The 2030 Agenda – how it is being implemented at GIZ
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since then, much has been done at GIZ. The agreement is now anchored firmly in the planning, implementation and monitoring of all new projects.
The 2030 Agenda provides the overarching guiding framework for GIZ’s work. The company advises countries on how to implement their objectives in line with the Agenda. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ manages, among other things, around 30 measures as part of an initiative programme. This supports partner countries on the road to sustainable development in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda, addressing topics such as decentralisation and municipal development in Benin. GIZ also builds on the principles of the Agenda in the projects it carries out on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), including the Sino-German Urbanisation Partnership.
Internally, GIZ has likewise taken various steps to realise the goals: the 2030 Agenda is an integral part of the company’s three-year strategic plan and is integrated into the guidance on the Joint Procedural Reform for BMZ projects. In addition, GIZ has developed internal exchange formats and numerous materials to help integrate the Agenda into project planning, implementation and advisory services. In doing so, it carries out its projects in line with five principles:
UNIVERSALITY
To achieve sustainable development, every country needs to change. The 2030 Agenda therefore applies universally to all countries of the world – developing countries, emerging economies and industrialised nations alike. In Namibia, for example, GIZ is contributing to the country’s efforts to create the necessary conditions for implementing the 2030 Agenda.
Agenda 2030 Partnership – Sustainable Development Goals Initiative Namibia
LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND
All human beings should be able to lead a decent life free from hunger and poverty. In future, no one should be left behind or excluded from social development. To achieve this, GIZ is supporting efforts in Malawi, for example, to ensure that 2.2 million schoolchildren from poor families receive school meals.
School meals and employment promotion programmes: prospects for people living in extreme poverty
INTEGRATED APPROACH
The SDGs are indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. In Viet Nam, for example, GIZ is supporting the government in its reform efforts, which take account of all three aspects of sustainability.
Sustainable economy: green growth in Viet Nam
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
This principle embodies a new understanding of global cooperation that aims to preserve the world’s vital natural resources through partnerships and promote prosperity and peace. Governments, business, civil society groups, citizens, and the scientific and academic communities will all play their part in this. For instance in the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, an alliance of state and private sector actors that aims to achieve greater sustainability and better working conditions in cocoa farming in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire.
PRO-PLANTEURS: Professionalising Cocoa Producers and their Organisations in Sustainable Cocoa Production
ACCOUNTABILITY
Implementation of the Agenda is reviewed at national, regional and global levels, and regular progress reports are published. Through the global project Partners for Review, for example, which brings representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, and the scientific and academic communities together to share their experiences of documenting and ensuring accountability for the goals. GIZ organises these opportunities for exchange.
Partners for Review
Andreas König, Country Director in Benin
‘The 2030 Agenda enables us to better justify reform ideas and involve local private sector actors to a greater extent.’