Austrian parishes win awards for environmental projects

Several parishes and religious organizations in Austria received the 2025 diocesan environmental award at a ceremony in St. Pölten. The Diocese of St. Pölten, the Archdiocese of Vienna, and the Evangelical Church in Lower Austria all had projects recognized for their commitment to environmental sustainability.

The parish in Haag, in the Amstetten district, reused around 4,000 cubic meters of construction debris during renovations to its rectory.

They processed the material to repair existing forest paths and used it as fill on the construction site and in garden landscaping. The parish of Viehdorf, also in the Amstetten district, connected its rectory to the community’s biomass-fueled district heating system in 2024 and 2025.

Since 2023, the Viehdorf parish has also hosted bi-monthly fruit and vegetable exchange events called “Through the Garden.” The parish association in the Horner Becken received an award for its “Pilgrimage Marathon of Hope,” which combines faith, nature, and ecological awareness. The Lower Austrian Children’s Summer Games, held in Herzogenburg, won a youth prize for its efforts to create a climate-friendly event. Organizers rely on approximately 1,500 volunteers over six days to accommodate between 15,000 and 16,000 visitors.

The Evangelical parish in Mödling installed a photovoltaic system with a charging station and purchased an electric car for its pastor, having previously acquired an e-bike for the pastor in 2019. The Catholic parish in Neunkirchen was honored for its “Song of the Sun” trail, featuring ten informational panels about creation and the environment, created with students from a local vocational school. The parish also installed a 12.3 kilowatt-peak photovoltaic system with 44 kilowatt-hours of storage capacity.