Vetmeduni is committed to responsible action in the interest of human, animal and environmental health. Mission GreenVet gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to saving energy in the office, in the laboratory and in the lecture hall.

Mission GreenVet

The Vetmeduni campus features many small and large green spaces, a wide variety of shrubs that provide habitats for bees, birds, and insects, and approximately 980 trees spread across a total area of about 15 hectares. Both students and visitors enjoy this “green” campus. These areas also require proper maintenance to support biodiversity. That is why Campus Management employs its own gardener, who is deeply committed to maintaining and caring for the green spaces. In collaboration with the Federal Real Estate Company (BIG), the property owner, the team discusses matters such as tree replacement and automatic irrigation systems, and implements other projects.

Together with our owner BIG, we installed an automatic irrigation system in 2021 to ensure the adequate irrigation of the green spaces and the trees, especially during the summer months when there is little rain. The irrigation system also helps to supply water to the seedlings and saplings during dry periods.

The tree population on campus is maintained and, if necessary, extended through replacement plantings. The potential cooling effects on buildings from tree shade are also considered when planting new trees, which could significantly contribute to keeping building interiors cool.

Vetmeduni is proud to offer over 400 bicycle parking spaces on campus. More than 270 of these spaces are covered to protect bicycles from the elements. The shelters not only provide protection and ample space for staff and students’ bicycles, but they are also a real eye-catcher. Following an assessment of usage, additional shelters are being planned to meet the needs of sustainable mobility. In this way, Vetmeduni is promoting eco-friendly mobility and setting an example of sustainability.

In response to a special student request, a bicycle repair station was set up in the parking deck where cyclists can perform minor repairs on their bicycles themselves and make sure they have sufficient air in their tyres for the well-deserved ride home.

Vetmeduni has set up two new e-bike charging stations on the Vienna campus. These stations are specially designed for employees and students who come to campus by electric bike. The charging points are strategically located, covered and have secure access to prevent theft and unauthorised access.

Car park deck: A total of 8 charging points are available on the car park deck.

Horse clinic: There are 4 more covered charging points at the horse clinic.

The Vetmeduni supports environmentally friendly mobility and promotes this through the free use of charging stations for electric bicycles.

A total of six charging points for electric cars are available on campus. These modern charging stations are intended for both employees and visitors. The three charging stations installed by Wien Energie can be controlled intuitively via an app. Each station has space for two vehicles. Vetmeduni is thus setting an example for environmentally friendly mobility and promoting the use of electric vehicles.

The charging points are strategically located next to the main entrance in Josef-Baumanngasse and enable quick and easy charging.

Saving energy is an important matter for Vetmeduni, and the campus is converting to LED lighting on an ongoing basis.
The library in Building BA and the riding arena in Building PD have already been fully converted to LED lighting.
The library windows have also been coated with a transparent film to achieve a cooling effect by reducing the amount of solar energy that enters a building.
The field stations – for example, the cattle barn at VetFarm – are also transitioning to LED lighting. 

The photovoltaic system on the campus of the University of Veterinary Medicine was successfully completed and commissioned in 2025. With an installed capacity of approximately 2.1 MWp, this system is one of the larger PV systems in the university sector in Austria. A total of 4,673 photovoltaic modules were installed across an area of approximately 9,100 m² on 27 buildings, making a significant contribution to the campus’s sustainable energy supply.

In its very first year of operation, the system generated a total of 1,883 MWh of electricity. As a result, the PV system is making a significant contribution to reducing external electricity consumption and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and represents an important step toward Vetmeduni’s climate neutrality.

Since January 1, 2025, Vetmeduni has been purchasing UZ46-certified electricity, thereby making a significant contribution to environmental and climate protection. In addition, Vetfarm has joined the Pottenstein Energy Community and plays a major role in the region’s sustainable energy sector.

The water tower shown here contributes positively to biodiversity and the microclimate through its combination of water, wooden structure, and surrounding vegetation. The damp surfaces and natural wood cladding create microhabitats for insects, mosses, lichens, and other microorganisms, thereby promoting biodiversity. At the same time, the tower, together with the surrounding trees and shrubs, acts as a small cooling microclimate zone, as evaporation and shade help lower the ambient temperature.

The increased humidity and the textured design create additional habitats and refuges for animals in urban areas. As a result, such a water tower represents a nature-based infrastructure initiative that combines climate adaptation with ecological enhancement.

As part of a project by the Österreichischen Naturschutzbundes – Landesgruppe Wien homemade – bat shelters have been installed at the riding hall. The wooden shelters on the exterior wall of the riding hall are intended to serve as a refuge for native bats in the future. Ongoing monitoring of the shelters will enable the collection of valuable data on their use.

The project, led by zoologist Judith Ullmann (Österreichischer Naturschutzbund Land Wien), is based on a citizen science approach that actively involves the public in nature conservation. The goal is to support the bat population while also gathering scientific data on the use of artificial roosts in order to further improve the protection of these animals.

As part of necessary renovations and the replacement of shrubs, care is being taken to preserve the natural environment, and only bee- and insect-friendly plants are being planted. In addition, a total of 24 new nesting boxes for a wide variety of bird species have been installed on the Vetmeduni campus.

The material from the old Vetmeduni flags and banners was reused as part of an upcycling project and turned into purses, pencils, gym bags, etc. in collaboration with Viennese bag designer Anne Hermine.

Sustainable Libraries 

Sustainability is a core value that has always shaped library work. This primarily concerns the task of preserving scholarly literature over the long term—and thus in a sustainable manner. In recent years, as sustainability has come to the forefront, libraries have expanded this core value of their work beyond the acquisition of literature.

Today, sustainability is a priority that libraries promote and implement in a variety of ways. This is achieved through simple measures such as planting vegetation on the rooftop terrace, as well as by helping to shape and support national and international initiatives—for example, by participating in an Austrian working group, contributing to the “Green Library” network, and supporting Libraries 4Future. For the University Library, sustainability is an ongoing commitment.

When selecting materials, great importance was placed on durability. Optimizing the building’s thermal insulation helps reduce its energy consumption, which in turn leads to savings in fossil fuels. This environmentally friendly measure—such as improved thermal insulation—combined with energy-optimized building systems that utilize geothermal energy, can lower operating costs.

Since this building requires a significant amount of energy for cooling, we decided to install structural sunshades in the form of mechanically adjustable louvers, which reduce the cooling load by minimizing solar radiation and, in turn, lower energy costs.

The building’s heating and cooling needs are met by the existing district heating connection on the one hand and the newly installed reversible heat pump/chiller on the other. This system covers approximately 50% of the heating demand and approximately 65% of the cooling demand. Hallways and restrooms are controlled by motion detectors. Some rooms are controlled based on natural light levels. 

Green Labs Austria is an initiative aimed at making local laboratories more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

As part of this effort, plastic laboratory supplies generated in day-to-day lab operations—such as tips, tubes, and syringes—are collected and picked up regularly for recycling.

Researchers from several institutes at Vetmeduni have been very successfully supporting this initiative since 2022, collecting a total of 880 kilograms of plastic in 2025.

The internal Green Labs working group will play a major role in the sustainable procurement of laboratory equipment in the future.