3.2 Requirements and objectives for a circular economy

3. The Circular Economy as a Tool for Saving Resources

Framework conditions at EU and federal level (Chapter 2)

Clean Industrial Deal: The competitiveness of European industry is to be restored and strengthened through the Clean Industrial Deal (COM/2025/85), while at the same time achieving the objectives of industrial decarbonisation. The circular economy plays a central role in this. The aim is to make the EU the global market leader in the circular economy by 2030. An EU Circular Economy Act is planned by the end of 2026.
EU Taxonomy: The transition to a circular economy requires investment from both the public sector and private businesses. The EU Taxonomy Regulation (2020/852/EU) is the central classification system for sustainable economic activities and defines clear criteria to prevent greenwashing. Companies are not directly obliged to make taxonomy-aligned investments, but once they reach a certain size threshold they are subject to reporting obligations and may benefit from improved financing conditions, regulatory certainty, competitive advantages and risk reduction. An economic activity is taxonomy-aligned if it makes a substantial contribution to at least one of the six defined environmental objectives (including climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation or the transition to a circular economy) and does not significantly harm any of the other five objectives. In Austria, implementation lies with companies as part of their reporting obligations and is regulated under the Sustainability Reporting Act (Nachhaltigkeitsberichtsgesetz, NaBeG).
EU requirements for supply chains: The European Supply Chain Directive (2024/1760/EU) is a directive on corporate due diligence obligations in relation to supply chains in the context of sustainability. Among other objectives, it aims to promote sustainable procurement, assess environmental impacts along the supply chain and create incentives for innovation. A further central instrument is Regulation (2024/1252/EU), which establishes a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
Key federal legislation: Relevant for creating circular market incentives in the public sector are the Federal Procurement Act (Bundesvergabegesetz, BVergG 2018) and the Action Plan for Sustainable Procurement (naBe, 2021). Additional essential legal foundations include the Waste Management Act (Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz, AWG 2002), the Federal Waste Management Plan (Bundesabfallwirtschaftsplan, including the Waste Prevention Programme), the Austrian Circular Economy Strategy (Österreichische Kreislaufwirtschaftsstrategie) and the Sustainability Reporting Act (Nachhaltigkeitsberichtsgesetz, NaBeG).

Vienna’s requirements for a circular economy

On the basis of the updated 2024 VIENNA 2030 - Economy and Innovation strategy, the competitiveness of the city is to be safeguarded, resources saved and the needs of people addressed. Its objectives feed into the strategy to save resources in our city and are reflected in its levers and activities.

Closely linked with the Smart Climate City Strategy Vienna and the VIENNA 2030 - Economy and Innovation strategy is the Digital Agenda 2030. It stipulates that digitalisation must also contribute to climate protection, environmental sustainability and a resource-saving administration.

Further Vienna strategies with links to the circular economy include the Visitor Economy Strategy – Optimum Tourism (tourism sector) and the Culture Strategy 2030 (cultural economy).

Important Vienna objectives for a circular economy:

Companies based in Vienna have a competitive advantage because they have successfully made the transition to ecologically and socially sustainable economic practices. The circular economy serves as a tool in this process. (VIENNA 2030 – Economy and Innovation)
New ideas are tested in a straightforward manner and successful solutions are scaled up. This enables them to realise their full impact rapidly in Vienna as a business location and be exported as circular solutions “made in Vienna”. (VEINNA 2030 – Economy and Innovation)
Vienna continuously expands access to data in order to facilitate the transition to the circular economy. (VEINNA 2030 – Economy and Innovation; Digital Agenda 2030)
Stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries are key drivers of innovation, a driving force behind Vienna’s innovation environment, and contribute actively through co-creation processes to the transition to the circular economy. (VIENNA 2030 – Economy and Innovation)
Vienna as a hotspot of sustainable tourism: the city’s high quality of life is maintained and secured for the future. (VIENNA 2030 – Economy and Innovation; Visitor Economy Strategy – Optimum Tourism)
Ecologically sustainable awareness is firmly established in Vienna’s cultural institutions by 2030 and anchored in creative processes in the interest of saving resources. (Vienna Cultural Strategy 2030)