-
innovation activities. The results highlight the following very important drivers for an accelerated
uptake of eco-innovation activities in Austria:
• the availability of suitable business partners to develop eco-innovations,
• expected limitations regarding access to raw materials and their high prices,
• technological and management skills available within the companies,
• access to relevant knowledge, and
• high energy prices as well as expected increase in future energy prices are.
On the other hand, uncertainty in terms of market demand and return on investment for eco-
innovation or lack of funds within the enterprise emerged as key barriers for Austrian companies
for eco-efficient activities (Eurobarometer, 2011).
Regarding general driving forces in support of eco-innovation in Austria, several issues in
particular among the categories ‘market position’, ‘investment and funding’, and ‘policy
frameworks’ are identified:
• As stated in the introduction chapter above, Austria has a well-established, fast-growing and
innovative environmental technologies sector. High innovation activities are achieved based
on stable enterprise and branch structures. The market shares of Austrian environmental
technology companies have increased in the past few years (especially in Asian markets) and
are expected to increase further (IWI, 2017).
• For decades, Austria has had environmental protection laws and financial incentives offered
by the state for the development and application of innovative environmental technology.
Besides national legislations, European climate, energy and other environmental targets to be
implemented by all Member States are additional promoting factors for eco-innovation
activities in Austria.
• In recent years, traditional tools and subsidy channels have been supplemented by centres of
competence or excellence, as well as thematic programmes in the environmental technology
sector. A significant increase of funding for enterprises conducting research in the area of
eco-innovation represents a powerful support. Moreover, Austrian companies and research
institutions are well integrated in the European research and technology programmes.
Austria, so far, has not developed a coordinated plan to tackle challenges related to a circular
economy transition, in particular. However, the government programme 2017-2022 defined
circular economy as one of six goals within the environmental division (Bundeskanzleramt, 2017).
9If pursued actively, this could represent a driving force towards coordinated plans regarding e.g.
innovative resource management, eco-technologies and recycling strategies.
However, several barriers can be defined in Austria, weakening the development towards eco-
innovation and circular economy. These barriers refer to the structure of the Austrian economy,
its business sectors, and its network capital:
• The small-scale supplier structure of the environmental technologies industry in Austria is
regarded as a key barrier, which often prevents a strategic handling of the market. In SMEs
financial and human resources are limited resulting in restrained alternative for research and
development activities. Difficult trade-offs are often being faced regarding the spending of
scarce resources either in R&D or in production and planning (IHS, 2014). This deficit also has
impacts on international networking, active involvement in joint tenders and large-scale
projects (WIFO, 2013).
• A further aspect related to the small-scale structure of the Austrian eco-innovation sector is
the fact that the institutions and instruments needed to create synergies between
enterprises, regions and clusters are often missing. Although there are several clusters with
particular focus on eco-innovation in Austria, communication among these existing networks
and clusters is low, hindering the creation of shared R&D infrastructures.
• As already mentioned, Austria´s environmental technology enterprises have developed a solid
share on international markets, which are expected to increase in the near future (IWI, 2017).
In comparison, the domestic market has developed relatively slowly, hindering domestic
growth of the Austrian eco-innovation sector.
In addition to these structural points, Austrian business representatives define risk for
investments into eco-innovative technologies, access to government aid and tax incentives,
missing financial and human capacities, and limited incentives provided by current regulatory
frameworks as main barriers of eco-innovation acceleration (IHS, 2014).
104 |Policy landscape in Austria
In Austria, despite the lack of an overarching policy programme, increasing efforts towards eco-
innovation and circular economy can be observed. In recent years, a number of measures and
initiatives have been set up by different government bodies. Besides the elaboration of eco-
innovation activities, new approaches towards circular economy have been initiated. The main
institutions involved include the Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT, former
BMLFUW - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management), the Ministry
of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT), and the Ministry of Science, Research and
Economy (BMWFW). In addition, other organisations, such as the Austrian Federal Economic
Chamber (WKÖ), play an important role in (co-)financing eco-innovation and circular economy-
related initiatives.
While BMWFW is mainly responsible for basic research, BMVIT focuses on supporting applied
research and runs a number of dedicated programmes related to eco-innovation in support of the
sustainability-oriented transformation of the Austrian economy. Both ministries work on research
and innovation in the enterprise sector and supporting institutions, and BMNT hosts, among
others, the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund. Overall, Austria’s eco-innovation measures are
represented by a mix of first- and second-generation policies, i.e. policies with a strong focus on
traditional, end-of-pipe environmental technologies, such as pollution and waste management,
as well as on energy and resource efficiency.
An increasing number of initiatives, funding opportunities and think tanks can be observed in
Austria regarding the issue of circular economy. Recently, the ‘Plattform Kreislaufwirtschaft
Austria’ has been launched, a stakeholder platform bringing together relevant industries and civil
society. One of the main thematic areas until spring 2019 will be product policy
(www.circularfutures.at). Dealing with key issues for the transformation towards a circular
economy, a workshop particularly on product policies will be organised at the beginning of 2019.
Already in 2004, the initiative ‘RepaNet (Re-Use- und Reparaturnetzwerk Österreich)’ was
launched, defining their main goal as increasing the supply of repaired products and the demand
of repair and rental services (www.repanet.at). The initiative is regarded as the national umbrella
association of the European network RREUSE (Recycling and Reuse of European Social
Enterprises).
However, new sustainable product policies in order to support a circular economy have not yet
occurred. The only Austrian eco-label has been launched already back in 1990 and today licences
more than 3,400 products and services, 340 tourism businesses, 120 schools and educational
institutes, guaranteeing environmental sustainability and predominantly regional origin. The issue
of product sustainability in terms of public procurement has been considered since 2010. That
year, the Austrian Council of Ministers adopted the action plan for sustainable public procurement
(‘Österreichischer Aktionsplan zur nachhaltigen öffentlichen Beschaffung, NaBe-Aktionsplan’),
defining particular goals and measurements towards sustainable public procurements and
11specifying environmental criteria for products among 16 procurement groups, e.g. recyclability of
IT-products (www.nachhaltigebeschaffung.at). Annex 1 provides a detailed overview of the
Austrian eco-innovation and circular economy-related policy support measures.
Particularly for the years 2016 and 2017, the following initiatives and activities regarding circular
economy and eco-innovation can be highlighted:
• The Climate and Energy Strategy of the Austrian Federal Ministry. The Austrian strategy for
adaption to climate change, also known as #mission2030 (www.mission2030.bmnt.gv.at),
which was presented in April 2018, defines several tasks in fields such as infrastructure,
energy system, market, innovation, and R&D, in order to pave the way towards
decarbonisation by 2030 and 2050. Based on these strategies, Austria´s climate and energy
plan will be adapted every 10 years (BMNT and BMVIT, 2018).
• A new waste prevention program (Bundes-Abfallwirtschaftsplan BAWP) has been published
by the BMNT in 2017, supporting environmental goals by defining the targets of avoiding
waste, reducing pollutants and establishing a circular economy. The vision of this program is
to realize a circular economy through various measurements among the action areas ‘waste
prevention’ and ‘waste re-use’ (BMNT, 2017).
• Since 2016, a new Austrian Recycled Construction Materials Regulation is applied. This
regulation ensures high quality of waste that occurs among construction and demolition
processes in order to increase their recycling potential. Identification of hazardous substances
before building and demolition assures a high quality of waste.
• The initiative RESET2020 – Resources.Efficiency.Technologies developed in 2015, aims at
integrating resource efficiency in the areas of environmental technologies and sustainable
production and consumption. The thematic centre of this initiative is the optimization of the
non-energy use of natural resource in the context of a circular economy. This goal shall be
implemented among the five action areas of ‘sustainable consumption and procurement’,
‘sustainable resource management’, ‘renewable resource use’, ‘sustainable production’, and
‘innovative environmental technologies’ (e.g. recycling technologies).
• The Master Plan on Green Jobs, launched in 2010 by the BMNT aims to generate 100,000
green jobs by 2020. Intermediate achievements of the implementation of the master plan
were published in 2016 evaluating the year 2015, revealing a continued positive trend
regarding both turnover and employment in the environmental sector (BMLFUW, 2016).
• Research and development programme City of Tomorrow, financed by the BMVIT in the
context of its broader ‘Programme on Technologies for Sustainable Development’, launched
its first annual call at the end of 2013, and had its fifth call in 2017. The City of the Future
programme aims at developing new technologies, new technological systems and urban
services in the fields of energy-oriented city planning, modernisation and optimisation of
buildings in order to increase resource efficiency.
12• The “Climate Active (klimaaktiv)” programme of the BMNT aims at maximising energy and
resource efficiency and increasing use of ecological products in the construction of new
buildings and the renovation of existing structures. The focal area of the Climate Active
program is called ’eco-efficient construction and housing’. A large number of new or updated
criteria catalogues for different types of new buildings were presented in 2017 and are
available online (www.klimaaktiv.at/bauen-sanieren/gebaeudedeklaration/kriterien-
katalog.html).
• In 2017, the BMNT has developed a new set of measurements regarding market development,
financing, and legal frameworks in order to create a new path for the Masterplan
Environmental Technology (MUT). The idea behind this initiative is to strengthen the positive
development of Austria´s environmental technology industry by joined forces of politics,
administration, the industry and science. Strategic fields of actions therefore are promotion
of exports, research and qualification, financing, and making the domestic market more
dynamic.
• In May 2017, the BMNT launched an initiative to foster sustainability and circular
procurement through open innovation projects. This cooperative project called
“EcoInnovation” is managed in cooperation with the Austrian Service Center for Innovation
Procurement of the Austrian Federal Procurement Agency, facilitating the procurement of
innovative and ecological products and services.
© united-against-waste.at
United Against Waste
The initiative United Against Waste, launched in 2014, has been initiated by a cross-sectoral
platform including the Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism, enterprises of the food service
market, the scientific sector and NGOs. The overall aim is to reduce food waste in Austrian
business canteens by half by 2030. In 2016 the initiative reached over 70 partners, applying
measures towards food waste reduction. The website www.united-against-waste.at presents
information on currently running projects, provides a waste monitoring tool, and an online-test
for companies calculating potential food waste savings and therewith, potential economic
profit.
Key words: sustainable consumption, food waste
Internet link: www.united-against-waste.at
13© greentech.at
Green Tech Cluster
The Green Tech Valley, located in and around Graz (Austria) consists of 200 companies and
research institutions working in the area of green technologies and innovations as part of Green
Tech Cluster. As the World´s 1st Green Tech Cluster, it represents a hotspot for advanced energy
and environmental technologies. The region of Styria provides the highest concentration in the
areas of bioenergy, solar energy, waste and resource management and green buildings by
having 20 global technology leaders located in this region. According to its strategy 2015-2020,
the cluster focuses on the areas of green energy, green building, and green resources. Following
the three “I”s of innovate, internationalise and initiate, the cluster supports companies with
R&D project development. Thereby, 24 innovation projects were initiated in 2015.
The Green Tech Cluster Styria GmbH is a Public Private Partnership and is owned by the
Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (SFG), a business support company of the
province of Styria and the Land Steiermark (the province of Styria itself). It is financed by
contributions of the cluster partners, project revenues and funding of the proprietors and the
European Union. It has been awarded many times with the “Cluster Management Excellence
Label”.
Key words: green cluster, green technologies, green energy, green building, green resources
Internet link: www.greentech.at/en
COMET – Competence Centres for Excellent Technologies
COMET, launched in 2006, is among the most successful technology policy initiatives in Austria
and an internationally recognised best-practice model. The aim is to build up key research
competences through cooperation between science and industry, and therefore, strengthen
the innovative capacity of companies, resulting in the creation of new product, process and
service innovations. So far, 45 centres and networks have been implemented, sponsoring
various projects among disciplines, such as Biotechnology, Symbiotic Mechatronics or
sustainable vehicle technologies.
It is sponsored by the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) and
the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs. The Austrian provinces also support
14COMET with additional funds. The 7th project call started in June 2017 and projects to be funded
will be selected in summer 2018.
Key words: technological innovation, state funding
Internet link: www.ffg.at/en/comet-competence-centers-excellent-technologies
15References
ABA, 2015. Österreich: Starker Standort für Umwelttechnologien und erneuerbare Energien,
28 pp.
BMLFUW, 2016. Masterplan green jobs - mehr jobs durch green jobs!: Umsetzungsbericht 2015.
BMNT, 2015. Passivhaus in China bekommt den ersten „Austrian Green Building Star“, bmnt.gv.at.
https://www.bmnt.gv.at/service/presse/umwelt/2015/150326ChinaGreen.html. Accessed 8
March 2018.
BMNT, 2017. Bundes-Abfallwirtschaftsplan 2017: Teil 1.
BMNT, BMVIT, 2018. #mission2030: Die Klima- und Energiestrategie der Österreichischen
Bundesregierung.
BMWFW, 2016. Energiestatus 2016: Abteilung III/2, Wien, 121 pp.
https://www.bmdw.gv.at/EnergieUndBergbau/Energiebericht/Documents/Energiestatus_20
16_barrierefrei_Impressum.pdf. Accessed 7 March 2018.
Bundeskanzleramt, 2017. Zusammen. Für unser Österreich. Regierungsprogramm 2017–2022.
EEA, 2016. Waste recycling. https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-
recycling-1/assessment. Accessed 9 April 2018.
Eurobarometer, 2011. Attitudes of European entrepreneurs towards eco-innovation: Analytical
report. The Gallup Organization, Brussels, 162 pp.
http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/flash/fl_315_en.pdf. Accessed 21
March 2018.
Eurobarometer, 2016. European SMEs and the Circular Economy:, 89 pp.
IHS, 2014. Das Potenzial von Öko-Innovationen für den Standort Österreich.
IWI, 2017. Österreichische Umwelttechnik - Motor für Wachstum, Beschäftigung und Export: -
Erstmals Industrie und Dienstleister -. Industrie Wissenschaftliches Institut, Wien, 209 pp.
Statistik Austria, 2017. Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnungen: Hauptergebnisse. Statistik
Austria, Wien.
Statistik Austria, 2018. Überblick Umweltwirtschaft 2008 bis 2015. Statistik Austria, Wien, 1 p.
UBA, 2016. Elfter Umweltkontrollbericht: Umweltsituation in Österreich.
UBA, 2017. Klimaschutzbericht 2017, Wien, 168 pp.
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March 2018.
WKÖ, 2017. Nachhaltigkeitskontest 2017 (Sustainability Contest 2017), Wien, 5 pp.
https://news.wko.at/news/oesterreich/wkoe-nachhaltigkeitskontest-2017-
presseinformation_.pdf. Accessed 20 March 2018.
16ANNEX: Policy measures addressing circular economy and eco-
innovations in Austria
Focus of policy measure (tick if relevant)
Specific measure Other
Group of policy Generic Resource Energy Reduction
Type of policy measure Please provide reference to or brief summary of specific measures relevant
measures Circular focus on efficiency efficiency of
(national, regional) areas (e.g.
economy eco- improveme improve emissions
renewable
innovation nt ment incl. CO2
energy, etc)
- The Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws) puts impetuses for x
innovations in the national industry. The Cleantech initiative allocates risk
capital for enterprises in the area of energy technologies and environmental
technologies. A total budget of €100 million is envisaged for supporting
start-up companies.
www.awsg.at/Content.Node/en/index.en.php
Publicly co-funded venture
capital funds
- Enhancement of “Mountain Cleantech Fund II”: aiming at volumes of x
Equity/business €100 million. Mainly invested in future Austrian Cleantech-growth
support enterprises with turnovers of €3-50 million.
www.mountain.partners/en/
SUPPLY SIDE FOCUS
Public guarantee funds
- The Programme on Technologies for Sustainable Development by the x x x x x x
Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology is the biggest and most
important programme promoting eco-innovation in Austria. It aims at
supporting the economy with future-oriented innovations, initiates and
Support for R&D
supports trendsetting research and development projects and the
in public sector R&D funding
implementation of exemplary pilot projects. It consists of the four sub-
and industry
programmes “Building of Tomorrow”, “City of Tomorrow”, “Factory of
Tomorrow”, “Energy systems of Tomorrow”. A significant share of Austria’s
passive house and ecological construction knowledge stems from this
programme.
17www.nachhaltigwirtschaften.at/en/
The Climate and Energy Fund (KLIEN) of the Federal Government aims to x x x x
ensure a sustainable energy supply, a reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions and an increase in R&D activities in the climate and energy areas.
In 2016, KLIEN aims at spending more than €100 milllion in research and
other funding programmes (such as clima:aktiv).
www.klimafonds.gv.at/home-en-US/
The Climate and Energy Strategy of the Austrian Federal Ministry. The x x x x
Austrian strategy for adaption to climate change, also known as
#mission2030 (www.mission2030.bmnt.gv.at), which was presented in April
2018, defines several tasks in fields such as infrastructure, energy system,
market, innovation, and R&D, in order to pave the way towards
decarbonisation by 2030 and 2050.
There are different collaborative grant programmes in Austria: x
- Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Austrian Science
Fund - FWF). FWF spent around €200 million on more than 650 projects in
2015.
www.fwf.ac.at/en/
Collaborative grants
- Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft (Austrian Research x
Promotion Agency – FFG). FFG manages a large number of R&D
programmes.
www.ffg.at/en
In 2016, FFG has launched a new specific programme to support the x
building-up and expansion of high-quality R&D infrastructure.
R&D infrastructure
www.ffg.at/FuE-Infrastrukturfoerderung.at
The strengthening of the operational research and development (R&D) is x
one key factor for the improvement of the competitiveness of Austrian
Fiscal measures Tax incentives for R&D and companies.
start-ups
The basis for the R&D tax allowance is expenditure on the development or
improvement of economically valuable inventions. In 2015, the Austrian
18government decided to raise the tax credit from 10% to 14%, which is
expected to have positive effects.
Tax incentives for R&D
See above.
personnel
The Wirtschaftsförderungsinstitut (WIFI) is an example for occupational x
education in Austria. WIFI serves as a platform and knowledge mediator in
different fields of innovation. WIFI acts as a partner for SMEs with regard to x
management and innovation questions. WIFI also works as an international
gateway for knowledge transfer, international programmes and new
Tailored training courses for education draughts.
companies, entrepreneurs
www.wifi.at/start
The founder's service of the Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) offers company x
founders and franchisees professional support in starting their
entrepreneurship activities.
Education, www.gründerservice.at
training and
mobility There are also some founder’s services from banks in Austria like the GO! x
Gründer Offensive from Erste Bank, and savings banks with a web portal and
personal contact points for each federal state.
Advice/consulting for start- INiTS (Innovation into Business) has been providing advice and support for x
ups, companies, entrepreneurs with innovative ideas since 2002. The services are aimed at
entrepreneurs graduates, employees and students at universities and universities of
applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) in Vienna who aim to put their business
ideas into practice by starting up a company. Since 2002, INiTS has spent
more than €200 million of private capital and more than €100 million of
public support money into almost 200 start-up companies, creating almost
2,000 jobs.
www.inits.at/en/
19In Austria there are several web portals and networks for students and x
other employees. In particular, for the sector of innovations and “green
jobs” there are multiple opportunities.
For example: www.ecotechnology.at/en/content/education-training-and-
green-careers
Placement schemes for GoEcoSocial – Portal for Master Theses, as a part of the eco-social student’s x
students forum (ÖSSFO): The challenge lies on the one hand in the sensitisation of
the students by events and actions and on the other hand in the spreading
and scientific deepening of the eco-social market economy.
www.go-ecosocial.at/
FFG support for human resources. According to FFG, attracting highly x
qualified researchers to take up positions in R&D, retaining such employees
through appropriate structural and personnel measures and making the
most of existing staff potential through the provision of relevant
employment conditions are currently some of the major challenges faced by
Support for R&D workers R&D organisations. FFG thus has a range of programmes supporting young
recruitments talents as well as experienced researchers.
www.ffg.at/en/content/ffg-support-human-resources
x x x x x
The Green Tech Cluster, located in and around Graz (Austria) consists of 200
companies and research institutions working in the area of green
technologies and innovations as part of Green Tech Cluster. As the World´s
1st Green Tech Cluster, it represents a hotspot for advanced energy and
environmental technologies. The Cluster is financed by contributions of the
Competence centres, cluster partners, project revenues and funding of the proprietors and the
Networks and European Union.
clusters, science-technology
partnerships
parks
www.greentech.at/en/
As the business agency of Lower Austria, ecoplus is the interface between x
business and politics, companies and authorities, investors and initiators of
regional projects – on both a national and international scale. The
organisation works within its established network of partners from the
Austrian provinces and municipalities, as well as with EU institutions. The
20main focus lies on the continued development of Lower Austria as a
business location and the support of companies in Lower Austria.
www.ecoplus.at/en/
The Cluster Platform Austria was established in 2008 as an initiative of the x x x x
Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth for information and
cooperation purposes for the Austrian cluster players at national and
regional level. The National Cluster Platform initiates the discussion of
topics of common concern within working groups. It actively contributes to
further developments of the Austrian research, development, technology
and innovation (RDTI) policy and the link-up to cluster activities at European
level, and facilitates a considerable rise in the implementation of innovative
measures in Austria.
www.clusterplattform.at/index.php?id=1&L=1
Environmental Technology Cluster (Upper Austria). Currently, 160 partner x x x x x
companies cooperate in the environmental technology cluster, which was
founded in January 2006. The cluster represents a hub for technology
providers and users, and is a know-how provider as well as a platform for
know-who transfer in the areas of water, waste, soil, air and noise.
Furthermore, it supports environmental technology companies in all
measures for the development of product and process innovations, initiates
national and international cooperative projects, and provides information
about current funding opportunities.
www.umwelttechnik-cluster.at/
COMET – Competence Centres for Excellent Technologies, hosted by FFG. x
The competence centre programmes initiated in 1998 (Kplus, K_ind, K_net)
belong to the most successful innovations of technology policy in Austria.
The programme promotes the construction of competence centres whose
core is a cooperatively defined research program by economy and science
Technology platforms and at a high level.
innovation networks
www.ffg.at/comet
The Platform Kreislaufwirtschaft Austria is a multi-stakeholder platform x
acting as a think tank, incubator, and catalyst for projects and initiatives
Foresight and common towards a transition to a circular economy in Austria.
vision building
www.circularfutures.at/
21With the slogan "Worldwide business Support" and with the help of a wide x
Market intelligence and range of services in the areas of Information, Coaching and Events, the
other forms of information AWO-Programme by the WKÖ sees it as its duty to bring still undecided
sharing enterprises into the export business, leading dynamic ones into new
markets and supporting the already efficient to grow successfully.
www.go-international.at/branchen-im-fokus-2015-2019.html
The Austrian Climate Protection Law from 2011 determined maximum x x x
emission levels for six economic sectors, i.e. waste management, energy
and industry not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS),
fluoride gases, buildings, agriculture and transport. In cooperation between
the federal and regional governments, an implementation plan has been
elaborated for all six sectors.
ACM (Austrian Carbon Management) is the only Austrian interdisciplinary x x x
service platform for climate change services. ACM consists of three
companies and a big Austrian bank, RZB. Within ACM, company DENKSTATT
is conducting climate strategies and consulting for corporates, iC
Consulenten and TPA are performing Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and are working strongly for the
DEMAND SIDE FOCUS
Public Sector. The bank RZB provides subsidies and support for climate
policy projects.
Regulations and Regulations, targets, cap & www.centric.at/partners/acm-austrian-carbon-management
standards trade schemes
The Austrian Recycled Construction Materials Regulation regulates waste x x x
that occurs among construction and demolition processes in order to
increase their recycling potential. Identification of hazardous substances
before building and demolition assures a high quality of waste.
www.brv.at/english/
A new waste prevention program (Bundes-Abfallwirtschaftsplan BAWP) has x x x
been published by the BMNT in 2017, supporting environmental goals by
defining the targets of avoiding waste, reducing pollutants and establishing
a circular economy. The vision of this program is to realize a circular
economy through various measurements among the action areas ‘waste
prevention’ and ‘waste re-use’
22Classification of different environmental labels is according to Type I (ISO x x x x
14024), Type II (ISO 14021) and Type III (ISO/TR 14025). The most important
Austrian example for Type I is the “Austrian Environment Label” (“Das
Österreichische Umweltzeichen”). This label was introduced in 1990 and is
being provided for products, companies in the tourism industry, and
institutions of education, such as schools.
www.umweltzeichen.at/cms/en/austrian-ecolabel/vision/content.html
Performance standards, The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) leads to enhanced x x x x
labelling, certification performance, credibility and transparency of registered organisations.
While ISO 14001 is predominant in other EU member states, Austrian
organisations more often implement the EMAS system. One reason for the
high number of EMAS registrations (currently around 290) in Austria are
specific financial and technical support activities that the Austrian Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, the Austrian
provinces and the chamber of commerce have offered since EMAS was
introduced in 1993.
The National Action Plan on sustainable public procurement (NaBe) was x x x x x
adopted by the Council of Ministers in July 2010. The action plan consists of
two parts. Part I contains the policy background, the definition of
sustainable procurement, targets and initiatives, as well as implementation.
Part II defines key environmental criteria for 16 product groups of key
interest for public procurers, including buildings, vehicles, chemicals and IT
products. In 2016, a focal area is being set on “circular procurement”, i.e.
purchase of products with a high degree of circularity of the involved raw
materials.
“Green“ public procurement www.nachhaltigebeschaffung.at/sites/default/files/nabe2011_17_engl_ku
of goods and services rzfassung.pdf
Public
procurement Service centre for innovativeness promoting public procurement (IÖB)
conducted in 2013 by BBG-Bundesbeschaffungsgesellschaft and financed
through BMDW and BMVIT. It represents the main contact and coordination
office for questions regarding innovativeness promoting public
procurement (IÖB) in Austria.
www.ioeb.at/ueber-ioeb-und-die-servicestelle/ueber-ioeb-und-die-
servicestelle/
R&D procurement
23Pre-commercial
procurement
There are different support strategies for Austrian technology adopters by x
AWS (Austria Wirtschaftsservice), see above, including advisory and fiscal
aid programmes, ERP-Fonds, and AWS funds for SMEs.
Advisory support for
technology adopters www.awsg.at/Content.Node/en/index.en.php
Technology
Transfer
Financial or fiscal support for See AWS above. x
technology adopters
(e.g. grants for purchasing
new technology)
Tax incentives for consumers
(e.g. for purchasing
environmentally efficient
products)
Tax reductions are being granted for some environmental friendly products. x x x
Tax reductions for products For example, the car purchase tax (NOVA) is not charged for electric
and services (e.g. VAT vehicles, resulting in an around 16% reduction of the overall price.
reductions)
Incentives for feed-in tariffs regarding private eco-electricity production, x x x
such as from solar panels exist in several Austrian provinces.
Demand subsidies (e.g. eco-
Support of The government also supports the thermal insulation of private homes. For x x x
vouchers, consumer
private demand a complete insulation following the “clima.aktiv” standards.
subsidies)
www.klimaaktiv.at/english/
There are many different activities that aim to raise awareness provided by
local community governments, environmental agencies, etc.
For example, the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment x x x x x x
Awareness raising and and Water Management (BMLFUW) hosts a number of initiatives in the area
information provision of sustainable consumption, including an info-portal, “Buy aware”.
www.bewusstkaufen.at
24About the
Eco-Innovation
Observatory (EIO)
The Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO) is the initiative financed by the European Commission’s Directorate-
General for the Environment. The Observatory is developing an integrated information source and a series
of analyses on eco-innovation trends and markets, targeting business, innovation service providers, policy
makers as well as researchers and analysts.
Visit EIO and DG ENV EcoAP website and register to get access to more information
and to access all EIO resources.
www.eco-innovation.eu
ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoapYou can also read
