At the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group, we have set ourselves the goal of conducting all our business in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable manner. We are committed to making a tangible contribution to climate protection by 2020 and have defined concrete measures and targets to ensure that we meet this commitment. Doing so is extremely important, especially given the recent extreme weather conditions. In Austria, the data and statistics published by the Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics show that 2018 was the warmest year since records began. Our staff in the northern regions of Salzburg, Upper Austria and most of Lower Austria battled with severe drought, while heavy rains in Graz caused multiple floods. The effects of this extreme weather were clearly noticeable above all in procurement and guest management.

Total Energy Consumption

Total energy consumption for the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group in 2018 amounted to 126,648,965 megajoules (MJ) and was made up as follows:
 

• Electricity consumption in our casino and WINWIN operations, our computing centers in Vienna (Rennweg 44) and Wiener Neustadt, our offices at all sites and our warehouse in Wiener Neustadt.
• Energy consumption for heating and cooling our casinos and WINWIN outlets, our two computing centers, our offices and our warehouse.
• Fuel consumption relating to sales trips and business travel.

Electricity Consumption

We have been purchasing the vast majority of our electricity from 100 percent renewable sources for many years. In 2018, Casino Bregenz was also finally converted to renewable electricity. This allows us to reduce our CO₂ emissions by 781,301 kg per annum and thus help to protect the climate. In the 2018 reporting year, we consumed a total of 31,504,441 kWh of electricity, a rise of 1.55 % compared to the previous year. 74 % of this electricity was used to operate our casinos, 10 % to run our WINWIN outlets and 16 % to operate our computing centers and offices at our headquarters (RW44 and RW46) and in Wiener Neustadt (MC4).

But simply purchasing “green electricity” is by no means enough for us. In our next call for tenders for electricity suppliers, we are deliberately going one step further and considering the following criteria:

• Does the electricity supplier invest in renewable electricity generation?
• How transparent is the supplier’s business?
• Does the supplier sell undeclared electricity from foreign sources?

Over the last few years, we have implemented numerous measures to save electricity. We have switched to energy-efficient IT equipment and installed LED lighting in our parking garages and office corridors. In 2018, we began testing the use of LED light bulbs in our office spaces. The test and evaluation phase will run until 2020 when we will make a decision on whether to replace the existing light bulbs.

Wherever possible, we choose the most energy-efficient slot machines for our casinos and video lottery terminals (VLTs) for our WINWIN outlets. We also strive to minimize downtimes, i.e. the time during which a slot machine/VLT runs without being used. Such machines not only consume a lot of energy, they also produce a lot of heat. This, in turn, means that the rooms in which they are located have to be cooled more. In 2018, the Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries Group operated a total of 2,361 slot machines and 785 VLTs.

Heating, Cooling, Ventilation

Our IT equipment and gaming machines generate a great deal of heat. This can be used in colder months to heat the rooms in which they are located. This saves energy and reduces heating costs. But when the temperatures rise, the cooling systems run at full blast. This was the case in 2018, the hottest year in Austria since records began.

Since the average temperature in 2018 in Austria was 1.8 degrees above the long-term average, and there were around twice as many summer days (= days on which the temperature did not fall below 25 degrees) than previously recorded, our cooling requirements rose compared to the previous year. 

The rooms at our headquarters are fitted with ventilation units that supply the offices with fresh air. This air is heated, cooled or humidified as required. The air in a room is ventilated three to five times an hour. Our computing centers are also energy efficient and use the economical “free cooling” method, which utilizes naturally cool air to reduce the temperature in a room. Corresponding cool-heat cycles also make optimal use of the available airflows.

New Cooling System for our MC4 Computing Center in Wiener Neustadt

In 2018, we replaced the cooling systems and cold water pumps in our MC4 computing center with energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly models.

Three cooling machines with a total output of around 600 kWh were previously used to cool MC4. The new cooling machine, which uses the R290 coolant, was installed on the roof of the computing center. Compared to the old system, the new installation can achieve the following savings:

In addition to the replacement of the cooling systems, the condensing temperature in the cooling cycle was reduced from 50/45°C to 40/35°C. This generated further savings of 45,234 kWh.

We are also planning new energy efficiency measures in other areas in the coming years and will be switching increasingly to heat from renewable (incl. self-generated) energies. Only by doing so will we be able to contribute to preventing climate change. Our 2019 energy efficiency audit will help us to identify further appropriate measures.

Sales Trips and Business Travel

In 2018, Austrian Lotteries reorganized its sales activities. The sales network was overhauled and optimized. So-called potential analyses were used to make field sales travel more efficient and reduce sales mileage. All 36 members of the field sales force also attended a driver safety awareness course. 

The reason for these measures was simple: we have sought for many years to make our business travel greener and more energy efficient. We deliberately use resource-saving company cars: in 2018, there were nine hybrid or electric vehicles in our fleet, and we have installed corresponding charging stations at our headquarters in Vienna. We also encourage our staff to use public transport wherever possible: in 2018, our staff traveled over 186,000 km by train for business purposes. This corresponds to a CO₂ saving of around 35 tons compared to if the same journeys had been made by car.