The BUKEA Sustainability Department leads Hamburg’s SDG-aligned sustainability strategy and implementation. (DEHHB0003)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Action plan – Hamburg, Germany, 2026 – 2029
Inception Report: Not available
Commitment Start: Jan 2026
Commitment End: Dec 2029
Institutions involved:
- Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: Ministry of Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture (BUKEA)
- Hamburg Sustainability Forum (NFH)
- University of Hamburg
- PD – Berater der öffentlichen Hand GmbH (PD), Berlin
- JUST ADD AI GmbH (JAAI)
Primary Policy Area:
Primary Sector:
OGP Value:
- Access to information
- Civic Participation
- Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability
- Public Accountability
Description
Commitment ID
DEHHB0003
Commitment Title
The Sustainability Department (BUKEA) coordinates and plans the process for the “development of a city-wide sustainability strategy for Hamburg, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, as well as its implementation.
Problem
In 2015, UN member states adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to enable all people, present and future, to live in dignity within planetary limits by 2030. The 17 SDGs and their 169 targets define sustainable development across social, environmental, economic, and political dimensions and address stakeholders in the Global South and North. Many targets require local implementation, giving cities a key role. The City of Hamburg committed to implementing the SDGs in 2017 and reaffirmed in 2019 its commitment to apply sustainable development as a guiding principle. A sustainability strategy based on the SDGs affects all policy areas and must consider existing sectoral strategies and programs. As a city-state with multiple authorities and district offices, coordination is complex. The strategy should assess existing programs regarding their SDG contribution and identify further development potential, while incorporating perspectives from civil society and academia.
Status quo
To highlight progress on the SDGs, in 2023 Hamburg published its first sustainability report as a ‘Voluntary Local Review’ (VLR). This UN reporting format provides an overview of sub-strategies, programs and measures to implement the 17 SDGs. The report includes 107 indicators capturing SDG aspects. The VLR is a milestone, but only one component of a city-wide sustainability strategy. A consistent link between narrative text and indicators and Hamburg-specific targets on its contribution to the SDGs and sub-goals, has been lacking.
For this reason, the IT project “AI-Supported Progress Analysis” was carried out to assess the overall status of the SDGs. Based on documents from the Hamburg Transparency Portal, a database was created and an AI model was developed to automatically identify references to the SDGs and their sub-goals within documents. In a second phase, documents will be summarized into fact sheets and 17 SDG profiles derived.
Action
Stakeholders, in particular organized civil society and the academic community, will be involved in developing the sustainability strategy (2026) to identify opportunities for furthering Hamburg’s contribution to the SDGs and to define key topics.
As part of implementing the Sustainability Strategy (2027), local residents will collaborate on district-level projects promoting individual SDGs, with a focus on young people, prioritizing socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The sustainability strategy is overarching, integrating existing sub-strategies and programs, and considering three perspectives: Hamburg’s role in implementing the SDGs within the urban community; the City of Hamburg’s efforts to implement the SDGs within the City of Hamburg, (“City as a Role Model”); and the city-state’s international impact. It is developed with all specialist authorities, Senate departments, and districts, led by the Sustainability Department (BUKEA), based on the 17 SDGs and their targets.
How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?
A city-wide sustainability strategy establishes a binding, cross-departmental framework for reconciling environmental, social and economic objectives. It enables the systematic management of long-term developments and the identification of synergies and trade-offs. During the MSF civil society and academia prioritized eight impulses for the shortlist, from which the steering group selected three for further development within the NHS and another one to be implemented later on. This gave stakeholders a direct influence on the thematic priorities addressed in subsequent workshops and implementation processes. A “Comply & Explain” approach ensures transparency by openly communicating why proposals were not selected and how they may still be considered later. Every two years, a sustainability report will be published, and indicators will be displayed on the digital SDG Dashboard to strengthen accountability, institutional learning and evidence-based action.
What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?
Developing a sustainability strategy in collaboration with civil society strengthens the partnership between the administration and the public by putting cooperation into practice and fostering trust and transparency. The process systematically integrates participation and data use into administrative practice by linking participatory formats with specialist and local insights. At the same time, participation in key issues for the future is institutionalized, as sustainability is a long-term issue and the process serves as a model for future projects. Furthermore, the measure improves decision-making through a broader knowledge base, early conflict identification, and greater legitimacy and acceptance of measures.
Primary Policy Area
Open Data, Social Accountability
Primary Sector
Cross-sectoral, Environment & Climate
What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?
| Access to information | The use of AI makes the flood of information on the SDGs within Hamburg’s administration and political institutions manageable. This ensures systematic access to knowledge on measures, contributions, and target indicators, providing a solid basis for informed decision-making.The use of AI makes the flood of information on the SDGs within Hamburg’s administration and political institutions manageable. This ensures systematic access to knowledge on measures, contributions, and target indicators, providing a solid basis for informed decision-making. |
| Civic Participation | The involvement of organized civil society and the academic community ensures that input from these sectors influences the further development of specific thematic areas. External stakeholder expertise is actively integrated into the strategy’s development.The involvement of organized civil society and the academic community ensures that input from these sectors influences the further development of specific thematic areas. External stakeholder expertise is actively integrated into the strategy’s development. |
| Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability | The deployment of AI supports the handling and analysis of extensive SDG-related information. This demonstrates how technological solutions enable innovative approaches for monitoring, managing, and assessing progress in the field of sustainability.The deployment of AI supports the handling and analysis of extensive SDG-related information. This demonstrates how technological solutions enable innovative approaches for monitoring, managing, and assessing progress in the field of sustainability. |
| Public Accountability | The sustainability strategy consolidates Hamburg’s contribution to achieving the SDGs and their targets, making the commitment of politics and administration more visible to the public—both for critical discourse in the press and among stakeholders, and for networks of public actors. The adoption of a strategy with defined targets and reporting indicators enhances public accountability in sustainability. |