The NÖKU Group, with its numerous artistic and scientific institutions and operating locations in Lower Austria, including BÜHNE BADEN, defined a “NÖKU Sustainability Standard” in autumn 2020, which serves as a guideline for the entire group and will be gradually implemented by all institutions.

BÜHNE BADEN has already taken numerous measures with the aim of being a sustainable event organizer, some have already been successfully implemented and many are in the planning stage.

Since March 2024, we have been certified with the Austrian Ecolabel, which we were officially awarded on November 14, 2024 by Culture Minister Werner Kogler and Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler.

You can read BÜHNE BADEN's sustainability mission statement here, as well as the contact for your suggestions and feedback!

Yours, Bühne Baden

Sustainable thinking and action concern us all! 

Only in this way can we contribute to the long-term preservation of our planet and make our coexistence more accessible and socially just.

As an art, culture and science institution, we create social awareness with our sophisticated content and its high-quality presentation and communication.

We see it as an important task to make a relevant contribution to sustainable action, environmental protection and respectful coexistence without exclusion and discrimination. On the one hand, we want to achieve this through concrete measures in the organization of our art, culture and science operations and in the implementation of exhibitions and events. On the other hand, we want to actively address sustainability in our communication with our audience. Finally, we also want to encourage the arts and sciences to engage with sustainability issues.

To this end, the NÖKU Group created the “NÖKU Sustainability Standard” in autumn 2020 as a guideline for all its employees, for its almost 40 artistic and scientific institutions and its operating locations, for the implementation of events and exhibitions and for the NÖKU holding company itself, which is being implemented gradually and consistently by all companies.

It involves a holistic view and evaluation of all key areas of activity in the planning and implementation of events and exhibitions: Event or exhibition venue, event or exhibition technology, general procurement processes and waste management, social aspects (such as accessibility), mobility/transport, catering/gastronomy, communication, accommodation.

Through its sustainability strategy, the NÖKU Group contributes to the implementation of the United Nations' Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Art, culture and science as well as the promotion of creativity contribute equally to the economic, social and ecological dimensions of Agenda 2030.

In the newly created NÖKU platform for sustainability, the sustainability officers of the individual companies regularly exchange information in order to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and exchange of experience. 

The measures implemented are evaluated every two years and communicated internally and externally. 

Theater und Museum Baden Kulturbetriebs GmbH (Bühne Baden), with its venues Stadttheater Baden and Sommerarena Baden as well as its Werkstatt (workshop) in Traiskirchen, has set itself the goal of organizing events that are as sustainable as possible. 

In the course of this, numerous measures have been and are being taken, some of which have already been successfully implemented and many of which are in the planning stage. 

As this is an ongoing process, the path already taken in recent years will continue to be consistently pursued in the interests of the greatest possible sustainability. 

For all three locations - Stadttheater Baden, Sommerarena Badenand our Werkstatt in Traiskirchen - the areas of management and communication, buildings, construction and equipment, procurement, materials and waste management, energy & water as well as mobility and climate protection have been defined and binding sustainability criteria developed for them.

All measures include all three locations. 

The following measures were implemented by December 2023: 

PUBLIC AREA

• Conversion of the lighting in the auditorium of the municipal theater to energy-saving LED
• Operation of an energy-efficient air conditioning and ventilation system with heat recovery in the municipal theater
• Power supply via the public grid with 100% electricity from renewable energy sources
• Extensive accessibility measures: barrier-free access to the municipal theater and the auditorium on the first floor, wheelchair-accessible box office, wheelchair-accessible buffet on the ground floor, barrier-free listening via WLAN
• Waste separation system for the entire audience area
• Climate-friendly public transportation: Baden - and therefore the centrally located venues - is very easy to reach by public transport (train, Badner Bahn, bus) during event times and beyond thanks to its proximity to Vienna and direct location on the Südbahn line. The route from the respective stations to the venue is also within easy walking distance. Bühne Baden therefore also prefers to communicate public transportation to traveling by car.
• Subscription card as a free ticket: Bühne Baden enables subscribers to travel there and back by public transport free of charge. Thanks to cooperation with the Verkehrsverbund Ostregion (VOR), this applies to all bus and train lines on the KZG Vienna to Baden and Wr. Neustadt to Baden routes as well as in Baden itself.
• Implementation of a sustainable buffet at events by: Dispensing with disposable drinks containers, exclusive use of reusable tableware, offering vegetarian or vegan dishes, environmentally friendly disposal of food and food waste and free tap water for our audience (buffet serving)
• Communication of the measures taken to raise awareness among our audience, our artists and all our stakeholders on our website
• Mindfulness in language with regard to gender-equitable formulations and inclusion of minorities

BACKSTAGE

• Testing and converting lighting to energy-saving LEDs for working and rehearsal lighting in the stage area where technically possible
• Sustainable stage and set construction through the use of reusable support structures
• Avoiding transportation routes as much as possible by using on-site infrastructure, technology and equipment
• Refillable cleaning and detergent containers and minimization of plastic waste by avoiding individual packaging
• Support for local stores and restaurants and fair trade products (including lunch vouchers for employees valid in selected restaurants in Baden, premiere bouquets from a local nursery, fair trade Christmas gifts for the youth club, costumes and much more)
• Waste separation system for the entire backstage area
• Switch to sustainable paper and sustainable printing for office paper (Blue Angel) and the highest-circulation printed materials (eco-label)
• Communication of the measures taken to raise awareness among employees both in internal circular emails and every six months at the staff meeting
• Use of one of two e-vehicles in the fleet as a replacement for combustion vehicles

Bühne Baden has now been officially environmentally certified since March 2024.

Our commitment to sustainability is to be understood as a process. Bühne Baden and all its employees are therefore committed to the consistent implementation and continuous further development of the sustainability mission statement. 

Further measures are therefore continuously planned for 2024 and checked for implementation, including 

• Setting up an insect hotel
• Planting old fruit varieties 
• Ongoing evaluation and replacement of lighting with energy-saving LEDs in the summer arena and for all stage lighting where technically feasible 
• Expansion of building automation for lighting
• Switch to reusable containers in the vending machines in the canteen for employees if market availability is given
• Digital first: In the medium to long term, printed materials should be reduced to a minimum in favor of digital communication
• Expansion of mobile ticketing to reduce paper tickets

Feedback and suggestions from employees, visitors, artists and partners are expressly welcome and will be checked for feasibility. 

For your suggestions and feedback, please contact our Sustainability Officer Sonja Eckhardt-Moser. 

(BÜHNE BADEN sustainability mission statement, status: 5.12.2023.)

For your suggestions and feedback on sustainability, please contact our Sustainability Officer Sonja Eckhardt-Moser directly by email. Thank you very much!