Green events for Austria - the administration as a pioneer
At the naBe & Green Events Austria symposium, 120 event experts from all over Austria from both the administrative sector and the industry met at the Ankersaal in the Kulturhaus Brotfabrik in Vienna. The event was certified as a Green Event with the Austrian Ecolabel.
Andrea Stossfellner (BBG), Regina Preslmair (BMK) and Dieter Brosz (BMKÖS) as well as Gerhard Weiner (Head of the naBe platform) presented the many green event ideas and the service mission of the naBe platform to support the administration in organising sustainable events.
Certification with the Austrian Ecolabel is not only a challenge, but above all an opportunity. The ecolabel serves as a guide for consumers and also helps to raise awareness. Further advantages of certification as well as a brief outline of the "green world" of the Ecolabel were clearly presented.
Georg Tappeiner referred to the Green Events Austria network and the regional programmes. Christian Pladerer explained how events can be easily organised in accordance with the Austrian Ecolabel and gave practical tips for successful certification.
Green Events Austria and nabe symposium Presentation of the initiatives© Anja Grundböck
Good practice examples from the federal government, federal provinces and municipal associations were presented on the central topics, which once again emphasised the central importance and leverage effect of the public sector in its role model function:
- Mobility
- procurement
- Waste avoidance
- waste collection
- Catering
- Social responsibility
- Accessibility
In a stimulating panel discussion, Andreas Tschulik (BMK), Dieter Brosz (BMKÖS), Christiane Weissenböck (Department of Environmental Education, Office of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government) and Harald Rametsteiner (St. Pölten UAS) discussed "Future dialogue - major levers and next steps for the public sector".
Green Events Austria and nabe symposium panel discussion© Anja Grundböck
The choice of topics for the symposium not only emphasised the importance of sustainable events, but also presented the requirements in a comprehensible and practical way, hopefully further raising awareness of the importance of sustainable event design in the public sector.
If you would like to find out more about the 2023 symposium: https://www.nabe.gv.at/nabe-fachtag-2023/