Generali Österreich has rewarded its Sustainability Heroes

Several Austrian small and medium-sized enterprises participated in SME EnterPRIZE, submitting their sustainable business initiatives to enter the national competition.

The jury was made up of Dr. Hildegard Aichberger, Director of Marketing and Sales at Oekostrom AG; Dr. Markus Bürger, Secretary General of the Austrian Council for Sustainable Development; Mariana Kühnel, Deputy Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber; Dr. Kerstin Neumann, Professor for Corporate Sustainability at the University of Innsbruck, and Andreas Tschas, CEO and co-founder of Glacier.

The three winning SMEs were awarded a prize of €10,000 each by Generali Versicherung, plus a one-year membership in the Austrian green tech start-up Glacier.

Let’s get to know the protagonists of the first edition of the Austrian SME EnterPRIZE competition, who distinguished themselves in how they applied sustainability principles and green innovation to their business model, products and services.

Boutique hotel Stadthalle, Vienna, won thanks to its sustainable business model. The eco-hotel is a passive house – a standard for energy efficiency in a building, that reduces its ecological footprint. It is designed in such a way that it produces almost as much electricity as it consumes and is an oasis of well-being in the middle of the big city of Vienna. The Stadthalle boutique hotel sees itself as an ambassador for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Sonnberg Biofleisch GmbH, Unterweißenbach, winner of the sustainable products and services category. Farming attaches great importance to environmentally friendly production through state-of-the-art energy and goods management. Sonnberg Biofleisch takes responsibility for the well-being and welfare of the animals – and acts responsibly for the next generations.

eFriends Energy GmbH, Nappersdorf, excelled in the sustainability category through digitization. eFriends are a community that shares regionally generated green electricity. They produce, therefore, electricity that they then consume in the community.

The prizes for the three winning SMEs were presented by Gregor Pilgram, CEO of Generali Versicherung, and Arno Schuchter, Sales and Marketing Board Member.

“Sustainability is extremely important to Generali and I am therefore very pleased that many of our customers have already integrated this practice into their corporate philosophy. I would like to congratulate the winners most warmly” said Pilgram.