Event Report | Public, Planet, Partnership: The Public Sector as Guardian of Sustainability?

As part of our panel discussion “Public, Planet, Partnership: The Public Sector as Guardian of Sustainability?” experts from administration, academia, and business gathered on June 10, 2025, at the WU Executive Academy to discuss the role of the public sector in the sustainability transformation and how future viability can be established as a strategic guiding principle in public institutions and companies. The event offered not only in-depth insights into current challenges and solutions but also concrete practical examples from the city of Vienna and beyond.

The event began with a keynote by Thomas Bohrn, Head of the Office for Public Services and Municipal Economy of the City of Vienna and Corporate Sustainability Manager at Wien Holding. He painted a clear picture of the “Smart Climate City Vienna” — a city ambitiously aiming to become climate neutral by 2040. He emphasized that this goal not only provides direction but also initiates necessary transformation processes in numerous target areas such as mobility, energy, and buildings.

The subsequent discussion made it clear that sustainability today must no longer be seen as an additional task but as a strategic imperative. Vladimir Preveden stressed that public organizations—like companies—need clear visions and a shared alignment to effectively drive change. The difference lies less in structure and more in the necessity to involve and convince a very broad stakeholder landscape.

Christof Miska pointed out that considerations of sustainability in the public sector already played a role before the introduction of EU-wide reporting obligations, even though regulatory frameworks have further increased its priority. At the same time, he criticized the often fragmented implementation in Austria due to fragmented competencies and a lack of coordination. Sustainability requires not only rules but also a new discourse culture where politics, business, and civil society jointly take responsibility.

A particularly vivid example of a successful transformation project was provided by Monika Fiala, Managing Director of EWP Recycling Pfand Österreich gGmbH, with the introduction of the Austrian deposit system. She described the complex interplay of political directives, economic interests, and societal expectations—and emphasized how crucial stakeholder management, a strong team, and courage in decision-making are in such large projects. A key to success is also to clearly, broadly, and illustratively communicate the “why” behind future-proofing measures to address people’s fears around loss and change.

Even within municipal companies like Wien Holding, sustainability is not a given. Thomas Bohrn reported how he established a company-wide network of sustainability officers to systematically embed the topic. Initially, understanding was not present everywhere, but through clear targets, regular workshops, and involvement of management, a cultural shift was initiated. Sustainability must be so deeply anchored in minds and structures that there is no turning back.

A central topic of the discussion was also how long-term sustainability goals can endure even in times of political uncertainty. Christof Miska emphasized that implementing sustainability is not the sole task of politics — stable governance structures, cross-sector exchange, and an open discourse culture are needed to build trust and reduce fears.

In conclusion, it became clear: sustainable transformation is not a technocratic process but a societal project. It requires strategic thinking, institutional embedding, courageous decisions — and above all, communication that brings people along. The event impressively showed that the City of Vienna has already taken many steps on this path and that discourse and collaboration between the public sector, business, and civil society play a central role in the necessary change.