Annual Report 2025 – ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG

ÖBB-Infrastruktur Aktiengesellschaft Group Management Report | Consolidated Financial Statements 91 Target Resource inflows Resource outflows Principles of the circular economy R-principles (for interpretation, see the previous explanation) Products* Technical material Biological material Products* Waste R1: Refuse R2: Rethink R3: Reduce R4: Reuse R5: Repair R6: Refurbish R7: Remanufacture R8: Repurpose R9: Recycle R10: Recover Sustainability assessment Concrete demolition • • • • Recycling rate Concrete demolition • • • • Procurement of relevant product groups • • • • • Reclaiming track ballast • • • • Reuse of used concrete sleepers • • • Sale of concrete sleepers • • Reuse of used tracks • • • Dosing systems • • Take-back policies • • • Procurement of cleaning chemicals • • • Increased recycling of residual materials new construction and renovation • • Use of recyclable materials • • • Training • • • To illustrate the further contribution of the objectives presented in sub-section E5-2 E5-3 to the perspectives of primary material savings, material utilisation rates and the levels of the European waste hierarchy, the R principles of the circular economy have been assigned 43 to them. This makes it possible to assess the contribution of the targets listed in sub- section E5-2 E5-3 to the prospects for primary material savings, material utilisation rates and the stages of the European waste hierarchy. Since recycling, for example, always involves a certain amount of material loss, the savings in primary material are initially lower. However, it forms the basis for substitution and, due to the significant quantities that are reused, for example through the recycling of concrete or excavated soil, it makes a correspondingly material contribution. As the owner and primary producer of waste, the ÖBB-Infrastruktur Group has only limited influence on waste management in the area of recycling due to system constraints. In the course of implementing new construction and/or maintenance projects, waste is handled within the ÖBB-Infrastruktur Group in line with technical and economic possibilities. Insofar as direct reuse within a project cannot be achieved, an explicit mandate for environmentally sound recycling or disposal makes a significant contribution to promoting the circular economy (input material) in Austria. In accordance with the Waste Management Act (Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz) and related legislation such as the Landfill Ordinance (Deponieverordnung), the waste hierarchy is thus supported as best as possible by business activities, with the ÖBB-Infrastruktur Group acting as a supplier of input for downstream recycling processes. The objectives in the area of circular economy nevertheless contribute to the promotion of waste management within the scope of the possibilities described. In terms of waste management, the stages of waste prevention can be supported, in particular. 4 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/DE/legal-content/glossary/waste-hierarchy.html.