German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE)
Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung
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Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (RNE) Geschäftsstelle c/o GTZ Potsdamer Platz 10 D-10785 Berlin Tel. +49 30 408 190 121 Fax:+49 30 408 190 125 |
Establishment and Mission
Council Members and Staff Members
Current and Future Activities
Present Priority Fields
- Corporate Social Responsibility;
- Sustainable Shopping Basket;
- Peer Review of Germany's sustainability policies;
- Citizen's action programme in the scope of demographic change (See initiative below);
- Sustainability and fiscal system;
- (Communal) Sustainability Management;
- Education;
- On 27 May 2009 an award ceremony was held for the winners of the "Generational Dialogue in Practice - Citizens Initiate Sustainability". Ten initiatives in the nationwide contest were honored as "lighthouse projects" bringing different generations together. A variety of areas has been addressed in the projects including educational sponsorships, intergenerational residential projects and neighborhood networks. Many of the award-winning initiatives also exceed in terms of environmental focus: e.g. energy-efficient buildings, regional procurement and the use of renewable sources of energy. The competition is a contribution to the national SD strategy and is jointly organized by the German government and the RNE.
Planned reports, recommendations/statements:
- Review of the Federal Government's sustainability policies - The Peer Review will feature a broad perspective covering both the Federal Government's sustainability policies with the National Sustainability Strategy at its heart, and the initiatives and working schemes in the private sector as well as key areas of actions being taken in civil society. After a two days- scoping meeting peers will meet face to face for an in-depth deliberation phase which will end with formulating the recommendations. Documentation and editing will follow. The findings and the review result should be delivered to the Federal Government in autumn 2009;
- Recommendation on the sustainable shopping basket (autumn 2009);
- Recommendation on education policy (autumn 2009);
- Statement on sustainability and fiscal system (autumn 2009.)
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Background and Mission
Establishment
Dr. Volker Hauff, a former minister in the German Federal Government and Member of the 1980th Brundtland Commission is the Chairman and Prof. Klaus Töpfer, a former minister in the German Federal Government and former Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is the Deputy Chairman of the German Council for Sustainable Development. The German Council for Sustainable Development was given a new mandate in June, 2007 by Chancellor Angela Merkel after it was first established by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in April, 2001. It consists of 13 people in public life. The Council has an office with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Berlin.
In 2001, the Federal Government also set up a State Secretary Committee for Sustainable Development ("green cabinet" ) with the PM office (chancellery) chairing. Political leadership for the SDS falls under the overall responsibility of the chancellery, and its administrative implementation takes place in collaboration between the chancellery and the respective Ministries. In 2004 the German Federal Parliament responded to this political scheme by establishing a Committee for SD in the Parliament. In its progress report 2008 on the National Strategy for Sustainable Development the government indicates to strengthening the role of the State Secretary as a central administrative authority within the government for the management of sustainability.
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Mission
The RNE has been requested to contribute to the process of elaborating and updating the strategy and to come up with political recommendations to implement sustainable development. Also, its task is to strengthen communication about sustainable development. The Council stands for societal dialogue, it is not a scientific advisory body.
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Council Members
This multi-stakeholder Council has 13 Council Members. The new Council was appointed in April 2007 for its third term that will end in 2010.
| Chairman Dr. Volker Hauff |
Senior Vice President of Bearing Point GmbH |
| Vice-Chairman Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer |
Former Undersecretary General of United Nations, (UN) Former Executive Director of United Nations Environmental Programme, (UNEP) |
| Members Horst Frank |
Mayor of the City of Constance |
| Dr. Hans Geisler | Former Saxony Minister for Social Affairs, Health, Youth and Families |
| Prof. Dr Ute Klammer | Professor
for political sciences, in particular social policy, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Diversity Management at the University of Duisburg-Essen. |
| Prof. Dr. Edward G. Krubasik | Honorary Professor at the TU Munich Former Corporate Executive Committee of Siemens |
| Thomas Loster | Director of Münchner Rück Foundation |
| Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rimpau | Chairman of the German Agricultural Society e.V. |
| Prof. Dr. Georg Teutsch | Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) |
| Marlehn Thieme | Director of the Deutsche Bank AG, Member
of the Deutsche Bank Stiftung Member of the Council of Lutheran Churches in Germany |
| Michael Vassiliadis | Board member of the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE) |
| Hubert Weinzierl | President of the German League for Nature and Environment (DNR) |
| Dr. Angelika Zahrnt | Chairwoman of Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) |
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Staff Members
The RNE has a secretariat with around five staff. Dr. Günther Bachmann is the Director. Contact details.
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Work Style
Tasks of the Council
The task of the Council is to make contributions for the German NSDS (which was finished in April 2002) and to its further development which entered its second leg after the First Progress Report published in November 2004. With its 2008-Progress Report on the National Sustainable Development Strategy the German Government decided on several improvements in the institutional setup of the German Sustainability policy.
The RNE further consults the Federal Government in sustainable development policies. This task is specified as follows:
- to shape the emergence and continuing development of Germany's sustainability strategy in critical dialogue with the Federal Government and leading social players.
- to make contributions to a national sustainable development strategy and to its management by using specifically quantified objectives that are measured by means of statistical evidence;
- to specify priorities in the fields of climate change, energy transition, sustainable production and consumption, demographic change, governance, biodiversity, land consumption
- to make proposals for concrete projects to implementing the strategy.
Another big task is to promote the societal dialogue about sustainable development. This dialogue should build a consensus between the different interests and stakeholders. By pointing out the consequences of social behaviour and action and by presenting concrete possibilities of solutions, the recognition of the existence of urgent problems shall be strengthened.
As from 2007, the Council also has the following tasks:
- organising a citizens' conference on sustainability policy of the 100 youngest local politicians in the scope of the consultation process to the draft version of the SD strategy progress 2008;
- organising the contest "Citizens initiate sustainability" in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth;
- taking an active role in the peer review process of the German SD policies.
- supporting a sustainability report ranking of corperations and for the first time small and medium enterprises in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs carried out by the institute for ecological economy research and future e.V.
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Substructure and Working Groups
The working groups are focusing on the following issues:
- Sustainable production and consumption;
- Energy transition and climate change;
- Sustainability strategies on national, sub-national and EU level;
- Education.
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Council Meetings
The Council meets every two months approximately. In 2009 meetings are scheduled for: 28-29 January; 25-26 March, 17 and 19 June; 23-24 September; 8 December. The RNE's annual conference will take place the 24 or 25 November.
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Type of Advice
The Council mainly develops recommendations to the Federal Government. Within this process the Council organises stakeholder dialogues as a reality check and in order to include amendments and comments made by experts as well as by the interested public.
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Activities in the EEAC Network
The RNE joined EEAC in 2002.
It is an active member of the EEAC Sustainable Development Working Group and observer to Working Groups Energy and Governance.
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List of Selected Publications
You can search for the full list of policy advice in our Search Engine which also includes the titles in English of publications available in original language only.
Statements and Recommendations
- Maturing the Sustainability Strategy (September 2009);
- Position of the German Council for Sustainable Development on Current Climate Policy Issues (November 2008);
- Credible – cost-effective – viable for the future: modern procurement policies must be sustainable - Recommendations to the German Federal Government, (August 2008);
- Progress Report 2008 on the National Strategy for Sustainable Development (July 2008);
- What traffic lights are on red? Analysis of the values of the sustainability indicators submitted by the Council for Sustainable Development on the basis of the “Indicator Report 2006” of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, (June 2008);
- Conserving biodiversity now means: Making biomass production sustainable, recommendations to the German Federal Government (April 2008)
- Progress Report 2001 - 2007 of the German Council for Sustainable Development, (February 2007);
- Corporate Responsibility in a Globalised World - Recommendations to the German Federal Government and the German business sector on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), (September 2006);
- Important, overdue and to be revised - Comments submitted by the German Council for Sustainable Development on the review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, (February 2006)
- "World without Sustainability Policy" - Commentary on the Review of the UN Millennium Development Goals at the UN General Assembly, (September 2005)
- "In Unerring Pursuit of the Recurrent Theme", Statement by the German Council for Sustainable Development on the Progress Report 2004 relating to the German Government’s Sustainable Strategy, (January 2005);
- "Efficiency and Energy Research as Components of a Consistent Energy Policy", Recommendations of the German Council for Sustainable Development to the German Government, (November 2004);
- Strengthening Sustainable Development in the EU Recommendations from the EEAC Working Group on Sustainable Development as a contribution to the review of the European Sustainable Development Strategy and the preparation of the EU Spring Council in 2004 Chairmen’s Paper, (November 2003);
- Recommendations submitted by the Council to the German Government on the Issue of "Export of used goods and building practice for buildings", (November 2003);
- The Perspectives for Coal in a Sustainable Energy Industry. Guidelines for a Modern Coal Policy and the Promotion of Innovation, (September 2003);
- Statement of the RNE on the National Strategy on Sustainability of the German Government, (February 2002);
- Statement on the German government's pilot projects for sustainable development.
Selected Contributions
- Speech by Volker Hauff: Policy Meets Land Management – Contributions to the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Konferenz der Technischen Universität München, (April 2008);
- Speech by Volker Hauff: Sustainability management is about dealing with conflicts, also regarding chemical industries, SusChem Stakeholder and Brokerage event “Realising our sustainable future”, Berlin, (January 2008);
- Speech by Volker Hauff: The Brundtland Report: An update Key note speech for the meeting organised by the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development, Egmont Palais, Brussels, (October 2007);
- Speech by Klaus Töpfer: Meeting global challenges – The contribution of SD strategies, European Sustainability Berlin 07 (ESB07) (June 2007);
- Speech by Volker Hauff: Brundtland Report: A 20 Years Update, European Sustainability, Berlin 07 (ESB07) „Linking Policies, Implementation, and Civil Society Action", Berlin (June 2007);
- Speech by Klaus Töpfer: The Future Impact of Environmental Science on Political Strategy, 4th BMBF Forum for Sustainability “L2L Sustainable Neighbourhood – from Lisbon to Leipzig through Research”, Leipzig, (May 2007);
- Speech by Volker Hauff: Influencing policy on energy and consumption: The role of the Sustainable Development Commissions in Germany and the UK, London (February 2007);
- Speech by Angelika Zahrnt “The art of thinking the tomorrow”, 6th Annual Conference, Berlin (September 2006);
- Speech by Volker Hauff "Early Warning and long term sustainability", Major’s Conference on Early Warning, Bonn (March 2006);
- Speech by Angelika Zahrnt on the Conference "Sustainable Churches - Management for a Churche with a Future", Salzburg (2005);
- Speech by Klaus Töpfer " "Environmental Degradation and Poverty as Inhibitors of Economic Growth" 5th Annual Conference of the German Council for Sustainable Development, Berlin, (September 2005);
- Speech by Volker Hauff "Why an international dialogue on sustainability and growth?" Kick-off meeting BRICS+G Sustainability and Growth in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Germany, Berlin, (March 2005);
- Speech by Volker Hauff "Values for the Future", 4th Annual Conference of the German Council for Sustainable Development, (November 2004);
- Contribution by Hubert Weinzierl "Good questions: educational policies and sustainability", (2003);
- Speech by Margot Käßmann "Justice and Peace will kiss each other" WSF testimony beim Weltsozialforum Porto Alegre, (February 2003);
- Contribution by Volker Hauff "Globalisation is Making New Sustainability Concepts Necessary" German Policy on Sustainability 10 Years After Rio and 100 Days Before Johannesburg
- Speech by Jochen Flasbarth Panel discussion: Partnerships on their Way to Johannesburg World Bank Forum, Berlin, (May 2002);
- Speech by Angelika Zahrnt "Expectations for research from the standpoint of a practical sustainability policy" Speech held on the occasion of the kick-off meeting Winning the future - the contribution of socio-ecological research, (May 2002);
- Speech by Matthias Platzeck "Sustainable Spatial Development - More Than Just Empty Words?" Speech at the opening of the 2002 scientific plenary session of the Academy for Spatial and Regional Planning, Potsdam, (April 2002);
- Speech by Edda Müller "Sustainable Development as a Project in International Politics" Lecture given to a circle of experts of the Research Institute of the German Society for Foreign Policy, Berlin, (April 2002);
- Opening Speech by Volker Hauff Conference of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) on "Sustainability - The Next Step. 10 Years after Rio and 100 Days to Johannesburg", State Council Building, Berlin, (May 2002);
- Contribution by Margot Käßmann "The Spirit of Sustainability";
- Speech by Volker Hauff National Preliminary Conference on the Johannesburg Summit 2002, Berlin, (November 2001);
- Report on the kick-off meeting of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) in Berlin, Report of the Council's head, (September 2001).
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Last updated 4 August 2009