Vereinte Nationen

Sustainability Monitor

German Sustainability Strategy 2021

by Gisela Elsner, Sabina Wölkner

Are we on the right track?

The update of the German Sustainability Strategy (DNS) was published on March 10, 2021 and comes at an important time. The key document for Germany's sustainability policy must be measured by whether, under pandemic conditions, the implementation of the 17 sustainability goals (SDGs) can still be successful by 2030.

The update of the German Sustainability Strategy (DNS) of the federal government was published on March 10, 2021. This update of the strategy focuses on strengthening the political relevance of the DNS and its governance structure, better coordination between ministries and systematic success monitoring.

All efforts towards implementing sustainability are to be aligned with six Areas of Transformation in which progress is particularly relevant and which combine several SDGs and show their interactions.

The pandemic has increased the need for transformation at all levels and has shown the importance of civil society groups actively participating in the DNS. The new DNS seeks to take account of this concern under the heading “Sustainability as a joint effort” (Gemeinschaftswerk Nachhaltigkeit).

The parties involved in formulating this update agree that Germany must significantly pick up its pace in meeting the sustainability goals. For that reason, it is important to drive forward integration with the objectives and policies of the European Green Deal and extend its focus to other aspects of sustainability.

Read the entire Sustainability Monitor here as a PDF.

Contact

Gisela Elsner

Gisela  Elsner kas

Global Sustainability

gisela.elsner@kas.de +49 30 26996-3759

About this series

The publications of the Sustainability Monitor are part of our Monitor publication series. The Monitor series deals with one main topic at a time from the perspective of KAS experts and places it in the political and social context on the basis of a few key points.