German Sustainable Development Strategy

In Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the United Nations committed itself to the guiding principle of sustainable development and adopted a global action programme: Agenda 2021. With the Agenda 2021, each of the 178 signatory states declared its willingness to implement the guiding principle nationally in all policy areas with the involvement of society and the economy. Germany also signed up and adopted its first "National Sustainability Strategy" in 2002, which was further developed every four years in the following years.

Since its revision in 2016, it has been based on the 2030 Agenda and is referred to as the German Sustainable Development Strategy (DNS). It is the strategic implementation of the 2030 Agenda at national level. At the same time, the Federal Government sets its own political priorities in the DNS within the framework of the global goals. The Federal Government expresses these priorities through sustainability postulates below the 17 goals, defines national indicators to measure them and sets specific target values and years to be achieved.

Under the leadership of the Federal Chancellery, all ministries are involved in the implementation of the German Sustainability Strategy. The central steering committee for the strategy is the State Secretaries' Committee for Sustainable Development.

The reports of the Federal Government can be found here.