ÖBB Annual Report 2023

141 Group Management Report Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 96 Other significant measures Innovation and Technology (excerpt) Rail4Future | The highlight of the Rail4Future R&D project for railway hardware was a large-scale test on the supporting structure of the Pinkabach Bridge (Lower Austria) in 2023. This was deliberately subjected to realistic stresses from train operation and driven artificially to failure. This trial was the first of its kind in the world and provided findings that had not yet been validated. AM4RAIL | The research initiatives focus on the implementation of additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies for rail vehicles. Automated Resource Planning – resource planning of the future | The so-named ARP programme deals with the integrated and rolling planning of production resources and is intended to lead to an improved deployment of employees and vehicles. Use of artificial intelligence on the rise | A pilot phase for the use of artificial intelligence to plan shifts is being planned for the first time at the ÖBB-Produktion Gesellschaft mbH site in Floridsdorf. The ÖBB Business Competence Centre has also been successfully using robotic process automation for several years to automate simple and repetitive activities and processes. Digitalisation in Postbus continues | Besides the roll-out of the digital driver cockpit, communication between drivers and supervisors was also fully digitalised in 2023, and the driver and workshop manual was digitalised. Community creates mobility | Austria-wide, open community for exchanging and developing joint ideas for the mobility of the future. G.8. Sustainable Finance Management approach In 2015, the UN member states adopted the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. This defined 17 goals for sustainable development (the “Sustainable Development Goals”, or SDGs for short). The financial market was also assigned a decisive role in implementing this global plan and achieving the targets. As a result, regulations ensure that the fulfilment of sustainability becomes a key factor for investments and the necessary capital flows. Such regulations include the “Principles of Responsible Banking” adopted by leading global financial institutions in 2019 and the EU Taxonomy Regulation, which was launched in 2020 and has been legally binding since January 2022. The aim is to clarify which investments and capital flows can be classified as “sustainable” or “green” by developing clear criteria at EU level. At the same time, this is also intended to counteract the marketing of “green” investment products that do not meet environmental or sustainability standards (green washing). The relevant taxonomy key figures are: CapEx, OpEx and turnover. CapEx plays a particularly important role from a financing perspective. Another quality feature recognised by the financial market for the sustainability of a company is the ESG rating. Criteria from the areas of environment, social affairs and governance are used for this purpose. ÖBB is committed to the sustainable direction of its business activities. The ÖBB sustainability strategy ensures a balanced relationship between all three pillars (ecology, economy and social issues). Accordingly, the “sustainable finance” component is of essential importance. This is attributable to the fact that the sustainability performance of the Group companies operating on the capital market is very closely linked to the sustainable safeguarding of the respective economic success of the company. The reason for this is not least an increasing capital intensification of ecological effects as well as the linking of sustainability standards with forms of financing. MR96 |