How the 2030 Agenda is being implemented at GIZ
In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A lot has happened at GIZ since then: the 2030 Agenda is now an integral part of the planning, implementation and monitoring of all new projects.
Working on behalf of BMZ, GIZ managed around 25 measures as part of the 2030 Agenda Initiative and another 14 shorter-term measures through the 2030 Agenda Transformation Fund in 2019. These measures support partner countries in progressing towards sustainable development, for instance in adjusting development planning to the goals and principles of the 2030 Agenda, in mobilising the funding that is needed and in strengthening effective monitoring and review mechanisms. GIZ also builds on the principles of the Agenda in the projects it carries out on behalf of BMU, focusing on climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, and biodiversity conservation (SDGs 13, 14 and 15). BMZ and BMU are explicitly supporting the principle of accountability through the global Partners for Review project.
Internally, GIZ has also taken various steps to realise the goals: the 2030 Agenda is an integral part of the company’s three-year strategic plan and is incorporated 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, we carry out our 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 poverty and hunger. 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.
Integrated approach
The SDGs are indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. In Viet Nam, for instance, GIZ is supporting the government in achieving economic reforms that take account of all three aspects of sustainability.
Social Dimension of Sustainable Green Growth in Vietnam
Macroeconomic Reforms/ Green Growth
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. An example of this is 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.
Accountability
Implementation of the Agenda is reviewed at national, regional and global levels, and regular progress reports are published. Partners for Review is a global project which ensures this happens by bringing representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, and the scientific and academic communities together to share their experiences of documenting and reporting on progress towards achieving the goals. GIZ organises these opportunities for dialogue.
GRI standard 102-15; UNGC 7, 8, 9; The Code 5, 13