7 and 8 October 2024 Hamburg Sustainability Conference brings the world together to forge new sustainability alliances.

    Logo: Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC)

    Website Hamburg Sustainability Conference

    The first Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) will take place on 7 and 8 October 2024. The HSC is an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Program (UNPD), the Michael Otto Foundation and the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The Conference brings together government representatives from around the world alongside leaders from the private sector, academia, civil society and international organisations in order to jointly develop solutions for the social-ecological transformation.

    The Conference is a new global development policy platform that creates space both for political issues, such as the governance of international organisations, and for business-based strategies for sustainable development. The goal is to develop joint approaches and concrete initiatives for progressing and accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were agreed by all the UN member states.



    Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
    In times of increasing tensions and armed conflicts, and in view of the global challenges caused by the climate crisis, pandemics and growing inequality, reaching a shared understanding with partners from around the world is crucially important. The HSC provides a platform that enables new alliances to be formed – alliances that are urgently needed, as it is only through international cooperation that we can tackle the major challenges of our time. Together, we will work to develop concrete solutions to these challenges, from a sustainable energy transition to a fairer financial system. And by ‘we’, I mean governments in the north and the south, as well as companies, trade unions, the scientific community and civil society. Because we can only be successful if we work together.
    Svenja Schulze German Development Minister

    Organisation of the Conference

    The Hamburg Sustainability Conference is presided over by the HSC Council. The Vice Chairs are Juliana Rotich (CEO of a Kenyan tech company) and Isabel de Saint Malo (Senior Advisor to the UNDP Administrator and former Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama).

    The Conference agenda is jointly set by the HSC’s international partners. This reflects the Conference’s aim of facilitating a collaborative dialogue between the Global South and the Global North on the structural issues of our time. A series of roundtable discussions prior to the Conference with stakeholders from politics, business and civil society plays a key role in setting the agenda.

    The HSC is a multi-year process. Numerous activities taking place across the year will help to ensure a sustainable impact in many parts of the world. Following the first Conference in 2024, further events are planned for 2025 and 2026. The Hamburg Sustainability Conference invites the residents of Hamburg to participate in the Conference discussions as part of the public events in the city centre.

    As at: 17/09/2024