Localising the SDG:s of the 2030 Agenda

The 17 Goals and 169 targets are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that they are all achieved by 2030. All three dimensions of sustainable development are managed in the 2030 Agenda, the social dimension, the ecological dimension as well as the economic dimension. The interconnectedness of the 2030 Agenda allow for all three dimensions to be targeted in the same efforts. No single goal is to be achieved at the cost of any other.

Global challenges are reflected also on the local level. The 2030 Agenda resolution clearly states the responsibility of the local and regional authorities, and increasingly, city leaders see their priorities for local progress linked to solving global challenges and vice versa. This is as true for the City of Malmo as it is for numerous world cities in the frontlines for sustainable development.

We act locally and contribute globally

Already in 2015, when the UN member countries agreed upon the 2030 Agenda as the universal action plan for sustainable development in the years to come, the City of Malmö was one of the first cities worldwide to embrace the global ambition. In A declaration of cities commitment to the 2030 sustainable development agenda, the City of Malmö committed to develop a holistic and integrated development strategy for sustainable development, or a Local 2030 Agenda. The main focus for this effort has been the integration of the SDGs in steering and management systems, using the weight and power of existing structures. As of 2020, the 17 SDGs are recognised as the long-term orientation in the City goal structure. In the City budget, the overall steering document of the City, every prioritization is connected to one or several SDGs, based on whether the prioritization contribute directly or indirectly to the fulfilment of the particular SDGs.

The politically passed Strategy for localising the SDGs in the City of Malmö recognises the focus on integration in existing steering and management systems. The four other equally important development processes for localising the SDGs are recognised as sustainable development through operational development, planned communication and participation for learning and support, increased knowledge for conscious decisions and innovative partnerships that make a difference.

Strategy for localising the SDG:s in the City of Malmö

Making the SDGs our own

Every actor committing to the 2030 Agenda need to localise the goals, targets and efforts to make them relevant, comprehensive and strong in the local context. A first, and developing, attempt to translate the SDGs to a Malmö context is the Sustainability Report 2019. Backed up by the identification of some one hundred relevant local key performance indicators, the Sustainability Report of 2019 monitors the Malmö progress of all 17 SDGs on a society level.

Voluntary Local Review (VLR) City of Malmö 2021

Voluntary Local Review, VLR, is a study of the progress towards the 2030 Agenda at the local level. The reviews are reported to the UN and aim at facilitating the work of cities and countries around the world in reaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Similar reports have been done on a national level each year since the 2030 Agenda was adopted. The City of Malmö was part of the Swedish delegation at the UN High-Level-Political-Forum (HLPF) for Sustainable Development as a local representative when Sweden reported for the first time in 2017.

By signing the Voluntary Local Review Declaration in 2019, the City of Malmö committed to use the 17 SDGs as a framework for its local contribution to the global work for a sustainable development, and to report the working process and progress to the UN.

Malmö, Stockholm, Uppsala and Helsingborg are the first Swedish cities to do a Voluntary Local Review.

Contact us for the full version of Voluntary Local Review City of Malmö – A review of the city’s steering towards the Sustainable Development Goals.