Press Release 17th October 2025

BILLA celebrates ten years of “Blühendes Österreich” with Gala in Vienna

Advancing nature and species conservation in Austria has been the declared goal of the BILLA foundation “Blühendes Österreich” since its founding in 2015 by BILLA and BirdLife Austria. To honor this long-standing commitment, BILLA hosted a festive gala on 16 October 2025 at the Natural History Museum in Vienna. The evening event offered around 200 guests inspiring insights into the foundation’s work, which was recently named “Foundation of the Year 2025” by the Association for Charitable Foundations for its significant contribution to Austrian biodiversity.

(from left to right): Johannes Rüdisser (University of Innsbruck), Josef Peck (Board Member LGV Sonnengemüse), Maria Patek (Board Member Blühendes Österreich), Robert Nagele (BILLA Board Member and Board Member Blühendes Österreich), Ronald Goderie (Board Member Grazelands Rewilding), Tanja Dietrich-Hübner (Board Member Blühendes Österreich), Erich Szuchy (CEO BILLA), Ronald Würflinger (Secretary General Blühendes Österreich), Josef Taucher (SPÖ Vienna Parliamentary Group Leader), Michael Paterno (BILLA Board Member), Gábor Wichmann (Board Member Blühendes Österreich), and Peter Huemer (Board Member Blühendes Österreich) at the gala celebrating ten years of “Blühendes Österreich”. / Copyright: © Robert Harson, Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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At a glance

Healthy food requires a healthy environment – through its foundation and 300 project partners, BILLA already protects over 1,300 hectares of valuable natural areas and has invested €9.5 million to date.
Prominent supporters such as Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig and SPÖ parliamentary group leader Joe Taucher emphasized the importance of preserving biodiversity.
The non-profit foundation established by BILLA and the bird protection organization BirdLife Austria has been committed to strengthening nature conservation in Austria for ten years.

Ronald Goderie, founder and director of Grazelands Rewilding, a major conservation project from the Netherlands, shared his vision for restored, biodiverse landscapes in Europe during a keynote speech. The municipality of Schwertberg in Upper Austria also received enthusiastic applause as it was awarded “Blooming Municipality 2025” for its outstanding commitment. Among many prominent guests, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, Norbert Totschnig, praised the foundation’s long-standing efforts in a greeting message:
“Austria is a true role model in nature and biodiversity conservation. This is thanks to the tireless efforts of our farmers, who secure biodiversity and our unique cultural landscape through their daily work. Together with initiatives like ‘Blühendes Österreich’, they set important milestones for protecting valuable habitats. Only through this active and responsible work will Austria remain a livable country in the future.”

Joe Taucher, SPÖ parliamentary group leader in Vienna, also emphasized on-site:
“Nature conservation and climate protection go hand in hand and are essential for the quality of life in our city. By supporting projects for renaturation and biodiversity preservation, we create not only new habitats for plants and animals but also green oases for people. Foundations like ‘Blühendes Österreich’ make a vital contribution to this.”

“Healthy food needs a healthy environment: Without pollinating insects, clean water, and nutrient-rich soil, there would be no products on our shelves. ‘Blühendes Österreich’ is more than a social commitment for BILLA – it’s our impact platform where we fund concrete measures with partners, make results measurable, and thus secure supply for today and tomorrow. We also actively involve our customers, for example through deposit donations, and together set new standards for a green future,” explains Erich Szuchy, CEO of BILLA, highlighting the importance of “Blühendes Österreich” for the company.

Robert Nagele, BILLA board member and chairman of Blühendes Österreich, presented a new project during the gala: “For ten years, we at BILLA have been committed to nature conservation and biodiversity through the non-profit foundation ‘Blühendes Österreich’. Looking back on our shared achievements fills me with pride. Recently, we were honored as ‘Foundation of the Year 2025’ by the Association for Charitable Foundations – a great distinction. Our accomplishments show what can be achieved through collaboration and sustainable commitment. With our new project WIN #landwirtschaft – Workshop Innovation Nature – we are taking another important step together with BirdLife Austria and Impact Hub Vienna, supporting Austrian farmers in conservation projects.”

Ten Years of “Blühendes Österreich” – A Model Foundation

Founded in spring 2015 by BILLA AG and BirdLife Austria, the non-profit foundation “Blühendes Österreich” aims to consistently advance nature conservation in Austria. The voluntary board consists of representatives from BirdLife Austria, experts in conservation, agriculture, and science, as well as BILLA representatives.
Together with 300 project partners, the foundation has since worked to restore and improve over 1,300 hectares of ecologically valuable habitats, including moors, floodplain forests, rivers, dry grasslands, and orchards. As one of the country’s most significant conservation foundations, “Blühendes Österreich” has funded projects in 60 protected areas across Austria, including biosphere reserves, Natura 2000 sites, national parks, nature parks, and UNESCO World Heritage sites. BILLA has provided nearly €9.5 million in funding for the foundation.

With WIN #landwirtschaft – Workshop Innovation Nature – “Blühendes Österreich”, together with BirdLife Austria and Impact Hub Vienna, is now launching a multi-year joint project to support Austrian farmers in implementing conservation and renaturation initiatives. With around €1 million in funding, “Blühendes Österreich” supports projects that preserve or restore species-rich habitats such as meadows, pastures, wetlands, or orchards, and improve ecosystems.

All achievements and highlights from ten years of commitment to nature and biodiversity are summarized here: www.bluehendesoesterreich.at/10Jahre