In summer 2023, the largest photovoltaic system ever installed on an Austrian UNIQA company building went into operation. It is part of an innovative package of measures for the sustainable energy supply of the company buildings and a further milestone on the road to climate neutrality in Austria by 2040.
It is UNIQA's new solar power flagship: the photovoltaic system on the roofs of the Group headquarters in Vienna, which opened in July 2023. The largest to date on an Austrian UNIQA company site saves 100,000 kWh of "conventional" electricity per year thanks to an impressive output of 125 kWp. This corresponds to the annual consumption of around 30 households and avoids the emission of around 21 tonnes of CO2. Regionality and sustainability were the trump cards during construction: all modules and the inverter come from Austrian value creation. Planning, construction and assembly were also carried out by local companies.
The new photovoltaic system is a statement both internally and externally as well as a visible sign of climate protection and progressiveness. It is an essential cornerstone for achieving our long-term ESG goals.
In addition to this new "Energy Tower", around 25 other company-owned photovoltaic systems produce solar power throughout Austria. Since 2020, they have increased their output more than tenfold from 50 kilowatt peak (kWp) to over 500 kWp peak output. In addition, UNIQA has been purchasing 100 per cent green electricity in Austria for years. From 2024, only green electricity will be purchased in accordance with Ecolabel 46. We also rely on energy-efficient technologies in our buildings. In terms of lighting, more than 90 per cent of all locations have already been converted to energy-efficient LEDs.
In order to achieve the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement, to which the UNIQA Insurance Group is committed in its sustainability strategy, it is necessary to systematically reduce the ecological footprint. UNIQA therefore implements numerous measures throughout the year to reduce energy consumption in its company buildings. For example, the "winter package" introduced in 2022 focuses on energy consumption at the individual locations. Advertising lighting only runs until 8 p.m., and more and more branches are voluntarily reducing the temperature in little-used rooms to 18 °C. When it comes to greening heating systems and the vehicle fleet, the motto is: "Completely away from fossil fuels". By 2035 at the latest, all heating systems will be converted to heat pumps, district heating or biomass boilers. The UNIQA vehicle fleet in Austria will be 100 per cent electric by 2030.
The "Energy & Environmental Services Team", newly established in 2023, is developing and coordinating these and numerous other measures. The backbone of this is the energy monitoring system established throughout Austria, which was honoured with the Klimaaktiv Award in 2021. So far, this alone has saved over three million kilowatt hours and avoided over 600 tonnes of CO2. In addition, UNIQA is implementing an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS at the Austrian site by the end of 2024 in order to continuously improve the company's environmental performance.
Read more about green operational management at UNIQA with award-winning energy monitoring here: UNIQA's green business management
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