Environment Agency Austria

On 1 January 1999, the Umweltbundesamt Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung was established on the basis of the Environmental Control Act (Umweltkontrollgesetz). It assumed the responsibilities of the Umweltbundesamt, which had previously operated as a subordinate federal authority.

The Environment Agency Austria is the federal government's specialist environmental protection agency. Its role is to support federal environmental policy and the implementation of federal legislation through technical and scientific work and to carry out the responsibilities assigned to it under the Environmental Control Act and other federal laws. In this capacity, it provides a sound basis for environmental policy decisions and contributes to the preservation and improvement of environmental quality in Austria.

The responsibilities of the Environment Agency Austria include, in particular, the collection, evaluation and professional assessment of data on the state of the environment, the development of methods and technical foundations, and the preparation of expert opinions on environmental matters. In addition, it supports the federal government in implementing and applying national and European legislation and contributes to the fulfilment of international reporting obligations.

A key responsibility is environmental monitoring. For this purpose, the Environment Agency Austria collects and analyses data on the state and development of the environment and makes this information available to the relevant authorities and the public. The regularly published State of the Environment Report provides a comprehensive overview of the environmental situation in Austria, identifies key developments, and contains recommendations for necessary measures.

The Environmental Control Act established the legal framework for the organisation, responsibilities and financing of the Environment Agency Austria. The company is owned by the Federal Government and, in addition to carrying out its statutory responsibilities, also provides relevant services to third parties, provided that these are in the public interest and do not impair the fulfilment of its statutory responsibilities.