The City of Freiburg (Germany) will soon publish its first Sustainability Report, a 100-page document that determines which urban activities contribute to sustainability goals, how financial resources are used, and what actions are available to further drive sustainable urban development. The ICLEI member has developed structures and instruments for sustainability monitoring in order to focus urban actions towards sustainability principles. The document will be released in conjunction with the 2015 – 2016 double budget.

Dieter Salomon, the Mayor of Freiburg, has stated that combining finance and sustainability reporting has the capacity for more comprehensive municipal actions, and is unique nationwide. He also defined sustainability in the context of Freiburg and other small cities and towns as a combination of ecological responsibility, economic growth and life quality. In order to connect sustainability goals with the new municipal budget law, Freiburg´s Regional Council has selected five focal sectors to be represented in the budget and named six associated departments: children/youth & family; property and housing; social affairs and senior citizens; forestry and parks; civil engineering; and personnel.

The combination of financial and sustainability reporting has been developed in the context of the research and development network Sustainable Local Authorities in Germany in collaboration with the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. Since 2011 it has been developed in close cooperation with the city treasury project group Finance Freiburg 2015.

For more information, visit the City of Freiburg website [in German].