Environmental management

EMAS
The OeNB has practiced environmental management under the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) for more than 25 years, thus demonstrating its continued commitment to protecting the environment. In this context, key priorities include using resources sustainably, protecting biodiversity and, above all, promoting climate protection. To address climate change, we need to reduce our carbon emissions (e.g. carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O)) as well as fluorinated greenhouse gases (F gases). Protecting the earth’s biosphere, and thus human livelihoods, is essential: We want to play our part in preserving our planet for future generations.

Environmental impact assessment
At the OeNB, one of the most significant aspects of our environmental footprint is the energy we use to run our operations and the energy that staff consumes as a result of business travel and commuting. The energy we use, in the form of electrical power, heat and fuel, produces emissions which may contribute to the greenhouse effect and air pollution, such as high levels of fine dust pollution or summer smog. That is why we consider our energy management processes to have the greatest environmental impact.

Procurement can also potentially have major environmental impact. We can help minimize this impact by carefully choosing the products we use, for example office supplies, the small fleet of vehicles we built up over the years and construction materials we need for refurbishments and adaptations.

In addition, we regularly identify the direct and indirect environmental aspects of OeNB operations (e.g. resource use, energy consumption, waste generation, emissions) and determine the potential for ecological improvement for each category.

Assessment criteria
Assessments are made against the following criteria:

• amount of and hazard involved in the materials used, energy consumed, waste and emissions produced;
• amount of and hazard involved in the waste and emissions produced at the earlier production stages and the later waste elimination stages, and
• ecological impact of materials and chemicals.

In addition to the impact of normal operations, we also assess the impact of risk scenarios (e.g. disruptions, blackouts). In refining the OeNB’s environmental protection goals and measures, we factor in significant environmental aspects.