Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler and district leader Markus Figl opened the Repair and Sewing Café in the Helvetia General Directorate.
Vienna (OTS) – Whether it’s a toaster, bedside lamp, radio, torn jeans or vacuum cleaner: visitors give their devices and clothing a second life at the free “Repair Pop-up” in downtown Vienna. Together with volunteer repair helpers, it’s time to reuse instead of throw away – this protects the environment and your wallet. In the Repair Café, everyday objects are repaired together, and in the Sewing Café, simple sewing work is carried out with needle and thread.
Make a concrete contribution to climate protection together
»Waste avoidance is an essential contribution to climate protection. By repairing instead of throwing things away, everyone can help to minimize the use of resources and emissions – this way we can save raw materials and energy together.
I am therefore very pleased to be able to open the repair pop-up,” emphasizes Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler during the opening.
Markus Figl, district head of the Inner City of Vienna, adds: »I am proud that Vienna already offers some very well-attended Repair Cafés – now for the first time in the First District, directly under the Ankeruhr!
The pop-up fits perfectly with our inner city climate plan, in which all factions work together on numerous projects against heat stress, for the environment and for climate protection. We cordially invite all citizens to repair their broken items together with volunteers.«
Repair Cafés avoid 253 tons of CO2 annually
Since 2021, Helvetia, together with Re-Use Austria, has been offering a free insurance solution for repair cafés throughout Austria. Initially with 20 initiatives, the number of insured organizations grew every year: Last year, 73 repair initiatives used Helvetia’s insurance. Thousands of Austrians, together with 1,363 volunteers, tried to get their defective devices working again – with a success rate of an impressive 67 percent. That’s a total of around 53 tons of repaired goods, which meant that around 253 tons of CO2 equivalents were avoided.
»Repairing instead of throwing away has not only become popular among Austrians, but is also continuing to trend upwards: In 2023, the insured Repair Cafés have already supported almost 13,000 repair attempts in 777 events – more than 40 percent more than in the previous year
«, says Matthias Neitsch, Managing Director of Re-Use Austria.
»Repair Cafés are a win-win-win story: They are good for the environment, good for your wallet and good for social interaction. What was missing for a long time was security.
“Through Helvetia, volunteers and guests are protected and can repair together without any concerns,” says Helvetia CEO Thomas Neusiedler, explaining the background to supporting the repair café scene in Austria. »Since the insurance has been so well received, we want to support repair cafés even more actively and also motivate employees to use the cafés or to help themselves. That’s why we’re opening our doors for two days and inviting you to the repair pop-up at Helvetia General Headquarters for the first time.«
Sustainability at Helvetia
With its group-wide climate strategy, Helvetia is committed to reducing CO2 emissions and was the first insurance company in the world to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energies. Helvetia covers part of the electricity required at its headquarters using solar energy. The building management has already received three awards from the Austrian Climate Alliance. Since 2013, Helvetia Austria has also been committed to the reforestation and maintenance of native protective forests, thereby making an important contribution to the prevention of natural hazards. 145,000 young trees have already been replanted in local protective forests – 120,000 of them in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf).
The repair pop-up is open until Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Repair Café, February 20th and 21st, 2024, between 11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (last repair acceptance 6:00 p.m.)
Sew Café, February 21, 2024, between 12:00 and 5:00 p.m
registration under www.helvetia.at/repair-cafe
You can also find this media release on the website www.helvetia.at.
Questions & Contact:
Michaela Angerer, MA
Corporate communications
Hoher Markt 10-11, 1010 Vienna
T +43 (0)50 222-1239
michaela.angerer@helvetia.at
www.helvetia.at
www.facebook.com/helvetia.versicherungen.oesterreich