By Jessie Nguyen<\/b><\/p>\n
Medill Reports\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n VIENNA <\/span>\u2014<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In the midst of the Vienna winter, city life is as vibrant as ever. Commuters biked along the Ringstrasse as riders patiently lined up for a tram at one of Innere Stadt\u2019s more bustling stops.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to sustainability, no city does it like Vienna.<\/span><\/p>\n Only 1 in 3 Viennese owns a car as three-quarters of all trips in the city are made on foot, by bicycle or public transport, according to the <\/span>Vienna Climate Guide<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Vienna\u2019s 1,500 water fountains \u2014 about one for every 1,334 residents \u2014 reflect the city\u2019s deliberate effort to reduce reliance on bottled water, according to the <\/span>Vienna Smart City Strategy<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, Vienna\u2019s waste management system has<\/span> saved more carbon dioxide than it emits<\/span><\/a> by implementing a circular economy, which focuses on waste elimination and extending a product\u2019s life cycle through recycling and repurposing, essentially turning waste into resources.<\/span><\/p>\n But Vienna\u2019s sustainability efforts extend far beyond waste management, cementing its plan to become the world\u2019s most livable city.<\/span><\/p>\n Since 2020, the city of Vienna has been on a path to achieving climate neutrality, a goal it set out to accomplish by 2040. The city aims to recycle 100% of its non-avoidable waste by 2050.<\/span><\/p>\n By 2030, Vienna expects to increase the average life expectancy by two years and cut down 50% of all food waste.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many Viennese entities, such as<\/span> MATR<\/span><\/a>, a mattress company and pioneer in circular economy solutions, welcome these ambitions. MATR produces mattresses using recycled polyester fibers that visibly reduce emissions at each manufacturing stage.<\/span><\/p>\n Four years ago, when MATR co-founder Michaela Stephen learned that 30 million mattresses end up as waste every year in Europe, she decided it was time for change.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you put them on top of each other, it\u2019s 20,000 times the Eiffel Tower,\u201d Stephen said. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Oh my God, what is going on? Why does this huge mountain of waste exist and why does no one seem to know about this?\u2019 And that\u2019s how MATR was born that weekend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In recent years and specifically after the pandemic, Vienna\u2019s startup ecosystem has bounced back stronger than ever with technologically advanced creations, such as smart mattresses and virtual reality training, combining modern solutions to global challenges with sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n Startups that center around climate resilience have been incorporating green concepts in their operations to continue fostering a sustainable future. Spanning various sectors like arts, business and technology, enterprises like MATR are helping the city create change from the heart of Austria.<\/span><\/p>\n Vienna heads into its fifth year of climate protection commitment<\/b><\/p>\n Since the 1970s, the annual mean temperature has increased by roughly 2 degrees Celsius in Austria and by 3 degrees Celsius in Vienna, according to findings in the<\/span> Vienna Climate Guide<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n But scientists said Vienna will further warm up by up to 4 degrees Celsius, or 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit, at the end of the century, bringing downstream repercussions on health and quality of life among other implications.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our times. Temperatures are rising on our <\/span>planet and the consequences are becoming more and more tangible \u2013 heat, droughts, <\/span>extreme weather events,\u201d J\u00fcrgen Czernohorszky, executive city councilor for Climate, Environment, Democracy and Personne, said in the guide. \u201cThis crisis affects us all, and therefore we can only deal with it together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In the past couple of years, rising temperatures, along with an increase in urban development, created the heat island effect in Vienna, where the city center experiences significantly higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The city\u2019s ongoing efforts to ease the effects and bring about cooler temperatures include planting trees and spraying mist showers, according to the<\/span> Vienna Heat Action Plan<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Adopted five years ago by the Vienna City Government, the<\/span> Smart City Wien Strategy<\/span><\/a> builds upon the<\/span> United Nations Sustainable Development Goals<\/span><\/a> and outlines strategies for Vienna to reach net zero carbon emissions in the next two decades.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, four years into the implementation of the strategy, Vienna ranked second behind Switzerland\u2019s Zurich in<\/span> Mercer\u2019s assessment of the world\u2019s most livable city<\/span><\/a>. The city\u2019s abundant green oases and excellent infrastructure are some of the factors that contribute to Vienna\u2019s high quality of living.<\/span><\/p>\n Focusing on Vienna\u2019s transition to a circular economy, the guide proposes the city gear up for a new economic approach that further attracts investments and talent in the employment sector.<\/span><\/p>\n With a framework that incorporates environmental factors, Vienna brings a wide range of incentives such as startup funding, subsidy schemes and advisory services, serving the city as a \u201cspringboard into new global markets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n OekoBusiness Wien<\/span><\/a>, an initiative by the<\/span> Municipal Department for Environmental Protection<\/span><\/a>, is an environmental service package for Viennese companies that supports them in their green transformation. The consultancy service \u2014 providing environment-friendly practices and services \u2014 has helped more than 1,000 local businesses<\/span> save more than 740,000 tons of carbon dioxide<\/span><\/a> and reduce their operating costs by 167 million euros ($212 million) since it was launched in 1998.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unverschwendet<\/span><\/a>, a sustainable startup dedicated to eliminating food waste, benefited from the support of OekoBusiness Wien. In 2023, after participating in the joint<\/span> Re:Wien initiative<\/span><\/a> by OekoBusiness Wien and<\/span> Impact Hub Vienna<\/span><\/a>, the startup reported saving tons of food and cans and turning them into new products like jams, pickles and syrups. Today, Unverschwendet has worked on repurposing more than 10 million kilograms, or more than 22 million pounds, of fruits and vegetables.<\/span><\/p>\n OekoBusiness Wien currently manages more than 15,000 environmental projects. Program manager Bertram Haupler said the service has been able to balance between companies\u2019 objectives, eco-conscious milestones and federal regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of different legal requirements for companies,\u201d Haupler said. \u201cYou have to fulfill all these (environmental) laws as a legal baseline, but if you really want to be an eco-business company, you have to do more than what is legally required.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Climate-oriented startups and entrepreneurs have been taking Vienna by storm in recent years<\/b><\/p>\n A hub for sustainable business models and green technology entrepreneurs, Vienna saw more than 5,000 new startup registrations in 2022 compared with 18,000 in the entire country, according to<\/span> Statistics Austria<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, the startup sector brought Austria more than 578 million euros ($733 million) in investments, with 68% of the funding invested in young Viennese companies, according to<\/span> EY Startup Barometer 2024<\/span><\/a>. Taking up 61% of total investment volume, Vienna ranks first as an Austrian region with the highest market share of startups in 2024, while Upper Austria ranks second with 18% and Lower Austria comes in third at 6%.<\/span><\/p>\n