Sustainable solar in Austria
We have a history of large-scale corporate social responsibility projects in Austria. The bar was set high in 2019 by our installation of a 6,500-square-metre photovoltaic roof on Westfield Shopping City Süd in Vienna, which was then the largest in the city and its surrounding communities. Today, bolstering our Better Places 2030 ambition, we continue to innovate to improve our carbon footprint in the country.
Westfield Shopping City Süd
In 2021, we launched the next phase of our photovoltaic roof installation in Vienna. The launch was graced by Eleonore Gewessler, Austria’s Minister of the Environment. Being the largest project of its kind across Europe, it is certainly becoming a global benchmark: to be completed by mid-2022, more than 8,000 photovoltaic panels will be installed on the roofs of Westfield Shopping City Süd, Westfield Shopping City Süd Park and the Westfield Shopping City Süd Multiplex. Their total area will span around 14,000 square metres – about the size of two football pitches.
The 2,720-kilowatts-peak project is expected to produce around 3,000,000 kilowatt hours of green solar energy, enough to power 900 four-person households annually. This will allow us to save over 675 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Key figures
square metres of solar panels
offset
Shade and power generation at Westfield Donau Zentrum
Last year, Westfield Donau Zentrum created Vienna’s largest building-integrated solar plant, to shade the centre’s event square while generating renewable electricity. It was inspired by the roof of the giraffe habitat the Vienna Zoo – the oldest zoo in the world. The project creates a visible connection to the Better Places 2030 CSR Strategy for our visitors and provides a reminder of the “classic” solar panels on our roofs, which generate a total of 1.3 megawatts peak.
The project spans 1,140 square metres and was partially subsidised by the Austrian government. By producing energy and saving on cooling costs, the project offsets around 130 megawatt hours per year, or about 30,000 euros of utility expenses.
Key figures
kilowatt hours of green solar power
tonnes of CO2 emissions saved
