Repairing things together ✂ 🔨 ⚙
In my spare time I’m a volunteer member of a Vienna repair team: https://lnkd.in/dzpkKiWD. We currently run three regular Repair Café events each month.
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week I had the privilege of participating in a special pop-up Repair Café hosted by Helvetia Insurance Austria in Vienna's beautiful First District. Helvetia together with Re-Use Austria (https://www.repanet.at) has been supporting volunteers in repair initiatives across Austria since 2021, ensuring a safety net through free insurance for those who give their time and skills to mend household items.
The pop-up Repair Café event, with the participation of Austria’s Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler , Vienna First District Leader Markus Figl and Helvetia’s CEO Thomas Neusiedler , underscore the importance of the transition towards #sustainableliving and the right to repair. And it is a testament to what we can achieve together. The enthusiasm and expertise of volunteers, the support of big organisations, and the commitment of government officials make these events more than just about fixing things; they're about community, resilience, and changing the way we think about our consumption patterns.
One thing I’ve learned through investigating many non-functioning devices is how little most consumer products are designed for repairability. Aside from the sheer difficulty in taking them apart, the user and service manuals are often not very helpful for diagnosis and repair purposes, and there is frequently no source for spare sparts. Our mission statement at Zühlke Group includes the words “We support our clients to envision and create a sustainable future.” We live this with a number of initiatives and services ranging from product lifecycle assessments to sustainable design and data driven sustainability innovation. We would love to help many more organisations on the path to Net Zero, learn more about this journey on our website: https://lnkd.in/dz-fXbXR.
Or if you want to learn more about the pop-up event, visit: https://lnkd.in/dKsrgpm6
#RepairCafe #Sustainability #RightToRepair #CircularEconomy #CommunityImpact
Picture (c) Helvetia - demonstrating repairing a couple of coffee machines
