“When it comes to the environment,” says Alfred Strigl, deputy director of the Austrian Institute for Sustainability, “Austrians are top of Europe and top of the world.” Being green, he explains, has always come naturally to his countrymen.
We are the indigenous people of Europe. We have a broad traditional knowledge of natural topics that has been handed down from generation to generation. We know about the cycle of life, to listen to the wind and to pay attention to the seasons and the way the herbs grow, the birds, the mushrooms and so on.”
It is the combination of what Strigl calls this “aristocratic” green sensibility along with a new environmental awareness triggered by global warming and globalisation that makes Austria the world’s most environmentally friendly country today, continues Strigl.
“Seventy per cent of our power comes from alternative energy,” he says. “And 60 per cent of all waste is recycled. We are a recycling world master. It’s been like this for ten years, and there’s not much more we can do to make it better.”
In Austria, there are a huge number and variety of affordable places to stay – from B&Bs and guesthouses to campsites and mountain huts – for the environmentally conscious visitor. More than 180 have achieved the standards of the Östereichische Umweltzeichen – Austrian Eco-label – a government run scheme that attaches particular importance to efficient waste and energy management, easy-to-use recycling systems, minimising the use of packaging and using seasonal, local, organic food, sustainable materials in bedrooms and ‘soft chemistry’ to clean bathrooms.
It’s the same story up in the mountains. In fact, Austria has the largest number of eco-friendly mountain huts of any country in Europe. The 40-bed Adolf Nossberger hut in Carinthia’s Schober Mountains is one of 63 that have achieved the prestigious Austrian Alpine Association’s Seal of Environmental Excellence.
It uses solar-charged batteries to power low-energy light bulbs, sustainably sourced wood for heating and a combination of filtration and composting to process toilet waste.
Several Austrian ski villages are promoting the concept of car-free holidays and low-traffic or vehicle-free zones. At the Alpine resorts of Werfenweng, Neukirchen am Grossvenediger and Hinterstoder, for example, subsidised shuttle buses are on hand to transfer visitors to and from the train station. Solar powered cars and electric bicycles can be hired at minimal cost, and guests are also provided with free mobile phones with which to hire taxis.
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