corsus moderates network meeting of SDG municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein

In March, representatives of the SDG municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein met to discuss and exchange ideas about sustainability activities and current projects in the municipalities. Anke Butscher moderated the network meeting.
The SDG municipalities are a municipal network in Schleswig-Holstein that has developed from the 27 GNK-SH municipalities. After the SKEW‘s ‘Global Sustainable Municipality Schleswig-Holstein’ project came to an end, there was great interest in maintaining this network of municipalities committed to sustainability. This resulted in a digital regulars’ table every two months and two face-to-face network meetings. The participants are made up of sustainability managers from districts, cities and municipalities, representatives of municipal umbrella organisations and state ministries. Other stakeholders such as KNBV (Competence Centre for Sustainable Procurement and Contracting) and BEI (Bündnis Eine Welt e.V.) are also represented.

The network meeting in March centred on a strategy paper ‘5 before 2030! Future-oriented and sustainable between the seas’ by municipal sustainability managers. The sustainability managers from municipalities that are already active make concrete proposals in the form of a five-year plan for implementing sustainability at local level. They are convinced of their effectiveness based on their own experience, because municipalities must take action today to ensure a future worth living. This requires all local authorities to take responsibility, allocate tasks and define responsibilities. The strategy paper is to be sent to a wide audience in May and published in a press release.

Another important item on the agenda was a review of the network’s activities to date, combined with an outlook on future initiatives and projects. There was intensive discussion on how more municipalities and their representatives can be inspired and won over to the network and sustainability issues in general. Visibility and effective communication of the network were identified as key levers for achieving this goal.

The participants emphasised the importance of the network meetings and the digital regulars’ table as valuable platforms for exchanging ideas and developing new ideas and projects. In order to further increase interest, future meetings should be advertised and communicated more widely.

In addition, further cross-municipal projects such as the implementation of an impact-oriented budget and sustainability training for administrative staff have been planned.

The SDG Municipality Network is actively supported and organised by the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Cities, the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Municipalities, the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Counties and the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature.

We at corsus look forward to other municipalities  to join the network and are happy to provide advice and support for sustainability and sustainable development projects.