German Sustainability Action Days - German Council for Sustainable Development

The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) launched the German Sustainability Action Days on the occasion of the United Nations World Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012.

Auf dem Foto sieht man neun Freiwillige, die mit Harken und Spaten vor einem Gebäude stehen. |Large participation in the German Sustainability Action Days 2017||||||||||

Kick-off event of the Action Days 2024 at the University of Hamburg. Photo: © Myriam Rapior|Large participation in the German Sustainability Action Days 2017||||||||||

The goal of the Action Days is to make exemplary commitment visible throughout Germany, to attract public attention to the topic of sustainability, and to encourage more people to act sustainably. Everyone can change something for the better. With this in mind, the German Sustainability Action Days are aimed at private individuals, clubs, associations, initiatives, foundations, schools, kindergartens, universities, churches, companies, social institutions, environmental and development associations, municipalities, public utilities, authorities, offices and ministries.

Since 2015, the Action Days have been part of the European Sustainable Development Week, an initiative launched by Germany, France and Austria in which people from all over Europe can participate. From 2022 to 2024, the German Sustainability Action Days were a direct component of the Joint Action for Sustainable Development. The fact that the ‘Joint Action for Sustainable Development’ has no longer been implemented by the German Council for Sustainable Development but by Engagement Global since 1 January 2025 does not change this. More information here: https://gemeinschaftswerk-nachhaltigkeit.de/en/aktions-tage

German Sustainability Action Days 2024

From September 18 to October 8, 2024, various participants presented their activities on the platform of the Joint Action for Sustainable Development and invited people to participate. In sum, they reached an impressive number of 1,925 activities – in over 420 cities. The focus was on the topic of biodiversity to draw the attention to the dramatic decline in biological diversity. Out of all activities, 187 actions addressed the issue of biodiversity.