Wuppertal Institute Presents Suggestions from "TEAM Sustainability"

In 2019, government action will focus on updating the first sustainability strategy for North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). With the aim of making a constructive-critical contribution to the further development of the target and indicator system of the NRW sustainability strategy, the TEAM Sustainability has drawn up suggestions for improving the NRW sustainability indicators report.
The TEAM Sustainability is made up of sustainability-relevant social actors from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and thus combines different social perspectives for the sustainability debate. The TEAM Sustainability serves as the advisory board, which discursive accompaniment the research project for the "Case Study Sustainability Strategy NRW" at the Wuppertal Institute and thus indirectly involved in the development of the Sustainability Strategy NRW from the stakeholder perspective.. The TEAM has been involved in the discussion process on the state sustainability strategy from the very beginning.

"In the name of TEAM Sustainability, we are pleased to hand over the recommendations on the indicators and objectives of the NRW Sustainability Indicators Report and the NRW Sustainability Strategy to the state government of NRW. The statement includes structural impulses and SDG-specific information. By bundling the multifaceted sustainability discourse in TEAM Sustainability, impulses for the consideration of central interactions between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will also be addressed," says Prof. Dr. Manfred Fischedick, Vice-President of the Wuppertal Institute.
Among the structural references, the orientation towards the federal sustainability strategy, the strengthening of vertical integration with the municipalities, the expansion of Internet-based reporting and the structuring along the SDGs are to be emphasised.

Dorothea Schostok, Research Fellow in the Division Future Energy and Mobility Structures at the Wuppertal Institute, highlights for the SDG-specific remarks: "In addition to the definition of suitable indicators, the definition of quantified and scheduled objectives is crucial in order to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs in their breadth and depth. The federal indicators and nationwide objectives can serve as a starting point and can be adapted in the light of the state specific potentials and challenges in order to determine an adequate contribution of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia".

The comments and recommendations of the TEAM Sustainability on the NRW Sustainability Indicator Report and further information on the research project "Experiences of Implementing State-Wide Sustainability Strategies – Case Study: Sustainability Strategy NRW" can be found under the links below.