Best practices of local sustainable development in St. Gilgen, Austria

At the beginning of December 2024, the ENSEMBLE project’s consortium members gathered once again for another event. This time, delegations met in St. Gilgen (Austria), on the wonderful Wolfgangsee.

The topic to be discussed – by partners together with citizens – was local sustainable development.

A public conference was organised on Saturday, November 30th, 2025, whose goal was to decline sustainability in its several dimensions: sustainability of traditions, sustainable tourism and governance, sustainability in education – in cooperation with St. Gilgen International School – and infrastructure sustainability.

Common challenges were identified on the one hand, for instance the fact that rural areas are often left behind in terms of funding and, on the other hand, virtuous examples were analysed in-depth, such as young people’s empowerment by involving them in sustainability and ecology discussions,  the World`s first cable car autonomously powered by solar panels (Zwölferhornseilbahn), and the use of alternatives forms of diesel to make boats move around the lake (Wolfgangseeschifffahrt),

Feedback from citizens and delegations was collected. Citizens stated that the event was a great opportunity to know the progress of the ENSEMBLE project and to raise awareness about sustainability in their region.

The next day, December 1^st, 2024, a trip by boat to St. Wolfgang was organized in order to observe boats powered by the Finnish eco diesel. Then, the new station of the Schafbergbahn was presented by the Managing Director of Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH.

On the last day, December 2^nd, 2024, there was another field trip tto take the cable car up to the Zwölferhorn and see the new photovoltaic plant.

The following step was a series of conferences and debates, in March 2025, that have involved both local authorities and citizens, with the final goal of developing a series of concrete guidelines that can be implemented in the area of St. Gilgen.

On March 5th and 6th, 2025, the workshops involving students from St. Gilgen’s Secondary School, local council members, and the Mayor focused on: ecological systems and biodiversity in forest habitats; human impact on natural environments and climate change; sustainable tourism, food systems, and the circular economy.

A key milestone was the finalization of a new Energy Community Agreement between the municipality and Zwölferhornseilbahn GmbH, thus highlighting the region’s commitment to cooperative renewable energy initiatives.

On March 20th, the newly developed sustainability guidelines were presented to the municipal council and citizens during a public session, showcasing the collaborative outcomes of the earlier workshops.

These events, that were part of two different Work Packages within the ENSEMBLE project, represent another success story. The fact that in St. Gilgen many projects in high-quality sustainability are realized and can be shown has been an example for the other consortium partners, who came back home full of ideas for the future of their regions.