Reiner Hoffmann
Sustainable economic reform must go hand in hand with decent work on a thriving planet.

Chair of the Council; Former President German Trade Union Confederation; Member European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Gunda Röstel
For me, sustainability means holding our actions accountable to our grandchildren. Without self-censorship or fear of loss but instead grounded in good ideas and joy for what lies ahead.

Deputy Chair of the Council; Commercial Director Stadtentwässerung Dresden GmbH; Authorized Representative GELSENWASSER AG

Prof. Dr Katrin Böhning-Gaese
For me, sustainability means living in harmony with nature. We as human beings are able to lead a good life only in balance with the planet’s other living beings.

Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ; Professor Goethe University Frankfurt

Zarah Bruhn
Social innovators need greater visibility and support to realise their ideas. These are the people who shape the progress of our society and tackle the challenges of our time.

Social entrepreneur; Commissioner for Social Innovation at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); Founder and Managing Director socialbee

Katja Dörner
We will only solve global challenges like the climate crisis if the state, the economy and society pull together to anchor sustainability as a priority and common responsibility.

Mayor of the Federal City of Bonn

Saori Dubourg
We will only succeed in transforming our society into a value-oriented and resource-efficient one, if we can manage to consider social and environmental responsibility and economic success together at executive level.

Chair of the Management Board of Greiner AG

Tanja Gönner
Sustainable thinking is a never-ending, demanding process of negotiation on the principle that we only have one world to play with.

Director General Federation of German Industries (BDI)

Jörg-Andreas Krüger
We can only overcome these individual crises – including the nature and climate crises – if we tackle them holistically. If we neglect or postpone one crisis, we will struggle to tackle the others.

President Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU)

Prof. Dr Mark G. Lawrence
How can I shape my life in a way that fosters sustainability? This question links individual action and social transformation. Helping to answer this question, especially through innovative evidence-based approaches, has driven me for years.

Scientific Director Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS)

Prof. Dr Kai Niebert
Gone are the days when sustainability solely meant trying to prevent social or environmental disasters. We must aspire to improve people’s lives and the state of nature. Sustainability should be the promise of a better life!

President German League for Nature and Environment (DNR)

Hubertus Paetow
Sustainable development means facilitating the best possible living conditions without compromising the potential for future generations. This is only achievable if we build the right sustainability indicators into our functioning social market economy.

President German Agricultural Society (DLG)

Myriam Rapior
The greatest challenge in the coming years will be learning to function within planetary boundaries. We need to transform each and every economic process at play to minimise their impact on nature and the environment.

Vice President German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) – Friends of the Earth Germany

Dr Werner Schnappauf
Sustainable development requires greatest possible recognition of commonalities as well as acceptance of differences.

Lawyer and consultant; Former Minister of State

Dr Franziska Tanneberger
Sustainability – along with peaceful coexistence – is one of the greatest challenges facing us as human beings. Both always start with us and in small ways. And helps us see the big picture and our responsibility for all future generations.

Director Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC)

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
Various transformations need to take place, and the greatest challenge will be shaping these transitions in a way that reduces inequality.

Former Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development

About the Council

The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) advises the Federal Government on issues of sustainability policy. It acts in this capacity as an independent entity, and since 2001 its members have been appointed every three years by the Federal Government. The Council consists of 15 public figures, comprising individuals from civil society, the business sector, the scientific community and the political arena. The Council also carries out its own projects aimed at advancing the topic of sustainability in practical terms. In addition, it helps shape topically focused momentum within policy and societal dialogue. The Council is supported in its activities by an administrative office based in Berlin.

Brief profile

The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) was first called into being by the German federal government in April 2001. The Council currently consists of 15 public figures. Since 2023, Reiner Hoffmann, former president of the German Trade Union Confederation, has been the Chair of the Council, deputised by Gunda Röstel, Commercial Director Stadtentwässerung Dresden GmbH and Authorized Representative GELSENWASSER AG.

The Council is tasked with:

  • generating contributions to the German Sustainable Development Strategy
  • specifying concrete areas of action and projects
  • making sustainability a public issue of vital importance

In selecting the topics it deals with and the forms of action it employs, the Council operates independently. Results of its ongoing work include the German Sustainability Code; recommendations regarding the German Sustainable Development Strategy, the global Sustainable Development Goals, climate policy, raw materials policy, circular economy and fiscal sustainability; Germany-wide networking of players from all areas of society through the RENN (Regional Hubs for Sustainability Strategies); strategy dialogue with city mayors on sustainable urban development; as well as articles on the subject of sustainable business, among other things. The Council is supported in its activities by an administrative office.

Further details of its work and functioning can be found in its Rules of Procedure.

Work programme

To the subpage: Work programme of the German Council for Sustainable Development 2023-2026

Document

Work programme of the German Council for Sustainable Development 2023-2026

(only in German)

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Work programme of the German Council for Sustainable Development, 2017 to 2019

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Work Programme of the Council for Sustainable Development until June 2016 and Working Steps in 2014

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Work programme of the German Council for Sustainable Development, 2010 to 2013

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Rules of Procedure

Here you will find the rules of procedure of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) in the version of 17 January 2020.

Document

RNE Rules of procedure 2020

Rules of procedure of the German Council for Sustainable Development as of 17 January 2020

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External Links