As Germany’s tenth largest city and being awarded the title of “European Green Capital” in 2017, Essen takes responsibility for sustainable actions on a local and international level:
On the 27th of February 2019, the City of Essen signed the resolution of the Association of German Cities "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Shaping Sustainability at Local Level". Thus, the city emphasizes its willingness to contribute to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In signing the model resolution, the City of Essen emphasizes its willingness to commit itself to sustainable development together with the urban society and to make its own measures more visible internally as well as externally. Lord Mayor Thomas Kufen received the award certificate “Signatory municipality of the 2030 Agenda” on the 16th of January 2020.
