Brief profile
The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) was first called into being by the German federal government in April 2001. The Council consists of 15 public figures. From 2020 it has been chaired by Werner Schnappauf, lawyer and consultant, former State Minister and former CEO of the Federation of the German Industries, with Imme Scholz, Acting Director of the German Development Institute (DIE) and honorary professor at the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, as Deputy Chairwoman.
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 Sustainability Code; recommendations regarding the German Sustainable Development Strategy, the global Sustainable Development Goals, climate policy, raw materials policy, fiscal sustainability and organic farming; the founding of the Hub for Sustainable Finance; the Germany-wide networking of players from all areas of society through the RENN (Regional Hubs for Sustainability Strategies); the subsidising of national sustainability projects via the Sustainability Culture Fund; 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
Work programme of the German Council for Sustainable Development, 2017 to 2019
Work Programme of the Council for Sustainable Development until June 2016 and Working Steps in 2014
Work programme of the German Council for Sustainable Development, 2010 to 2013
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.
RNE Rules of procedure 2020
Rules of procedure of the German Council for Sustainable Development as of 17 January 2020