Sustainability Politics Barometer

What significance does sustainability have in politics and the federal administration in Germany? The Sustainability Politics Barometer, a study commissioned by the WWF, concludes that sustainability in the political arena – in contrast to the rhetoric of the federal government – is only prioritized to a limited extent. This survey of all German federal ministries and of all the parties represented in the German federal parliament, together with the supporting qualitative and quantitative analyses of documents, clearly shows that Germany is not at the “head of the class” but instead somewhere in the middle. While attempts to cooperate with civil society actors have certainly been intensified, in practice intensive cooperation between the ministries rarely takes place – despite institutions like the Committee of Permanent Secretaries for Sustainable Development, which was originally established with a view to improving coordination among the different departments. There is also not enough – at times very little – coordination between the federal government and federal state governments. In general sustainable development often does not have the priority given to other issues and the “requirements” of day-to-day work.