True to the motto: "A goal without a plan is only a wish", existing concepts and Council decisions were supplemented by current and planned projects and brought together to form a systematic and comprehensive agenda for sustainable urban development, which, with the Council’s decision, provides a binding direction for the coming years. Based on the holistic sustainability approach of Agenda 2030, the strategy also includes municipal fields of action that have not yet been explicitly considered in the context of sustainability, such as Social Participation and Gender Justice. The other thematic areas are: Mobility, Climate and Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, Labor and Economy as well as Global Responsibility and One World.

The range in the strategy is wide: The expansion of the city's Biodiversity Strategy, the energetic refurbishment of existing buildings, the expansion of renewable energies, the increased promotion of mixed building types in new construction projects or the increasing use of organic products in municipal canteens are just as listed as action days for family-conscious HR policy, the formation of a new sustainability network with 200 to 300 companies or the strengthening of citizen participation.

The promotion of the participation of migrants, the testing of a part-time leadership model in the City Administration and the participatory expansion of the disability policy participation scheme are also components of the strategy.

In the area of mobility, the expansion of public transport is planned through new connecting points and lines. Cycle traffic is to be strengthened, for example, by setting up mobile stations, closing gaps in the cycle route network or developing rapid cycle routes. For the delivery of goods in the city center, an infrastructure is to be set up that provides for the use of e-wheels and e-commercial vehicles.

Global responsibility is to be further strengthened in Bonn through a concept for "sustainability in sports" involving clubs and the procurement of sports equipment from fair production. Moreover, it is planned to increase the number of fair-trade schools, to establish fair day-care centers, to expand fair municipal procurement and to further intensify municipal project partnerships with cities from other continents.

In line with the comprehensive relevance of the strategy, twelve specialist committees were involved in the consultation process. The Administration will now submit a regular report to the Council on implementation and further development.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, known to many by the acronym SDGs, are a daily subject here in the German UN City and sustainability location and a matter of the heart for the City and its citizens. A large number of initiatives are committed to the local advancement of sustainable development.  

Bonn SDG Days

This year, all interested parties are again invited to participate in the Bonn SDG Days. Together, the 17 Goals and selected examples of implementation in Bonn will be presented to the general public and impetus will be given to get involved. 

The Bonn SDG Days 2021 are part of the anniversary celebration of 25 years of the UN in Bonn, as Bonn is the center where the United Nations is bringing together its work on the 17 Goals. 

September 18 to October 4: 17 Days for the 17 Goals

Due to the pandemic situation, the SDG Days will not take place in early summer, but in autumn - parallel to the German Action Days for Sustainability (DAN) with the European Sustainability Week, to which they traditionally provide a special Bonn contribution. Under the motto "17 Days for the 17 Goals," the Bonn SDG Days 2021 from September 18 to October 4 call on people to make their commitment to the 17 Goals visible. In close cooperation with the Fair Week, which partly takes place at the same time, they mobilize support for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Bonn.  

17Goals Space on Münsterplatz

Mayor Katja Dörner will give the starting signal on September 18, 2021 at 11 am on Münsterplatz. She will open the Bonn SDG Days from the 17Goals Space, a former shipping container that has been converted by Engagement Global into an information and event space and will be used in Bonn for the first time. Until September 27, it will be located on Münsterplatz, offering interested passers-by information and games for exploration, as well as an event stage for Bonn initiatives from the city and its administration. Immediately after the greeting by Mrs. Dörner, the Local Agenda Office with the Fair Trade Town and Organic City of Bonn will present "All Around Cultural & Transformative" offerings on September 18 until 5:30 p.m. at the 17Goals Space, a cultural program with talks and videos as part of the event series "All Around Sustainable". In the morning, workshops for students on the topic of "Innovations from Africa" will be offered at the 17ZieleSpace in cooperation with "Together for Africa" and Engagement Global. During the day, there will be offerings from the community for challenged people in Bonn, Südwind Institute, the International Women's Center and others. On five evenings, Bonn initiatives will present films on local or global topics as part of the new BONNER GLOCALE series, including two films with English subtitles that are aimed in particular at the city's international community. 

17Goals Zone Friedrichstrasse

During the entire Bonn SDG Days and the second part of the Fair Week, Friedrichstrasse with its numerous owner-operated stores, including those whose business principle focuses on fair trade, will not only visually become the 

17Goals Zone with an umbrella roof in the colors of the Sustainable Development Goals. Organized by the Bonn Network for Development, the One World Promoter for Bonn and southern NRW, the City of Bonn's Department of International Affairs and Global Sustainability, and the Immobilien- und Standortgemeinschaft Friedrichstraße Bonn e.V., Bonn's activities to implement the 17 Goals will be presented, momentum will be generated, and sustainability will be addressed in the stores. The focus will be on September 18 (Saturday), September 24 and 25 (Friday and Saturday) and October 1 and 2 (Friday and Saturday).  Participation and drop-in are welcome!

Further event offerings

Beyond this, there will be further decentralized and digital events. During the campaign period, the Volunteer Agency will present the everyday SDG commitment of Bonn residents in a window of the Beuel City Hall with the daily changing Volunteer Gallery. A digital SDG pub quiz in German and Arabic is also under preparation, and more. 

A first detailed program overview will be available by the end of August. 

Anyone who would still like to participate in the program for the 17Goals Space or the 17Goals Zone along Friedrichstrasse, or who would like to submit an event idea of their own, is cordially invited to participate in the SDG Days program. Program proposals can be submitted at any time by August 13 at the latest at:  Bonner-SDG-Tage-2021bonnde 

The Bonn SDG Days were launched in 2018 by the Coordinator for Municipal Development Policy of the City of Bonn, which is funded by the "Service Agency Communities in One World".

A special highlight of last year’s campaign period was the "One World Construction Site Bonn". Two artists designed a house wall in Bonn’s Macke district to present the 17 Goals. The artistic statement plus accompanying information and cultural events further anchor the SDGs in the cityscape and - most importantly - in the minds and actions of Bonn’s citizens.

From 1 to 3 April 2020, the fourth edition of the SDG Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development is taking place at the WorldCCBonn once again. The Festival is organized by the UN SDG Action Campaign in Bonn, a young member of the Bonn UN family. More than a thousand active people from all over the world are expected to attend the Global Festival to exchange best practice and ideas on how to implement the SDGs and how to raise both visibility and impact of global initiatives. The year 2020 also marks the kick-off for the Decade of Action announced by the UN Secretary-General.
In 2019, the Global Festival of Action was accompanied by the kick-off of the Bonn SDG Days. Hundreds of festival participants attended the local SDG march from the WCCB venue to the annual large Rhine in Flames festival in Bonn.

Register to participate:  https://globalfestivalofaction.org/ (opens in a new tab)

On 25 September 2015, the United Nations adopted Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs cover all areas of sustainable development: from marine and climate protection to poverty reduction, humane working conditions and the rule of law. For the first time, environmental and development policy goals have been brought together in a common global agenda.

The SDGs are addressed to all countries and will in the future also guide action in Germany at federal, state and local level. The Sustainability Strategy of the Federal Government, which was relaunched in 2016, is based on the SDGs, as is the Sustainability Strategy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. By signing the model resolution of the German Association of Cities and Towns in February 2016, Bonn committed itself to implementing the SDGs at municipal level.

The City of Bonn has presented its fifth sustainability report end of february 2020. The current publication covers the period 2016 to 2018 and presents the sustainable development in Bonn in quantitative terms. For the first time, the report also takes into account the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as laid down by the United Nations (SDGs).

With a total of 55 indicators that reflect developments in the four key categories "well-being", "social justice", "environmental quality and resource efficiency" and "economic efficiency", the report is more comprehensive than ever before. For each indicator in the report, the development is presented in figures, supplemented by an interpretation of the development, the presentation of influencing factors and objectives. Moreover, each indicator is matched with the corresponding SDGs.

In order to provide a quick view of the development - positive or negative - each indicator is also assigned a traffic light color, if statistically possible. Red stands for a negative, green for a positive and yellow for a neutral development. As a result, 22 indicators show a positive development, five a negative and 15 a neutral development. For 13 indicators, no evaluation was possible for statistical reasons.

The sustainability report is now available on the homepage of the City of Bonn at: (in German)