Umweltbundesamt

What Umweltbundesamt does

Umweltbundesamt (Environment Agency Austria) is Austria's federal environmental agency, established in 1985 and operating as a private limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, UBA-GmbH) wholly owned by the Republic of Austria. The agency delivers scientific and policy advisory services across climate protection, air quality, water and soil management, waste and circular economy, biodiversity, chemicals regulation, sustainable finance, and environmental economics, supported by an accredited laboratory covering PFAS, microplastics, non-target screening, biological effect testing, dioxins, GMOs, and DNA-Metabarcoding for biodiversity, as well as a National Reference Laboratory for air quality (O3, NO, CO, SO2) and an environmental specimen bank. Its service portfolio includes commissioned studies, expert consultation, stakeholder-dialogue facilitation, EMAS and REACH workshops, proficiency-testing (Ringversuche) schemes, and public data platforms — notably the MIO-ES macroeconomic input-output model integrated with energy-system modeling, and environmental dashboards for climate, air, groundwater, surface water, waste, and soil (Soil4You). The agency's primary customers are Austrian federal ministries (including Klimaschutzministerium), the nine state (Bundesland) and municipal governments, EU institutions, financial-sector clients (via Green Finance Alliance and EU Taxonomy advisory), and infrastructure operators such as ÖBB, voestalpine, and Austrian Power Grid. Revenue is generated through government budget appropriations, fee-based laboratory and proficiency-testing services, EU-funded international cooperation projects (e.g., EU4Green, EU4Green Recovery East, EEA Topic Centres), and seminar and publication sales; pricing is not commercially disclosed because services are commissioned rather than transacted at list price. The agency is governed by Managing Directors Verena Ehold and Hildegard Aichberger, operates 251-500 staff, and moved to a new Vienna headquarters at Spittelauer Lände 5 in October 2024, celebrating its 40th anniversary in November 2025.

Name

Umweltbundesamt

Legal name

Umweltbundesamt Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (UBA-GmbH)

Website

https://umweltbundesamt.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Umweltbundesamt is Austria's federal environmental agency, wholly owned by the Republic of Austria, providing accredited laboratory analysis, environmental monitoring, climate and sustainability policy advisory, and EU-funded international cooperation to federal ministries, state and municipal governments, and the financial sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

EHS Management Systems & ISO Consulting (ISO 14001/45001) (BPAHAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Compliance & Permitting (BPAHAJAA), Air Quality & Emissions Management (BPAHAJAI), Audit-Ready Controls, Assurance & Compliance Workflow Tools (CSRD/SEC/ISSB) (EUABAEAG)

Keywords

• Environmental consulting
• Laboratory analysis services
• Climate policy advisory
• Sustainability management
• Environmental monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Wiener Neustadt

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding and Commissioned Services: As a public limited company (UBA-GmbH), Umweltbundesamt is primarily funded through Austrian federal government budgets and commissioned services from federal ministries, state governments, and municipalities. Additional revenue comes from EU-funded international cooperation projects, fee-based laboratory services, seminar and training programs, and publication sales.
2. International Development Cooperation: EU-funded programs supporting Eastern Partnership countries (EU4Green, EU4Green Recovery East) and other international projects provide funding for capacity building and environmental consulting services in partner countries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Umweltbundesamt is Austria's federal environmental agency that delivers expert environmental consulting, accredited laboratory analyses, climate and sustainability policy advisory, and digital environmental data platforms to public institutions, governments, and the financial sector. It provides scientific foundations for environmental policy decisions through services spanning waste and resource management, air quality measurement and calibration, biodiversity analysis (DNA-Metabarcoding), macroeconomic modeling (MIO-ES), and sustainable finance advisory.

Product overview

Umweltbundesamt (Environment Agency Austria) is Austria's leading environmental consultancy organization with over 40 years of experience, offering a comprehensive portfolio of environmental services, laboratory analyses, and data platforms. The organization operates as a multi-service provider comprising consulting services across environmental domains (waste management, climate change, biodiversity, air quality, sustainable finance), accredited laboratory services (microplastics, PFAS, biological assays, non-target analysis), proficiency testing and calibration services, environmental monitoring dashboards (climate, air quality, water, waste), sustainability data management tools (ESG-Cockpit), and policy advisory services. The portfolio includes specialized offerings such as DNA metabarcoding for biodiversity, Green Chemistry support, and the MIO-ES macroeconomic modeling tool for energy and climate policy analysis. Key digital products include interactive dashboards for climate data, air quality, groundwater, and the Soil4You soil information platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DNA-Metabarcoding for Biodiversity Analysis DNA-based biodiversity analysis service using environmental DNA from insect bulk samples, water, and soil, covering the entire process chain from sampling through laboratory processes to bioinformatic analysis and biodiversity interpretation for research and government clients.
• Waste and Resource Management Consulting Consulting services for waste avoidance, recycling, recovery, and disposal; support for legal compliance; development of measures to optimize resource use and waste management, offered to public and private organizations.
• Green Chemistry Advisory Services supporting the establishment of Green Chemistry in Austria and Europe, providing toxicology and ecotoxicology expertise on hazardous properties of chemicals and advising on EU chemicals legislation for regulators and industry.
• Green Finance Advisory Advisory services for financial companies on strategic Green Finance topics, developing integrated strategies to anchor climate and environmental goals in core business, and analyzing climate crisis risks for financial markets.
• Sustainable Mobility Concepts Support for sustainable mobility through evaluation of alternative fuels, technologies, and drive systems regarding climate impact; development of measures to optimize energy efficiency and emissions; advice on climate change impacts on transport infrastructure.
• Climate Change Adaptation Concepts Analysis of sensitivity to changing climate conditions, identification of risks and opportunities, estimation of climate change damages and costs, and development of cost-efficient adaptation measures for governments and regions.
• Sustainability Data Management (ESG-Cockpit) Advisory on sustainability reporting and data management. As a cooperation partner, supports the further development of ESG-Cockpit, a software tool by akaryon GmbH for managing sustainability data, enabling reporting according to ISO 14000, EMAS, GRI, CDP, and GHG Protocol standards.
• Sustainable Regional Development

Quantifiable outcome

• 96.5% of Austrian bathing waters rated 'excellent' in 2025 European assessment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• akaryon GmbH (ESG-Cockpit)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2016Cooperation partner in development of ESG-Cockpit software tool for sustainability data management. Umweltbundesamt supports ongoing development and serves as reference user.
• European Commission (EU Platform on Sustainable Finance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUmweltbundesamt advises the European Commission on EU Taxonomy and sustainable finance frameworks, contributing expertise to shape European green finance policy.
• EU4Green Recovery East ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional EU-funded programme supporting Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) to align water management and environmental standards with EU requirements. Since 2016, Umweltbundesamt has supported Eastern Partnership through EU-funded programmes.
• Green Finance AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together financial sector actors to advance sustainable finance. Umweltbundesamt co-develops methodologies (I-PEPs) and publishes progress reports.
• Austrian Green Finance AgendacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal government initiative coordinated with Ministry for Climate Action to advance green finance market development in Austria.
• EU Platform on Sustainable FinancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Commission platform developing sustainable finance taxonomy and classification systems. Umweltbundesamt contributes analytical expertise.
• INTEGRATE Research ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration developing instruments for sustainable finance in SMEs, including instruments for sustainable financing and market implementation recommendations.
• European Environment Agency (EEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipation in EEA photo competitions, topic centre opportunities, and European environmental monitoring networks. EEA seeks new Topic Centres for 2027-2030.
• Grüne Finanzbildung (Green Finance Education)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInitiative coordinated by Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism promoting financial literacy for sustainability.
• Austrian Power Grid (APG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerE-Trend Forum: Facilitation of dialogue platform between APG and environmental organizations regarding expansion of high-capacity electricity grids and Masterplan 2030.
• voestalpine AGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDialogue facilitation between voestalpine and environmental organizations for Austrian energy and climate policy discussions.
• RiskFinPorto Research ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnalysis of carbon risks in financial markets and Austrian portfolios, investigating climate-related financial risks.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM): Netherlands' national institute for public health and the environment, operating reference laboratories, environmental monitoring, and policy advisory under government mandate — closely comparable organisational model.
• Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE): Finland's national environmental research and expertise institute combining monitoring, laboratory services, and policy advisory — directly comparable mix of scientific consulting and regulatory support.
• Umweltbundesamt Deutschland (German Federal Environment Agency): Germany's federal environmental agency with the same statutory mandate — national environmental monitoring, policy advisory, and accredited reference laboratories. Shares the same governance model (government agency with scientific remit) and overlapping service portfolio in air quality, chemicals, and climate reporting.
• Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN / BAFU): Switzerland's federal environmental authority with analogous mandate in environmental monitoring, policy implementation, and international cooperation on transboundary environmental issues.
• Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME): France's national agency for ecological transition, operating under Ministry oversight with a near-identical mix of public-interest environmental expertise, consulting, R&D, and laboratory services across waste, climate, and sustainable finance.
• Naturvårdsverket (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency): Sweden's national environmental agency with parallel mandate for environmental monitoring, climate reporting, and policy advisory, frequently benchmarked against Umweltbundesamt for state-led environmental governance models.

Broad incumbents

• Ramboll Group: International consulting and engineering group with substantial environment and sustainability practice; comparable on climate-adaptation and ESG advisory but offers a wider portfolio including engineering and design.
• European Environment Agency (EEA): EU-level environmental information agency that Umweltbundesamt both feeds data to and competes with for Topic Centre contracts; comparable scientific remit but pan-European rather than national scope.
• Arcadis: Global design and consultancy firm with a large environment and water practice; competes in environmental compliance, climate resilience, and sustainability advisory, though at much larger scale and across many non-environmental verticals.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Largest pure-play global environmental consultancy; competes with Umweltbundesamt for corporate sustainability mandates and competes in adjacent EHS and climate advisory segments, but operates on a commercial rather than statutory basis.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Umwelt_AT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/umweltbundesamt
• Instagraminstagram.com/umweltbundesamt_at

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Umweltbundesamt