Chapter 13 “The City Administration Working for a Better Environment” 103

The City Administration Working for a Better Environment

» Public Facilities and Official Buildings

» Vienna’s Hospitals: Exemplary Environmental Protection

» The City of Vienna Buys “Green”

As a major customer for “green” products,Vienna has a market position that it seeksto exploit to the best of its ability

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The city of Vienna does a great dealto operate the city administration’sbuildings in an as environmentallyaware manner as possible. The use ofenvironmental management systemsensures that ecological improvementsand cost savings are achievedcontinuously – in municipal offices justas much as in nursery schools orschools. And as a major purchaser ofenvironmentally friendly products, thecity has a market power that shouldmake a substantial contribution to thedevelopment of ecologically compatibleproducts and to an expansion in therange available. The criteria for the city

of Vienna’s ecological procurement andtendering process are being constantlydeveloped from the EcoBuy Viennaproject, which was established in 1998as part of the Climate ProtectionProgramme (KliP).

The city’s environmentally relevantmeasures carry weight! Because nurseryschools, schools, municipal departments,district offices, social and leisurefacilities such as swimming pools orsports facilities are all located inbuildings in which every effort is madeto manage them ecologically: fromheating and rehabilitation to lightingand even to purchasing as well asavoiding waste and disposing of it.

Energy Savings Performance ContractingThe aim of energy savings perfor-

mance contracting is to make betteruse of the energy used in a building oran installation. An energy savingsperformance contracting project mayinclude measures of all kinds toincrease energy efficiency. The onlyframework condition is that themeasures must be paid for from theenergy costs saved within a foreseeableperiod. Conversely this means thatsince the contracting partner’s servicesare paid from the energy costs saved,the client does not incur anyexpenditure!

The Hirschstetten flower gardensproject, which was given an EnergyGlobe Award in 2004, was outstanding inthe first implementation phase. Theproject was carried out by the MunicipalDepartment for Building and FacilityManagement (MA 34) on behalf of theMunicipal Department for Parks andGardens (MA 42).

In this project, which runs over a periodof around 14 years, 395 tonnes of CO2

emissions and consequently € 204,000 inenergy costs are saved every year. Withenergy savings performance contractingprojects in municipal offices, schools andnursery schools, the city is acting toprotect the climate! MA 34 has set itselfthe target of improving the energyefficiency of around 30 of the city’sbuildings every year.

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Public Facilities and Official Buildings

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Energy Globe Award for theHirschstetten flower gardens.

Further examples of this means ofoptimising energy consumption areprovided by the Simmering indoorswimming pool and a further sevenmunicipal swimming pools. In essence,the measures taken focused on opti-mising existing technical equipment,installing solar panels and heat recoveryfacilities as well as adopting watermanagement measures. As the MunicipalDepartment for Municipal SwimmingPools (MA 44) reports some 4,700 squaremetres of solar collectors have beeninstalled under energy savings perfor-mance contracts. There are 12,800square metres of solar collectorsinstalled and operating in municipalswimming pools.

Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft hasinstalled a contracting model for twopools of 23 Viennese state schoolseach. Following an EU-wide two phasenegotiating process, the bidding con-sortium made up of ENERGIECOMFORTand Siemens was commissioned for oneof the two pools with a savingsguarantee of 21.1 per cent. The WIENENERGIE subsidiary will look after 18Viennese schools for a period of tenyears – provisionally up to 2008. TheEuropean record for public sectorproperty pools was achieved withsavings of 21.9 per cent of energy costs!The bidding consortium has alreadybeen given the contracting award of the “Austrian Society for the Environmentand Technology (ÖGUT) for its success inmotivating users. ENERGIECOMFORThas so far achieved an average savingsratio of around 22 per cent and a peakvalue of 24.8 per cent.

In February 2005, the energy savingsperformance contracting project for thePaulusgasse Primary School wasreviewed. In future, this school will use46 per cent less energy than it didbefore! At the same time, the comfort ofthe teachers and pupils and the valueof the building have been increased bythe facilities being modernised.Incidentally, a new tender collectionprocess was also developed forcontracting in the Paulusgasse PrimarySchool pilot project (see the “Viennaand Europe” chapter), which facilitateshigh quality bids and at the same timekeeps the administrative expenditure

for the city of Vienna as the buildingowner within limits. A point-basedevaluation method was also developed,which makes it easier to compare thedifferent bids and select the best oneusing the net present value method.The methods developed in the pilotproject will also be used in futureinvitations to tender for contracts bythe city of Vienna.

The beneficial (in terms of budgets)method of energy savings performancecontracts has also allowed energy coststo be minimised in a few nurseryschools, the most recent being at Auer-Welsbach-Park in the 15th district.The new children’s daycare facility atSchukowitzgasse 87 in the 22nd districtwas also designed as a low energybuilding by the Municipal Departmentfor Nursery Schools (MA 10) in collabo-ration with the Municipal Departmentfor Architecture and Urban Design (MA 19). The use of energy efficiencyoptimising technologies was one of theconditions of tender in a competition.

Constant Ecological ManagementMA 34 constantly tries to manage the

properties for which it is responsibleecologically. In the period 2004/2005,among other things • the heating systems in the schools atDarwingasse 14, Pazmanitengasse 26and Vereinsgasse 29 were convertedfrom oil to district heat;• the heating system at the school atPlankenmaisstraße 30 was also conver-

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The review of the PaulusgassePrimary School energy savingsperformance contract project hasdemonstrated that the school willconsume 46 per cent less energyin future!

ted from oil to district heat as part of itsgeneral modernisation;• the gas heating system at themunicipal office/Lycée Français schoolat Grinzinger Straße 96 was converted toa gas-fired condensing boiler with aflue;• the heating system in the municipaloffice at Viehmarktgasse 5–7 wasconverted from oil to district heat;• solar panels were installed in twonursery schools at Endergasse 1 andJohann-Hörbiger-Gasse 43 and• the gas heating system in the MAGELF-Lindenhof training centre at Pul-kauerstraße 43, A-3730 Lindenhof wasconverted and connected to the Eggen-burg district heat network (heated bywood chippings).

The loft in the “Wiener Wohnen” buil-ding in municipal office 1, Bartenstein-block, was extended and increased inheight. In so doing, the roof areascreated on the courtyard side by the new building have provided an idealopportunity for a large inner-city projectto install an innovative photovoltaicplant.This measure should at least coverthe electricity needed to cool theconference rooms and to shade andventilate the offices. A total of 420 solarpanels acting as a photovoltaic plantwill help to improve the building’senergy budget using solar power. With asolar area of more than 470 squaremetres the project is the largest photo-voltaic roof plant in Vienna. Calculationsshow that yields totalling between32,000 and 34,500 kilowatts per year areto be expected, which could result insavings of between € 4,000 and € 4,500per year.

Ecological Criteria in School ConstructionThe Municipal Department for School

Administration (MA 56) carries out arange of environmentally relevant activi-ties both in the ongoing maintenance ofstate-sector school buildings and in theirgeneral redevelopment as well as in newbuildings. These include, among otherthings, exchanging windows for a woodand aluminium structure with aprotective coating against the sun on theoutside, constructing façades with fullthermal insulation, using low-energylight bulbs and concluding energy

savings performance contracts. Whenbuilding new state-sector schools,measures are taken to reduce CO2 bycontrolling the classroom ventilation.Care is also taken to use environ-mentally friendly materials (woodenfloors, water-soluble paints, PVC-freefloor coverings etc.). School buildings areincreasingly connected to the districtheat network and green areas arecreated.

As a rule the Municipal Departmentfor Procurement (MA 54) is responsiblefor purchasing materials (e.g. cleaningagents, pens and pencils). In the invita-tion to tender for the service of provi-ding staff to distribute meals (includingcleaning the kitchen at all-day schools inVienna) carried out in 2004, it wasstipulated that the cleaning agents usedby the contractor must be environ-mentally friendly and the washing activesubstances must be biologicallydegradable. They had to be used inaccordance with the manufacturer’sguidelines. In addition, only thosecleaners and coating agents that did notcontain certain substances or not abovethe concentration specified were to beused for deep cleaning.

On 27 January 2005, the MunicipalCouncil adopted a new regulation forschool meals specifying that from theacademic year 2005/2006 meals at state-sector all-day schools had to contain atleast 30 per cent organic ingredients. Inthis connection, each of these schoolshas been supplied by the school mealcaterer of their choice since the previousSeptember. Currently, some 19,000 mealsare distributed every day at 90 schoollocations. On the basis of inspections inaccordance with the stringent rules inthe list of criteria, four companiesoffering frozen and/or chilled food wereincluded in the pool of companies for theacademic year 2005/2006.

In 2005, work started on exchangingcathode ray tube screens for energysaving flat screens. By 2007, some 12,000flat screens, which use around half theenergy of a traditional cathode ray tubescreen, should be installed in state-sector schools.

When constructing the new HerthaFirnberg School at Wienerberg on thesouthern edge of Vienna, a primary

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School materials such as drawingmaterials are principally purchasedthrough MA 54.

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school with nine classes and a nurserywith five groups, a controlled ventilationsystem involving an upstream groundcollector and heat recovery was installedfor the first time in a Viennese school.The air is pre-heated through geo-thermal heat in winter and cooled insummer. Measurements taken inadvance have shown that the CO2

content in classrooms increases after 20 minutes of teaching and pupils’ability to concentrate falls rapidly. Theventilation system in the school, whichwas completed in September 2005 andwhich was installed on behalf of MA 56,guarantees constantly perfect air qualityand low operating costs. Thermallyinsulated structural components ensurethat the building meets low energystandards.

Environmental Awareness in ManagingNursery Schools

Pedagogically speaking a nurseryschool that is managed in an environ-mentally aware manner is distinguishedby an exemplary attitude, the use ofenvironmentally friendly, toys, paintingmaterials and tools as well as environ-mentally aware purchasing. The so-called BIOBOX has been available in allViennese nursery schools since Decem-ber 2004. It was developed by EcoBuyVienna in close collaboration with theeducationalists in MA 10 and staff fromthe Municipal Department for Environ-mental Protection (MA 22) and theenvironmental consultants as a packageof materials for teaching children. The

BIOBOX contains various games, a CD ofanimal sounds and a handbook withmodels to copy, suggestions and recipes.Children are introduced to the topic ofhealthy eating through play and learnthe difference between traditional andorganic farming.

Since the beginning of 2003, healthierfood with a high proportion of organi-cally produced raw materials has beenserved in the city of Vienna’s crèches,nursery schools and nurseries. Theinnovation – which affects some 26,000snacks and 30,000 hot and cold mealsrespectively – has been welcomedequally by children and parents. As aresult, Vienna is setting internationalstandards in the procurement ofenvironmentally friendly and sustain-able products. And without charging theparents any more. Currently theproportion of organic products amountsto 50 per cent on average. This meansthat Vienna is the only city in Europeoffering such a high proportion oforganic food in its children’s meals!

In addition to transporting the mealsin an environmentally sound mannerand preparing and storing them usingenergy saving methods, the leftoversfrom meals served in municipal nurseryschools are also recycled in an environ-mentally friendly way in that they areused to produce biogas and consequent-ly to generate electricity. Incidentally,packaging materials must be free of PVC,of plastics containing halogens andhalogenated hydrocarbons. All thepackaging material – around 100 tonnesper year – is collected by the cateringcompany and taken to a professional,environmentally friendly recyclingcompany.

Public LightingLight is life! Nevertheless, it can also

have detrimental effects on flora, faunaand people. However, these can bereduced to a minimum with suitable,simple measures. The task of theMunicipal Department for PublicLighting (MA 33) (“Vienna glows”) is touse light ecologically and efficiently.The high pressure mercury arc lampsthat are still used in many areas nolonger represent cutting-edge technologybecause their light is white and their

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With the help of the BIOBOX, thekids are introduced to the topic ofhealthy eating through play.

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Vienna leads the way in Europewith organic ingredients makingup 50 per cent of its children’smeals!

light output is low. The light output of ahigh pressure sodium vapour lamp istwice as high as that of a high pressuremercury arc lamp. Scientific investiga-tions also show that high pressuremercury arc lamps attract nocturnalinsects because of their radiated lightspectrum. By contrast, the yellow lightof the high pressure sodium vapourlamp has a colour range, which attractsvery few nocturnal insects. For thesereasons, high pressure mercury arclamps are no longer used in either MA 33’s new or existing equipment.Insects can be prevented frompenetrating the illuminants through theuse of closed lights. This means that thelights do not become dirty so quicklyand insects are prevented from beingburnt up on the lights. The use of lightswith integrated optics and reflectorsystems allows the light scatter andconsequently the extent to which insectsare attracted to the light to be reduced.Lights with special mirror optics andthe use of a corresponding cut-offtechnique – ensuring that the light onlystreams downwards – can also reducethe light pollution affecting the nightsky from artificial light sources (“darksky” project).

In 2005, MA 33’s most importantindividual projects were, among otherthings, the redesign of the lighting onthe Ringstraße together with MA 19,which succeeded in combining the latestlight and mirror technology with ahistoric design. The results areimpressive in that while energy costshave been cut by at least 30 per centthanks to the new lighting, at the sametime the lighting level has beenincreased by 20 per cent! Other projects

related to the development of a newlighting scheme for the Resselpark andthe refurbishment of the lighting onHöhenstraße.

MA 13 – media wienThe Municipal Department for

Education, Out-of-School Activities forChildren and Young People – media wien(MA 13) is involved in variousenvironmentally-relevant activities be-cause of the office’s remit. As far as thephotographic studio is concerned, the

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Newly designed lighting on theRingstrasse.

Modern high pressure sodium vapourlamps offer many advantages.

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Ball LampsBall lamps emit the sameintensity light in all directions. This attractsnocturnal insects andoutshines the stars.

A large part of the light emitted from highpressure mercury arc lamps cannot beperceived by the human eye (ultra-violetrange). Nocturnal insects have maximumvision in this range.

The light emitted by high pressure sodiumvapour lamps is adapted to human vision.Scarcely any UV light is emitted. Thismeans that their attraction for nocturnalinsects is reduced to a minimum.

Standard Street LampsWhile the tops of standardstreet lamps are covered,they still emit large quantities of light sidewaysfar into the area aroundthem.

Alternative Lamp TypeLamps that are designedaccording to environ-mental principles only emitlight downwards. This optimises both the lightoutput and distribution.

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chemical development process for films– which was needed in the previouslyused photochemistry – was replacedentirely by digital photography at thebeginning of 2005. This has meant thatthe operation of the photographic studiohas now become extremelyenvironmentally friendly.

Waste plastic, waste metal and wasteglass as well as electronic scrap areaccumulated when repairing electronicappliances. The batteries for theseappliances must also be exchangedindividually. Waste accumulated duringrepairs is taken to the relevant wastecontainers or disposed of at the city ofVienna’s refuse disposal sites. Whendevices for which repair is no longercost effective are dismantled, fullyfunctional spare parts remain that canstill be used for other devices. This bothsaves resources and generates aneconomic profit. Waste paper isdisposed of in the relevant containersand collected regularly. While the useof information technology means thatless paper is accumulated, this isoffset by the fact that the volume ofwork is higher.

“The Wiener Krankenanstaltenver-bund (KAV – Association of VienneseHospitals) is committed to the ideas andaims of comprehensive environmentalprotection,” asserts the mission state-ment of the KAV. The environmentalwork of the KAV is based on environ-mental legislation and focuses on thesparing use of resources as well as thebenefits for patients and staff in thesense of its mandate to heal andmaintain health.

The following measures have beenimplemented to date within the KAV onthe basis of the “environmental develop-ment plan”: the commitment to environ-mental protection by the entire coopera-tive management (environmental policy),the nomination of contact persons for

environmental issues in the cooperativemanagements, the establishment ofenvironmental teams in all institutionsand the exchange of information withthe leaders of the environmental teamsin the environmental forum.

Plans are in place to complete imple-mentation of the basic elements of anenvironmental management system(environmental programme, structuralorganisation, environmental audit,environmental law, environmental moni-toring, environmental declaration, inter-nal audit, management evaluation) in allKAV institutions by the end of 2009.

Project work in the KAV: Savingsfrom environmental protection projectsshould be credited to new similar pro-jects, which not only increases motiva-tion but also leads to further costsavings. In addition, work will go aheadon projects with direct and indirectfinancial benefits.

Projects with direct financialbenefits: in 2004, the use of mineralwater was reduced by a third comparedwith 2003.The use of ecological washingand cleaning agents has resulted insavings of more than 90 tonnes ofcleaning chemicals per year (whichequates to around € 280,000). Byoptimising the separation between theindividual categories of waste andimproving the extent to which contain-ers are filled, some € 250,000 worth ofadditional costs has been absorbed peryear. Further savings of more than € 10million are expected from energybenchmarking, water saving measuresand the introduction of environmentalmanagement systems.

Projects with indirect financialbenefits: the proportion of organic foodshas been increased to 30.14 per cent onaverage. It was also demonstrated that –without spending more – that the pro-portion of organic foods can be increasedwithout spending more if organic foodthat is freshly cooked in-house replacesconventional ready-meals.

Ecological construction projects,which have created optimal indoorconditions, were completed in SZB andGZB. Work also continued on the issuesof avoiding PVC, recyclable materials,protecting green areas and training.

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Vienna’s Hospitals:Exemplary EnvironmentalProtection

The EcoBuy Vienna project wascreated in 1999 to focus the purchase ofgoods, products and services (“procure-ment”) by the city administration,Viennese hospitals, Wiener Wohnen andWiener Stadtwerke (public utilitiescompany) more firmly on ecologicalissues. The large-scale project emergedfrom the Climate Protection Programme(KliP) and makes an importantcontribution to these goals. At the sametime, the savings made have resulted ineconomic benefits. This is not exactlyimmaterial when one remembers thatthe city of Vienna spends around € 5 billion per year on a vast range ofproducts, goods and services!

Administration-Wide OrganisationThe EcoBuy Vienna project is

organised administration-wide and isled by a project manager (Chief Execu-tive Office – Executive Office for UrbanPlanning, Development and Construc-tion) and a steering team. The practicalwork on the lists of criteria is carried outin specialist working groups by expertsfrom all the relevant offices, organisa-tions that are closely linked to the city ofVienna as well as external organisa-tions. Independent advisory committeeshave been created to deal with “law”,“organisation” and “public relations”. Intotal there are 180 staff working atEcoBuy Vienna. A decree by the chiefexecutive director of the city of Viennamakes the results mandatory inawarding contracts – something that isunique in Europe.

Multi-faceted Public Relations WorkA great deal of public relations work

is undertaken to ensure that both thecity’s staff and any interested partiesfrom trade and industry as well as localpeople are aware of EcoBuy Vienna.Encouraging reports about EcoBuyVienna in print media, on the Internet, inthe city’s intranet and on radio andtelevision – through press conferences,articles and interviews – is a never-ending task. In the period 2004/2005,there were 150 media reports and some80,000 people visited the EcoBuy Vienna

website. Films, brochures, folders,posters and games are produced onspecific issues. The specimen foldersEcological Office Paper and EcologicalPrinter Paper, which are available inGerman and English, are examples ofthis.

Information and awareness-raisingcampaigns on the subject of organicfood are conducted on an ongoing basis.The BIOBOX (see page 107) with fivecard games, a CD of animal sounds anda 104 page handbook as well as the film“Mamamio, alles bio!” (Let’s Go Green)

with an accompanying folder and a 162page handbook was produced to makechildren familiar with the subject oforganic food through play. All municipaland private nursery schools as well asprimary schools in Vienna have alreadyreceived the BIOBOX and the video freeof charge.

International RecognitionVienna receives international

recognition constantly for its EcoBuyVienna project. In response to this, theInternational Activities RepresentativeOffice was established in 2004. In August2004, EcoBuy Vienna was ranked amongthe 40 best practices at the Dubai

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The City of Vienna Buys “Green“

Sima presents the first ecologicalcriteria for construction and paperacross Europe.

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International Award for Best Practices2004 – an initiative by UN-HABITAT –from a total of 700 sustainability pro-jects submitted worldwide! In October2004, EcoBuy Vienna was invited toSendai in Japan to establish an inter-national network for environmentally

friendly procurement. Through its workEcoBuy Vienna makes a major contribu-tion to Vienna’s international reputationas a model environmental city.

Further information is available fromwww.oekokauf.wien.at. ■

With contributions from:

MA 10 – Municipal Nursery Schoolsand Children’s Daycare Centres

MA 13 – Education, Out-of-SchoolActivities for Children and YoungPeople

MA 19 – Architecture and UrbanDesign

MA 33 – Public Lighting

MA 34 – Building and FacilityManagement

MA 42 – Parks and Gardens

MA 44 – Municipal SwimmingPools

MA 54 – Procurement

MA 56 – School Administration

EcoBuy Vienna

ENERGIECOMFORT Energie- undGebäudemanagement

Wiener Krankenanstaltenverbund(KAV)

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EcoBuy Vienna was ranked among the world’s 40 best projects at the Dubai International Award for Best Practices 2004!

Examples from Individual Working Groups• The Paper, Printing and Office Materials working group developed the first ecological criteria for office and

printer paper across Europe in two specimen paper folders.

• The Electrical Office and Household Appliances working group has drawn up lists of criteria for electric

cookers, tumble-dryers, mobile phones, personal organisers and flat screens.

• The Fleet working group dealt with the issues of vehicle purchase and vehicle disposal, driving operation and

the workshops industry and organised several two-day intensive workshops.

• The Domestic Engineering working group developed lists of criteria for hydronic under floor heating, water and

energy saving valves and hot water and cold water pumps configured in-line. Other issues dealt with halogen-

free tubes, load bearing systems and cables.

• The Structural Engineering working group developed the Standardised Specification of Services for Structural

Engineering.

• The Interior Decoration working group drew up a list of criteria for interior developments.

• The Foodstuffs working group constantly increased the proportion of organic food in Vienna’s hospitals, in old

people’s homes, in children’s day care centres and schools. The proportion stands at 30 per cent in hospitals

and at 50 per cent in children’s day care centres.

• The criteria for environmentally friendly washing and cleaning agents were completed by the Cleaning working

group.

• The Civil Engineering working group drew up specimen texts for environmentally friendly construction tenders

(ONR 22251) and the “quality compost in the construction industry” specification of services.

• The new Textiles working group was established in March 2005 and carried out two workshops.

• A PVC position paper was developed by a small inter-disciplinary group in 2005 and brought to the attention of

all municipal offices and companies with a letter from the Director for Urban Development.