This year’s Sustainability Day was a roaring success. The organisation team welcomed current and former IMC Krems students to the Gozzoburg, and also sparked interest in the topic of sustainability among people from the town.
The expert presentations were extremely well received – the speakers presented their innovative ideas and also outlined approaches for solving current and future problems. The subjects of housing (Theresa Steininger, Wohnwagon), nutrition (Claus Holler, Bio Austria), mobility (Stefan Melzer, MO.Point) and consumption (Markus Ivany, Lieber Ohne) are important for us all, and Sustainability Day gave people the opportunity to find out more about these topics and take home some new insights.
The workshops also proved extremely popular and there was huge demand for the beeswax cloth and hanging pots sessions. Together with some of the visitors, Michaela from Zero Waste Austria made beeswax cloth, which can be used as an eco-friendly alternative to cling film and aluminium foil. A selection of information materials sparked a lively discussion on the subject of sustainability in everyday situations. Pia from the Environmental and Sustainability Management master programme demonstrated how visitors could design their very own hanging pots. Seeds supplied by ReinSaat were planted in the pots and hopefully basil, chilli and pepper plants will start springing up soon.
In the exhibition area, Andreas and other members of the food co-op Krekoodel shared their opinions on the topic of food sovereignty. Meanwhile, Mona from organic vegetable producer Biogemüse CSA Kamptal introduced the audience to the concept of community-supported agriculture. Over at the Fermentarium stand, Greti gave visitors information on fermented foods. And Anja from internet marketplace Beeanco showed that online shopping can also be sustainable. At the tasting point, visitors were able to try out Joya’s range of plant-based drinks, in flavours including oat and almond as well as soya and vanilla.
One of the highlights of Sustainability Day was the clothing swap event supported by the Krems branch of the Austrian National Union of Students. The initiative was a huge success and many unworn items of clothing found a new home.
The staff from the Environmental and Sustainability Management master programme were delighted that the day went so well, and they hope the event will take place annually in the future and attract even more visitors.
