Germany’s Third Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the HLPF 2025

    Making of the VNR – rethinking reporting and making it a joint effort

    Germany's process for drafting the Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is based on the same nationwide whole-of-government and whole-of-society participation approach that was used for developing Germany's national Sustainable Development Strategy. When Germany's third VNR was drafted, the whole-of-society stakeholder participation process in particular was further expanded.

    Germany is working actively to ensure integrated, genuine, participatory and evidence-based implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Together with other EU member states, Germany has drafted and submitted key messages for the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

    The messages highlight the following points:


    Projections on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at UN Headquarters in New York

    “Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) play a crucial role at each HLPF and this year’s theme by showcasing national progress, challenges, and best practices while promoting inclusive, science-based, and evidence-driven solutions for sustainable development. VNRs are a cornerstone of this process, so their peer-learning character and accountability need to be enhanced. We call for honest and action-oriented VNRs that faithfully reflect the progress made and identify challenges and gaps going forward. In this context, the EU and its Member States VALUE the participation of all stakeholders from all parts of society, including civil society, and WELCOME the increasing number of regional and local authorities carrying out Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) and Voluntary Subnational Reviews (VSR) and recognise their contribution to strengthening the localisation of the SDGs as well as accountability by bridging the gap between global agendas and local realities, fostering citizens’ awareness and ownership of the SDGs and overcoming silo approaches in policy making. We ENCOURAGE all Member States to develop their VNRs in a way that is as participatory as possible, including their VNR presentations.”

    VNR 2016

    • Political context. One year after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the focus was on implementing the 17 SDGs.
    • Thematic focus. Germany reported on progress made on implementing the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs.
    • Participation. Stakeholder engagement.
    • National SDG monitoring. Detailed report on all 17 Goals; VNR directed readers to online updates on the global set of indicators.

    VNR 2021

    • Political context. Heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Thematic focus. The principle of leaving no one behind and the challenges posed by the pandemic.
    • National SDG monitoring. For every single SDG, information on status of relevant indicators and examples to illustrate trends in the status as reflected in the 2021 Indicator Report, including a “weather” symbol.
    • Participation. Critical exchange of ideas through dialogue fora and written comments.

    VNR 2025

    • Political context. Growing geopolitical tensions, conflicts, crises and wars; 2030 Agenda coming under pressure. At the national level, the VNR was drafted in a period during which a new government was formed and national policies were readjusted.
    • Thematic focus. Focus on six areas of transformation and on national and international activities; inclusion of new topics (such as spillover effects).
    • Participation. Comprehensive national stakeholder engagement and integration of unedited stakeholder contributions in the report and on the VNR website. Exchange and peer learning with partner countries on the VNR drafting process.
    • National SDG monitoring. The VNR is based on the 2025 update of the German Sustainable Development Strategy and on the 2023 Off-Track Indicator Report, which presented those SDG indicators on which Germany was off track.

    All German VNRs are based on the German Sustainable Development Strategy (GSDS), which was first published in 2002 and has since been updated regularly. The aim of all VNRs has been to give an international audience insights into various aspects of Germany's processes and policies in the field of sustainability. Germany's third VNR in 2025 has continued with the integrated reporting used in the VNR 2021 and systematically developed it further. Stakeholder participation in the GSDS and in the present VNR has also evolved continuously over time. As a result, Germany's VNRs include increasingly self-critical reflections concerning national challenges and obstacles.

    1. Whole-of-government approach

    This approach serves to ensure the participation of various ministries and levels of government.

    • The German Sustainable Development Strategy (GSDS) was drafted by means of a comprehensive participation process. The VNR draws on the processes used for developing the GSDS and on its content.
    • In addition to the GSDS, the VNR also draws on the reports compiled between 2022 and 2024 by the seven German transformation teams. These reports were drafted and harmonised by means of an interministerial process.
    • Interministerial talks were held on the structure and the individual draft texts of the VNR. All ministries were invited to take part in the dialogue events with stakeholders and to be involved in the drafting process.
    • In the course of follow-up meetings to the High-Level Political Forum, there were also discussions with members of parliament and in specialised committees of the German Bundestag (such as the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development and the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development) regarding their expectations of the VNR 2025.
    • The VNR takes on board feedback from the various ministries concerning the drafting of the 2023 Off-Track Indicator Report published by the German Government.
    • Various dialogue formats (for example the advisory board dialogue set up by wpn2030 and SDSN Germany) were used to channel input from academia into the decision-making on the structure and content of the VNR. The German Government also used selected exchange formats with municipalities to present to them the VNR document structure and process and to encourage them to participate.
    • A regular peer partner exchange with government officials from six partner countries (Finland, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa and Thailand) helped strengthen a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities of ambitious VNR reporting.

    2. Whole-of-society approach

    In addition to engagement with government entities, there was also engagement with society at large.

    • Germany's VNR is based on the GSDS, which was updated in 2025 with the comprehensive participation of the public (see also dialogue process on the German Sustainable Development Strategy).
    • The German Government invited representatives of civil society, the private sector, academia, municipalities, Länder (federal states) and youth to get involved in drafting the VNR.
    • It used existing institutionalised dialogue fora with all stakeholder groups to exchange ideas on the structure, key questions and draft texts of the Review.
    • A broad range of stakeholder groups was invited to submit contributions of their own, based on key questions, paralleling the texts drafted by the government.
    • The German Government used existing dialogue formats with stakeholder groups (specialised advisory boards, academic networks, civil society conferences) to facilitate exchange on, and participation in, the VNR.
    • Input gained through German stakeholder participation in the HLPF 2024 informed the planning of the VNR process and structure.
    • Moreover, an analysis was made of stakeholder feedback on Germany's second VNR in 2021, and these insights were used to plan for the VNR 2025 and for the drafting process.
    • For example, a continuous exchange took place from September 2024 to April 2025 between stakeholders and the German Government on Germany's VNR and the website.
    • 17 June 2025: Submission of the VNR to the United Nations
    • 22 July 2025: Presentation of the Review at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York
    • 23 July 2025: Organisation of a “VNR Lab” within the framework of the HLPF 2025 in order to share Germany's experience of drafting the VNR 2025 with the international community and foster mutual exchange (tbc)
    • 24 June 2025: Seventh German HLPF conference: Zukunft nachhaltig gestalten: Fortschritte und Perspektiven (Building a sustainable future: progress and outlook)
    • [DATE] Side event with peer partners on the role of peer learning for improved reporting and accelerated implementation (tbc)

    Follow-up process on Germany's VNR 2025

    • Interministerial reflection on feedback and insights from the VNR presentation at the HLPF in New York and their significance for the German Sustainable Development Strategy
    • Reflection with the delegation and stakeholders on feedback and insights from the VNR presentation at the HLPF in New York
    • Reflection together with stakeholders, through existing formats, on the VNR process
    • Reflection on the VNR process and next steps with countries involved in the 2025 peer learning exercise
    • Incorporation of lessons learned in UN formats in 2026 (for example VNR workshops held by UN DESA and the High-Level Political Forum)

    New content coming soon.

    As at: 17.06.2025