REWE board member Marcel Haraszti and state councillor Stephan Pernkopf visited the modernized “green” BILLA store in Oberwaltersdorf
Doubling of space and product range led to a 60% increase in sales and around 1,000 customers a day
More crisis-proof jobs for the region: store team led by store manager Snjezana Zecevic has been increased from 18 to 26 employees
Sustainable flagship store of the BILLA family: a mix of measures makes the location CO2-neutral in operation
Around 380 regional products can be found at the location, including Kanzi coffee from the neighboring village of Trumau and wines from the Heinrich Hartl winery in Oberwaltersdorf. Since its reopening, the BILLA store has increased sales by around 60%, with around 1,000 customers doing their shopping here every day.
With the expansion, the store team was also increased from 18 to 26 employees under the leadership of store manager Snjezana Zecevic. Marcel Haraszti, CEO of Rewe International AG, and Dr. Stephan Pernkopf, Deputy Governor of Lower Austria, have now paid them a visit to see for themselves the successful renovations in the interests of energy efficiency. The store is now CO2-neutral in operation, making it a sustainable BILLA flagship store.
Marcel Haraszti, CEO of Rewe International AG: “Last year, we invested over 181 million euros in the expansion and modernization of our BILLA and BILLA PLUS locations throughout Austria, and this year we are investing around 250 million euros. The example here in Oberwaltersdorf shows that we are targeting our efforts at exactly the right place. After all, these investments are entirely in line with climate protection and the wishes of our customers, who want a resource-saving, modern environment and top service as part of their shopping experience.”
Dr. Stephan Pernkopf, Deputy Governor of Lower Austria: “Local supply and environmental and soil protection should not be an either-or proposition. At the BILLA store in Oberwaltersdorf, this is being implemented, e.g. inside with CO2-neutral operation, with the use of green electricity and specially generated PV energy from, among other things, PV carports in the parking lot and with green areas outside and heat-shielding greenery on the store building.”
“Green” BILLA store in Oberwaltersdorf is CO2-neutral in operation
At BILLA, new store buildings and modernizations are all about conserving energy and resources with the aim of doing business in an environmentally friendly way. Particularly climate-resilient locations have been Greenpass certified for several years - including the BILLA store in Oberwaltersdorf. Greenpass supports companies in making construction projects liveable and adapting them to the ongoing climate change. By the end of 2024, a total of 40 BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores will be certified for their climate-friendly construction through ecological greening - in Lower Austria alone, a total of eight locations will be added this year.
Many measures make the renovated location in Oberwaltersdorf a sustainable BILLA flagship store and CO2-neutral in operation: 100% green electricity from Austria is used. In addition, the entire building is lit by LEDs, both inside and out. The store is heated using waste heat from the energy-efficient refrigeration system. This means that BILLA does not use any fossil fuels at all. In addition, the environmentally friendly refrigerant CO2 is used for normal and deep-freezing. A combination of photovoltaic system on the roof, PV carports and electric storage will generate around 224,000 kWh/year in future. This corresponds to around 75% of the store's total energy requirements. Additional heat loads in summer will be sustainably insulated by surrounding tree planting and greenery. The parking lot was designed to allow seepage.
