About the project

Our aim is to promote sustainability in our society in line with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sdgs English

We do this by shedding light on and boosting sustainability engagement, bringing together organisations from politics, business, academia and civil society, jointly developing new ideas and solutions to tackle the challenges posed by the sustainability transition.

The 2030 Agenda embraces the economic, environmental and social dimensions of development and calls on everybody to gear their actions to these imperatives. Because everyone needs to pitch in to achieve the SDGs – from the climate-neutral sports club to the sustainable local government to the DAX-listed company going circular.

What is the Joint Action for Sustainable Development?

The Joint Action for Sustainable Development is a new initiative and open platform to promote sustainability engagement in Germany. We don’t want – or need – to reinvent the wheel. The Joint Action builds on existing engagement, makes it visible and scales it up.

On 26 September 2022, the Joint Action for Sustainable Development was officially launched at the Annual Conference of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) with a beta version of the online platform. The online platform aims to boost visibility for organisations and their activities and offers a space to network. As it grows, there will be more and more opportunities to get involved. Events will offer a chance to put heads together, exchange ideas and forge future alliances. We are also turning goals into action with community targets, action weeks, awards and open social innovation processes. You can find our guidelines in the participation pledge.

Our first joint priority for 2023 will be an area of transformation from the German Sustainable Development Strategy: sustainable building and housing.

How do we achieve our goals?

Who is behind the Joint Action for Sustainable Development?

The Joint Action for Sustainable Development is an initiative of the German Federal Government and the Länder coordinated by the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE). It was agreed by the then Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the minister-presidents of the Länder in 2019. The project is funded by the Federal Chancellery on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag. For individual project aspects, we are also seeking funding from other German federal ministries and social actors, including foundations and companies. The four Regional Hubs for Sustainability Strategies (RENN) are central partners for the rollout and implementation of the Joint Action in the regions.

The Joint Action for Sustainable Development follows an open-source approach and cooperates with other mapping projects that have already done a great deal of groundwork at local level or on specific topics.

Olaf Scholz, Dr. Werner Schnappauf

Timeline

Who can get involved?

The Joint Action for Sustainable Development is aimed at anyone taking action to make our society more ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. After all, our motto ALL TOGETHER NOW is the name of the game: whether you’re an association, club, company, local government, civil society initiative, trade union, welfare organisation, religious community or cultural or sporting activity – everyone’s invited. You and your organisation included! Because sustainability impacts us all.

The online platform offers networking opportunities, both regionally and nationwide, for those looking to exchange their thoughts, share collegial advice or just discover good ideas. As such, we want to mobilise regional efforts and get everyone involved. The lack of scaling, communication and exchange means there are a whole host of great approaches out there led by really motivated people that can’t quite get beyond the local. Too often, it’s a case of reinventing the wheel for each and every person who wants to get involved, whether that’s procuring or buying sustainably within your organisation, taking steps as a company to go circular or ensuring a rapid local government transformation to climate neutrality. The solutions are out there, but right now they are not always easy to find. All that is about to change, thanks to the Joint Action online platform!