Building for a green future
The building sector is responsible for around 17 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Vienna, a number which should be reduced by two percent every year under the Smart City framework strategy of the City of Vienna. In order to achieve this objective, buildings must be supplied with energy in a more environmentally-friendly way, while at the same time being made much more energy efficient.
The Guideline of the Austrian Institute for Structural Engineering (OIB Guideline) and the building regulations of the provinces make up the legal framework here, regulating the minimum technical requirements for technical building services (e.g. e-charging points) and heating systems. The use of fossil fuels in buildings should be gradually replaced by environmentally-friendly alternatives such as district heating or PV systems. Wien Energie already supplies 380,000 households with district heating today. We are also working on turning Vienna into a city of solar power and are committed to expanding the infrastructure for private charging points for electric cars.
Background information
Environmentally harmful heating systems and inefficient structures in old buildings are primarily responsible for the high level of CO2 emissions produced in the building sector. The legal framework conditions required to bring about change here are set out in Vienna by the OIB Guideline and Vienna’s building code, the latter in turn being legally based on the EU’s Building Directive.

“Vienna’s building regulations, which also including zoning, and its programme of housing subsidies mean that the city has made use of some key instruments to manage the heating revolution. If we want to achieve the climate protection targets set as part of the framework strategy of the Smart City Vienna, investment needs to be made both in cutting heat consumption as well as replacing fossil-fuel-powered heating systems with district heating or renewable energies. Wien Energie has a key role to play here.”
Our demands
Vienna’s building regulations are some of the most important regulatory frameworks when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the heating sector. However, Wien Energie believes that some adjustments need to be made to promote the wider use of renewable energies and to meet the obligations of the EU’s Building Directive as regards e-mobility: