Information dissemination related to the Sustainable Development Goals on German local governmental websites

The purpose of this paper is to investigate information dissemination related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on German local governmental websites in metropolitan areas. With the growing importance of urban areas for sustainable development, the Association of German Cities recommended an official commitment to the SDGs of all cities. In this paper, the author analyzes which cities report about their commitment to the SDGs on their governmental websites, what thematic information with regard to the SDGs is published on these websites and the role of partnerships and citizen participation in relation to the SDGs.

Content analysis of local governmental websites of the 15 largest German cities was conducted in July 2018.

The SDGs found their way into several German cities and their corresponding governmental websites. The most prevalent topics linked to the SDGs are education, climate protection, fair trade, energy and mobility. The cities have different strategies in informing about the goals. Most cities emphasize the role of citizen participation and partnerships on their websites.

The analysis of websites can only provide a snapshot of reality as the content changes permanently. Further, a limited number of cities were considered which should be expanded in future research.

This study shows examples of German cities raising awareness on the SDGs and demonstrates gaps in doing so. It can help other cities in identifying possibilities and opportunities to deal with the SDGs and raise awareness on them by publishing related information on governmental websites.