ÖBB release Sustainability Report 2022

Credit: ÖBB

ÖBB has released its Sustainability Report 2022, providing an insight into the numerous sustainability initiatives that were implemented in the ÖBB Group over the past year. In 2022, the ÖBB transport services (by train and bus) were able to save around 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

“When it comes to sustainability and climate protection, we follow our motto and think about tomorrow in everything we do,” Andreas Matthä, CEO for ÖBB, said. “This makes ÖBB Austria’s number one climate protection company in the mobility sector. This action is also reflected in our brand-new sustainability report. In it we document all of our activities at all levels in the ecological, economic and social areas. The report also shows where the journey is going and where we still need to improve. The mobility of the next 100 years will be one thing above all: sustainable.”

The fact that sustainability and climate protection are practiced every day at ÖBB and that words are followed by deeds is also underlined by a number of highlights from the past year. The mobility area of ​​ÖBB in Austria caused around 226,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. Despite the slight increase compared to 2021 (around 212,000 tonnes), which was caused by the renewed increase in traffic in passenger transport, the ÖBB climate advantages are still very clear. The flight connection Vienna – Frankfurt – Vienna causes about the same amount of CO2 emissions per year as the entire mobility area of ​​​​ÖBB.

With the commissioning of the world’s first traction current wind turbine, ÖBB is taking another important step in expanding its own generation of renewable energies. In order to counter the risks of climate change in a targeted manner, a climate risk and vulnerability analysis was carried out for the first time. For quieter rail freight transport, ÖBB also equipped 96% of all RCA freight cars with new, quiet brake blocks.

The increase in the proportion of women in the ÖBB Group can also be found in the social area of ​​the sustainability report: This increased by +0.9% to 15.1% in 2022. ÖBB is an attractive employer and attaches great importance to good training and further education for its employees. In the previous year alone, an additional 120 new e-learning, training and teaching apps were developed. The forthcoming generational change brings with it many challenges, but also opportunities.

ÖBB has been providing transparent and regular information about its sustainability performance since 2006. The ÖBB Group Sustainability Report 2021 received the Austrian Sustainability Reporting Award (ASRA). In 2022, the exemplary reporting system was consistently further developed by fulfilling upcoming statutory requirements a few years in advance. The ÖBB are already voluntarily setting the highest standards and are thus meeting their high standards in all dimensions of sustainability. It is also not insignificant that effective sustainability reporting brings economic benefits.

In 2022, the team of sustainability experts at ÖBB was strengthened and made more stringent. The alignment and overall strategy will continue to be carried out by ÖBB-Holding AG. In addition, a new sustainability department was set up in the ÖBB Business Competence Center GmbH, under the former managing director of the climate fund, Ingmar Höbarth, which will primarily deal with the development and operation of an integrated sustainability indicator system in the group. Together with the sustainability experts of the individual subgroups/subsidiaries, sustainability projects in the group can be implemented in a more targeted manner and their impact can be measured even more efficiently.