This year, BUKEA once again made a multifaceted contribution to the HSC. In addition to curating the “Cities of the Future” theme area together with the Senate Chancellery, BUKEA also covered the areas of circular economy, education for sustainable development, and more.
Thinking about circular economy strategies together!
In light of SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production, the Technical University of Hamburg, FabCity GmbH, and BUKEA organized a workshop at the HSC. The focus was on how cities can become more resilient, equitable, and sustainable through the circular economy. State Secretary Alexander von Vogel welcomed the participants together with international experts and emphasized the importance of the circular economy as a forward-looking model:
“The circular economy offers us the opportunity to design cities in such a way that they conserve resources and ensure quality of life—for current and future generations.”
Hamburg as a pioneer in the circular economy
The city promotes and finances numerous initiatives and projects, including the Hamburg Environmental Partnership with over 1,700 companies, the “UfR” funding program for material and resource efficiency, and the “PROFI Umwelt” program for innovative, sustainable products and services. It also has further plans to anchor the circular economy in Hamburg.
The HSC workshop made it clear that individual projects are not enough. Hamburg is therefore working on a circular economy strategy that brings together administration, business, science, and civil society. As part of the “Kreislaufstadt – Circular City” project, practical tools and guidelines for this have already been developed in collaboration with the German Institute for Urban Studies (Difu).
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2025 showed that Hamburg is on its way from individual pilot projects to an integrated circular economy strategy.
Education for Sustainable Development
Senator Katharina Fegebank represented the FHH at the panel discussion “Governance of Learning for Sustainable Urban Climate Action,” organized by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. Among other things, Hamburg's role as a center for research and education was highlighted.
Hamburg has been a member of the Global Network Learning Cities since 2019 and, together with Shanghai, coordinates the “Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD) cluster with over 120 cities worldwide. Hamburg also works closely with partner cities such as Accra (Ghana) and the Thai network of Learning Cities and regularly hosts international education weeks. The aim is to jointly promote innovative solutions for sustainable development and strengthen the exchange of best practice examples. Through projects such as KITA21, the Hamburg Climate Schools, and the ESD Toolbox for vocational training, Hamburg is also setting standards nationwide.
With these activities, Hamburg is underlining its role as a pioneer city for climate education and sustainable development – both locally and globally.
