In May 2012, the 20th anniversary of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development took place - again in Rio de Janeiro.
Against this background, the research and development project "Rio+20 on the ground" was developed and funded in Germany.
The project drew a comprehensive picture of municipal commitment to sustainability in Germany, analysed and highlighted its potential for innovation in particular and compared it internationally. The project was aimed at all stakeholders, networks, institutions and organisations that promote sustainability processes in the areas of business, politics, the environment, education and culture as well as in churches. This was flanked by studies of the federal states.

The "Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20" took place in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. In preparation for the Rio+20 conference, the nation states were asked to assess their own experiences and progress towards sustainable development, identify problems and open up constructive perspectives for future development.

In the first phase of the "Rio+20 on the ground" research project, which ran until June 2012, an overview of local Agenda 21 initiatives and the commitment to sustainability at municipal level in Germany was compiled. This highlighted the innovative power of various stakeholder groups with regard to the necessary transformation process for sustainable development. Actors and sustainability processes from the fields of business, education, culture and church involvement were also analysed in order to draw a comprehensive picture of local commitment to sustainability and to be able to make an international comparison. Among other things, the project built on the Netzwerk21Kongress, which has facilitated a practice-orientated exchange of experience between sustainability stakeholders at municipal level every year since 2007. In addition to analysing past practice, the aim was also to look to the future: In a participatory communication process with a wide range of stakeholders, the aim was to develop perspectives on how sustainable development in Germany could be promoted even more strongly than before at municipal level. In this context, recommendations for action were also developed on how politics and society could better utilise and support the innovative potential of local sustainability initiatives. The results and recommendations for action were published in a practice-orientated brochure. In connection with the research project, the development of three in-depth federal state studies (NRW; Thuringia, Bavaria) was also planned.
The publications can be downloaded free of charge under "Further information".

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Mira Klausen