German Sustainability Action Days: Making SDGs Tangible And Practical
By driving attention towards a great variety of SDG actions all around Germany, the German Sustainability Action Days inspire people to act more sustainably and foster public awareness of this topic.
Seven years remain until 2030, when the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are expected to be fully enacted around the world. And yet, as we pass the midpoint to the 2030 Agenda, the SDG targets are lagging and much remains to be done.
Fortunately, a specific initiative in Germany is helping to move the needle on the SDGs forward. The German Sustainability Action Days, which run throughout Germany from 18 September to 08 October, were founded in order to bring Germans together to unite for the SDGs while also raising public awareness on the pressing issue of sustainability. That, of course, is according to the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), an advisory body to the Federal Government on sustainability policy, which drives the coordination for the Action Days and actively carries out projects to promote sustainability, exemplified by the Joint Action for Sustainable Development initiative.
“The most important thing is that we manage to make sustainability tangible in all its facets and as practical as possible,” explains Bodo Richter, Head of the ‘Joint Action for Sustainable Development’ platform and project lead for the ‘German Sustainability Action Days.’
“I would like to encourage everyone to set an example for a more sustainable world during the Action Days — and to get inspired by others.”
The UN SDG Action Campaign spoke with Bodo Richter to learn more about the German Sustainability Action Days, the role of this event in implementing the 2030 Agenda, and Richter’s own vision for a more sustainable future for all:
Building a sustainable future for all means taking action today and flipping the current global narrative on everything from climate change and gender inequality to food insecurity. Could you explain what the German Sustainability Action Days are and which SDGs you are addressing?
The German Sustainability Action Days were initiated by the German Council for Sustainable Development in 2012 with the aim to enhance visibility of real commitment to sustainability. The idea is that by attracting attention to a great variety of actions all around Germany, we can inspire people to act more sustainably and foster public awareness for the topic of sustainability. The point of reference for us is the 2030 Agenda, therefore all 17 goals. Each participant is asked to assign his or her action to the relevant SDGs.
How do you see your involvement driving progress towards these global goals?
Similar to the vision of the UN SDG Action Campaign, I believe that every individual can help change things for the better. With that in mind, the Sustainability Action Days are aimed at everyone in Germany: associations, schools, kindergartens, universities, churches, companies, municipalities and ministries, but also private persons. The most important thing is that we manage to make sustainability tangible in all its facets and as practical as possible.
Last year we went one step further and integrated the Action Days into the online platform of the “Joint Action for Sustainable Development”. Now that people are generally already more aware of the need for sustainability, we wanted to create the opportunity to join a permanent community. On the platform, the people and organizations behind the actions can network and learn from each other all year round. The more people get involved, the stronger the signal is that we can send out together.
This year marks the half-way point to Agenda 2030 and yet indicators show that progress on the SDGs is lagging. Only about 12% of the Goals are currently on track while close to 50% are moderately or severely off track. What do you want to see happen right now in your sector that can contribute to inverting this negative trend and putting us back on the right path?
It is true, this sobering stocktaking begs the question of how we can achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda in the time we still have left. Because we are running out of time and as the 17 SDGs are indivisible, I believe that we need to prioritize key areas that progress multiple SDGs at the same time. One of them being the area of sustainable building and housing.
The building sector, both in Germany and around the world, is one of the main headaches affecting the transition to sustainability, with 40% of greenhouse gas emissions incurred by the construction and operation of buildings. Connected to this is the urgent issue of housing in Germany, with prices soaring in urban regions and properties lying empty in rural regions. With our platform “Joint Action for Sustainable Development” we therefore focused on this key area in 2023, which hopefully contributes to putting us back on track to achieve several SDGs at the same time — from affordable and clean energy to sustainable cities.
Despite some discouraging news on SDG progress, we are nonetheless hopeful that, when united for action, we can affect positive change. And we know this just by looking at the thousands of application submissions we receive each year for our UN SDG Action Awards, which celebrate mobilizers, inspirers, and changemakers. Which individual or initiative inspires you to take action and continue to work towards a better future for all?
Looking at the German Sustainability Action Days, it is the sum of incredibly diverse actions that motivate me to continue my work. To give one example: At our launch event of the Action Days in mid-September, I took part in a mud brick workshop with a colleague from Architects for Future. I am a rather practical person, and this is the exact kind of thing that helps me grasp and better understand complex topics such as sustainable construction. In this spirit, I would like to encourage everyone to set an example for a more sustainable world during the Action Days — and to get inspired by others.
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