Shaping Change Sustainably
Sustainability has been at the top of the agenda of the City of Kiel for many years: Masterplan Climate Action, first German Zero Waste City, Küstenkraftwerk Kiel (coastal generating plant), Zukunftsdialog Kiel 2042 (dialogue about the future in Kiel 2042), international partnerships and implementation of the 2030 Agenda – the list of activities is long.
To be sustainable – this also always means cooperation and participation – both within and outside the city administration. In addition to working closely with clubs, associations, initiatives and dedicated citizens, it is the Kiel universities and their students who, together with the City of Kiel, shape the future in a sustainable way. The cooperation between the City of Kiel and the international students at the School of Sustainability is unique in Germany.
Climate protecting city Kiel.100%
Kiel has been a climate protecting city since 1995. Our goal is climate neutrality - as quickly as possible.
The "Masterplan 100% Climate Action" envisages various measures to reduce damaging greenhouse gas emissions by 95 percent in comparison to 1990 and to halve the energy consumption. Climate protection in Kiel has become an even higher priority since the "Climate Emergency" proclamation in May 2019. Bringing climate protecting measures forward should help achieve the goal of climate neutrality as quickly as possible.
Zero Waste City Kiel
Prevent waste, conserve resources - Kiel is on its way to becoming a Zero.Waste.City.
By preventing waste, we want to reduce the wastage of our valuable resources and thereby make a contribution to increased climate protection.
Kiel was the first city in Germany to join the "Zero Waste Europe" international network, and together with Kiel residents the city has developed a zero-waste concept with more than 100 waste prevention measures. Work has been underway since 2020 to implement these measures. They help to prevent waste from being produced in the first place and to recycle raw materials.
Kiel 2042 Zukunftsdialog
How will we live in 2042? What opportunities and challenges will Kiel be facing in 2042?
With a view to the 800th anniversary of the city in 2042, the City of Kiel has called for participation in a dialogue about the future. This milestone, which is still almost 20 years away, offers opportunities to already address the city’s important future issues today.
Through various events and formats, the whole of society in Kiel is invited to participate in the process.
Mobility transition - The tram network is coming
Improving quality of life, boosting climate protection, relieving the burden on roads, improving air quality and creating more space for city residents – a new public transport system in Kiel has a major role. The decision has been taken: Kiel will get a tram network to help achieve these goals.
A lot will happen by 2035. In order for us to achieve all these goals, we need your participation. Through many events, you can get involved locally in your district or digitally, and work with us to shape the mobility transition in Kiel.
Kiel is a Fairtrade Town
Kiel has held the title of "Fairtrade Town" since 2013. The city has already been recertified three times, most recently in 2021.
A network of clubs, associations, schools, churches, retail outlets, cafés and restaurants has developed in Kiel, which offer Fairtrade products or educational projects on the subject of fair trade. And the network is growing!
Many products on our shop shelves come from far away from the global south. The producers of these products often receive a very low income. They are the losers in the traditional, global trade chains. We consumers pay a fair price for Fairtrade-certified products that are produced in developing countries.
Implementation of the Agenda 2030
For Kiel and the world. Think globally. Act locally.
Prosperity, the environment, justice - the great challenges facing humanity affect us directly as Kiel residents - some more, some less.
The City of Kiel is a cosmopolitan, creative, social and environmentally conscious major city by the sea. It is committed to the 2030 Agenda and its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Cities and municipalities play an extremely important role in implementing the SDGs.
Kiel Sustainability Prize
The City of Kiel awards the Kiel Sustainability Prize for innovative ideas, concepts and projects, which combine the factors of "social justice", "economic viability" and "environment" in an exemplary and successful way to create sustainable solutions and make Kiel more liveable for us as well as the coming generations.
Every year, the jury highlights a different topic for the Kiel Sustainability Prize, so that a broad variety of dedicated stakeholders from society, business, educational institutions as well as clubs and associations can participate and be honoured for their sustainable actions. The awarding of the prize supports and anchors sustainable development in public awareness as a fundamental foundation for the future.
Tree nursery project Moshi Rural
The connection between Kiel and Moshi Rural district has existed for many years. In particular, the Evangelical parish, the Rafiki association and the Kiel's Doctors for Africa (Kieler Ärzte für Afrika) association have maintained close, friendly contact.
The decision to establish an official partnership was taken in November 2012. On 1 March 2013, the partnership agreement with the Moshi Rural district on Kilimanjaro was signed, with the goal of expanding the friendly relationship as well as supporting and further developing the implementation of projects for climate protection.
Since 2011, Kiel and Moshi Rural district have also been connected with each other through a climate partnership. The joint participation in African and climate change conferences boosts awareness of the importance of international cooperation in solving global challenges on both sides.
Cooperation City administration & School of Sustainability
Shaping change sustainably together – under this motto, the Kiel city administration and the Kiel School of Sustainability, based at Kiel University, decided in autumn 2019 to strengthen their cooperation and jointly advance Kiel's sustainability.
To address the key topics for cooperation, Kiel's mayor and the head of the Science Department, Renate Treutel, invited the approximately 60 international participants from the School of Sustainability to the council chamber at Kiel City Hall in October 2019. Employees of Kiel’s city administration presented the students with current questions related to the topics of Green City Kiel, Social City Kiel, Zero Waste City, Digital City Kiel, Climate Protecting City Kiel and Creative City Kiel.
This was followed by workshops on the individual fields of action. In addition to employees of the city administration and the participants from the School of Sustainability, students from Kiel University of Applied Sciences were also invited to develop specific ideas for tackling specific challenges in Kiel. The project ideas could be submitted by the end of January in the yooweedoo ideas contest 2020; some even made the final cut when the awards were announced at the end of March 2020.
