Umweltdachverband GmbH, Bereich Forum Umweltbildung

Forum Umweltbildung (often abbreviated Fub) is the Austrian portal for environmental education and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It operates as a dedicated unit within Umweltdachverband GmbH, the corporate arm of Austria's environmental umbrella organisation. Its work centres on developing and delivering educational formats that help teachers, youth workers and other education practitioners communicate complex sustainability topics — above all the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and climate protection — simply and effectively. The organisation describes its guiding principle as Education for Sustainable Development. It states that it makes education accessible even outside traditional educational institutions, connects people and organisations, and promotes diversity of topics. Projects are developed in interdisciplinary teams and through cooperation with experts from educational organisations, public administration, NGOs, extracurricular youth education institutions and the media. Forum Umweltbildung's public-facing activity is concentrated on its website, umweltbildung.at, which functions as a national portal. It publishes teaching materials, online resources and a webshop, and it runs networking and participation formats such as the annual ESD Summer Academy (BNE-Sommerakademie), which reached its 22nd edition in 2026 under the title "CONNECT! Empathie mit Mensch, Planet und Zukunft". Digital offerings include the podcast Bildungswellen, which marked its 50th episode in 2026, and online events such as the BNE-Online-Akademie 2026 and sessions on Green Skills and ESD in vocational education. The portal also highlights the European Sustainable Development Week (#ESDW2026). Its audience is primarily Austrian education practitioners — teachers, trainers, youth educators and multipliers — but some materials are offered in English as well, including a poster on the 17 SDGs and bilingual reading books. The unit is led by Dr. Walpurga Weiß as managing director, with Melanie Salzl MSc as project lead and deputy team leader. Forum Umweltbildung is commissioned as an initiative of Austrian federal ministries; the German-language "Über uns" page names the Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Klima- und Umwelt (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environment) among its commissioning bodies. This public mandate distinguishes it from a purely commercial education provider: it acts as a publicly backed knowledge and networking hub for sustainability education in Austria.

Forum Umweltbildung is the environmental education unit of Umweltdachverband GmbH, the corporate entity associated with Austria's environmental umbrella organisation. It presents itself as the Austrian portal for environmental education and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and its public identity is closely tied to the website umweltbildung.at. The unit's stated mission is to shape education today for the world of tomorrow. It argues that education is changing and that what is current today may already be outdated tomorrow, so it develops and offers educational formats that help communicate topics such as the Sustainable Development Goals or climate protection simply and effectively. It says innovative and high-quality projects are created through close cooperation in interdisciplinary teams and through collaboration with experts from educational organisations, local authorities, NGOs, extracurricular youth education institutions and the media. Its guiding principle is Education for Sustainable Development. The organisation states that it makes education accessible even outside traditional educational institutions, connects people and organisations, and promotes diversity of topics. Its team is drawn from fields ranging from pedagogy and science to landscape planning, and it describes itself as making ESD vivid and thinking education further. Over time Forum Umweltbildung has built a portfolio of recurring formats. The ESD Summer Academy (BNE-Sommerakademie) is its long-running networking and participation event; by 2026 it had reached its 22nd edition, held under the title "CONNECT! Empathie mit Mensch, Planet und Zukunft". The podcast Bildungswellen is another established digital offering, reaching its 50th episode in September 2026. The website also hosts online events such as the BNE-Online-Akademie 2026 and sessions on Green Skills and ESD in vocational education, and it promotes participation in the European Sustainable Development Week (#ESDW2026). Forum Umweltbildung operates under a public mandate. Its German-language "Über uns" page identifies it as an initiative of the Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Klima- und Umwelt (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environment), and the team page refers to "Auftraggeber:innen" (commissioning bodies). This public backing shapes its role as a national knowledge, materials and networking hub rather than a conventional commercial education business. Leadership of the unit is documented on its team page: Dr. Walpurga Weiß serves as managing director, responsible for the ESD area, team leadership, quality assurance and external representation, and Melanie Salzl MSc serves as project lead and deputy team lead, working on didactic offerings, public relations and the digital presence. The unit publishes materials through its website and webshop, including reading books on the 17 SDGs for children and young people in German and English, and a poster titled "Stopp off in 2030".

• 2026

  The 22nd ESD Summer Academy (BNE-Sommerakademie) is held in mid-August under the title "CONNECT! Empathie mit Mensch, Planet und Zukunft".

• 2026

  The Bildungswellen podcast publishes its 50th episode on 11 September 2026.

• 2026

  Forum Umweltbildung takes part in the European Sustainable Development Week (#ESDW2026), held 18 September to 8 October 2026.

• 2015

  The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are adopted on 25 September 2015 at the UN climate summit in New York, a framework central to Forum Umweltbildung's work.

A publicly commissioned Austrian portal and programme unit for environmental education and Education for Sustainable Development, aimed at teachers, youth educators and multipliers.

• BNE-Sommerakademie (ESD Summer Academy)

  Annual networking and participation event for Education for Sustainable Development; the 22nd edition took place in 2026.

• Bildungswellen podcast

  Digital podcast offering; its 50th episode was published in September 2026.

• BNE-Online-Akademie 2026

  Online academy event listed on the portal for 15 October 2026.

• Poster: Stopp off in 2030

  Poster addressing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and several global topics.

• Unsere Welt. Unsere Zukunft – Lesebuch

  Reading book on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for children and young people, in German and English.

• Im Wandel – Jahrbuch Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung

  Yearbook on Education for Sustainable Development available via the webshop.

1. 1Forum Umweltbildung – Österreichisches Portal für Umweltbildung und Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklungumweltbildung.at
2. 2About us – Forum Umweltbildungumweltbildung.at
3. 3Über uns – Forum Umweltbildungumweltbildung.at
4. 4Unser Team für die Welt von morgen – Forum Umweltbildungumweltbildung.at
5. 5Umweltdachverband GmbH, Bereich Forum Umweltbildung – Wikidatawikidata.org