Bank Austria as a pioneer
Generating value for the benefit of the community, our customers, employees, shareholders, and current and future generations: this is our mission and our identity.
For many years, the ISO14001 Environmental Management System has enabled and facilitated a structured approach to environmental challenges, appropriate decision-making and the continuous improvement of our environmental performance. At the same time, it supports us in achieving our goals within the framework of the UniCredit Group's climate strategy.
Strong environmental performance - Net Zero in focus
Since the introduction of the Environmental Management System in 2011, Bank Austria's performance in all relevant environmental KPIs such as energy consumption, business travel kilometers, water and paper consumption, but also the amount of waste has improved significantly. Compared with the base year 2008, savings ranged from minus 75% to minus 90%, depending on the area. The task now is to consistently continue along this path and make a significant contribution to the UniCredit Group's target of "Net-zero by 2030 in its own emissions”.
By participating in the klimaaktiv pact initiated by the Ministry of Climate Protection, which runs until 2030, Bank Austria is sending an important signal, making an essential contribution to achieving Austria's climate targets together with other climate pioneer companies, and benefiting from the constant exchange with like-minded people.
"There are many reasons why our environmental performance has improved significantly over the years: The support from management and the structured approach within the framework of a management system have certainly contributed to this. No less important is the excellent cooperation with colleagues from Real Estate, who are always open to new ideas and technical solutions. And last but not least, the willingness of the employees not only to support many initiatives in the direction of environmental and climate protection at the company, but also to decisively drive them forward. Many thanks to everyone!"
The relocation to the Austria Campus has had a great impact on environmental data:
- Since 2008, greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by more than 80%. A clear focus is on Net Zero by 2030.
- We purchase nearly 100% electricity with the Austrian Ecolabel, which comes from renewable energy sources and is therefore CO2 neutral.
- We have been able to reduce our total energy consumption by 75% since 2008
- Other successes in: Waste (down 90%), copy paper (down 89%) and water (down 89%).
- Our privately built geothermal system provides essential support for both heating and cooling
Bank Austria’s active environmental management
An environmental management network was established in order to ensure a sustainable Environmental Management System at Bank Austria. This guarantees the coordination and implementation of environmental issues across all banking areas. The appointment of a steering committee underlines the importance that we give to this issue.
But how will this work in practice?
The international standard ISO 14001 is - apart from the EMAS regulation - the world’s most important guideline when it comes to what corporate environmental management should consist of. Following this standard, environmental protection is systematically entrenched into a company’s management.
Thanks to the commitment of our employees, over the last few years Bank Austria has continually improved its Environmental Management System, which is already ISO 14001-certified.
Our environmental policy also sets out the guidelines and broad objectives that guide us: Continuous reduction of our environmental impact; climate protection at the center of our efforts; compliance with legal requirements and voluntary commitments; promotion of environmental awareness among our employees; exchange with stakeholders in order to achieve goals together.
An extract from the Bank Austria environmental programme shows further steps
- Reduction of expensive storage media for energy saving
- Implementing new media to reduce hardware
- Printing with FollowMe printing system and PretonSave software
- Development of green procurement policies; plastic-free initiative; paperless office; expansion of green product range.
