Sustainable Cologne

Contributing to climate protection is as easy as drinking tap water rather than bottled water. Doing so not only reduces plastic waste, but also stops CO2 being emitted unnecessarily during bottle production, filling, and transportation. Since 2020, the Cologne-based utility provider RheinEnergie has been involved in the Germany-wide Drinking Water Protects the Environment project. To speed the transition away from bottled water, so-called water neighborhoods are being set up across Germany. In Cologne, RheinEnergie has selected the district of Nippes to be the city’s first water neighborhood. Currently, it’s the largest water neighborhood in Germany.

Plans, which have already been implemented to some extent, envisage public drinking water and refilling stations in neighborhoods and schools, not to mention educational offerings, info and talk events on switching to tap water, as well as advice for companies, authorities, and educational institutions. The message is clear: we can protect the climate – by turning on the tap.

Cologne wants to be climate neutral by 2035 and has made various commitments to this end, including the expansion of solar power. Cologne City Council adopted the city-wide goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2035 in the summer of 2021.

Back in 1993, when it joined the Climate Alliance of European cities and indigenous rainforest peoples, the City of Cologne volunteered to meet some ambitious climate targets. The first steps towards transforming Cologne into a climate-neutral city were made in the form of the funding programs such as Building Renovation and Renewable Energies – Climate-Friendly Living and the Guidelines for Climate Protection in the Implementation of Non-City New Construction Projects.

In addition to preparing an advisory report for a climate-neutral Cologne, the City Council established the Climate Council Cologne in 2020. The Climate Council sets out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from key industries across the city.

Intelligent city planning requires teamwork.

Adapting to climate change is a holistic process. It impacts various spheres of activity. It is a question of forward-looking, intelligent urban planning and climate change-compatible landscape management and green space development. In this context, climate change adapted development and re-densification, greener roofs and courtyards, multifunctional areas that absorb heavy rainfall, and measures to improve the urban climate in densely built-up areas are all key.

A key task – especially against the background of urban growth and demographic change – is the issue of health and climate change. The sustainable management of soils, the protection and safeguarding of biodiverse biotopes are also important issues in the context of climate change.

To initiate important projects and become climate neutral, the city is focusing on collaborating with key partners and various stakeholders, as well as getting the urban community to become actively involved.

Fairtrade Deutschland e.V. supports disadvantaged producer families in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and helps them autonomously improve their living and working conditions. The first Fairtrade product available in Germany was coffee. The independent initiative awards the Fairtrade label to products that are traded fairly and meet international Fairtrade standards. It does not sell products itself. Hence, disadvantaged producers can sell their produce for stabile prices above those of the world market.

Fairtrade has been at home in Cologne since its foundation some thirty years ago. Meanwhile, in Germany the brand’s portfolio runs to 7,800 products.

The Zero Waste concept backed by Cologne City Council is about promoting a lifestyle – whether it be business or otherwise – in Cologne that produces as little waste as possible, gets the most from raw materials, and prioritizes sustainability in a responsible and consistent manner.

Since 2022, numerous stakeholders have been involved in creating the concept. Whether it’s citizens, local businesses, retailers, educational institutions, event organizers, clubs and associations, the entire city community has been working together to develop the ideas and strategies that will impact it.

Beyond repair cafes

Cologne’s zero-waste concept will become an integral part of producing manufactured goods, reducing transport packaging, rolling out biodegradable dog waste bags, offering a wider range of reusable to-go packaging at things like major events, and promoting repair cafés and free stores. However, on their own ideas and schemes like these are not sufficient to make Cologne a zero-waste city. That is why the extent to which the European Zero Waste Program’s requirements for certification can be met is also being examined as part of the concept. The first steps in this regard have already been taken.

The United Nations' Agenda 2030 serves as the overarching framework for municipal sustainability strategies. The Agenda sets 17 ambitious goals – the so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – for sustainable development. For the first time, it also emphasizes the responsibility of municipalities for social, equitable and environmentally friendly development. With Cologne Perspectives 2030+ urban strategy, Cologne 2021 has developed a concept that incorporates the UN's 17 goals as guidelines for sustainable urban development. The objective is to strengthen Cologne as a sustainable city.

Cologne’s community gardening network

Cologne’s gardening community (Kölner Gemeinschaftsgarten) runs an annual seed festival that won 1st place in the city’s Environmental Conservation competition, provides advice on urban gardening issues, networking and, of course, plants and seeds!

The network, which was founded back in 2016 in accordance with the Urban Gardening Manifesto, is committed to environmental education, climate protection, conservation, biodiversity, and sustainability.

Cologne’s gardening community stakeholders want to foster awareness of green concepts in Cologne, advocate for more edible greenery, protect existing gardens and promote new ones.

The networkers are in no doubt that urban gardens will not only help Cologne achieve its global climate protection goals and catch up with the international standards of green urban development, but that community gardens also provide ideal experimental spaces for high-quality urban living.

The Edible City ...

Exploring, gardening, and picking are welcome.

Cherries at the playground, a fig tree on Chlodwigplatz, apple trees in the Belgisches Viertel district, and green beans sprouting along on the greenbelt (Grüngürtel).

The Urban Agriculture and Edible City (Urbane Landwirtschaft und Essbare Stadt) committee of the Food Council for Cologne and the Surrounding Area (Ernährungsrats für Köln und Umgebung) have developed a concept for the Edible City in collaboration with the Parks Department and other stakeholders. The aim is to promote food sovereignty and regional food production. Edible cities are for the people, foster a sense of community and support self-sufficiency.

The Edible City concept embraces gardening, especially the cultivation of fruits, herbs, and vegetables in urban spaces, i.e., on the balcony, in the garden, in front of the house, on the street beach, on squares, or schoolyards and roofs. Biodiversity and the climate benefit from green oases, and so of course do the residents of cities.

Edible City Cologne, an innovative project that organizes things like workshops and adoption partnerships with the city, was awarded the "Best Overall Approach - Edible City" prize. The prize was awarded at the 2023 Edible Cities Conference in Barcelona. At Edible Cities conferences, representatives of cities from all over the world address pressing urban development issues.

Cologne is on the way to becoming a zero-waste city. Nowhere else are there so many zero-waste stores... At Tante Olga, at migori in the Südstadt district and at many other zero-waste stores, you can buy pasta, rice, lentils, muesli and much more without the environmentally harmful packaging. Pasta etc. is put into self-brought jars, boxes or bottles that are also available in the stores.

Other Cologne projects include the Cologne-based startup Vytal, which since 2019 has introduced reusable take-away containers in more than 5,000 restaurants to reduce packaging waste, The-Good-Food project, which offers food that does not conform to conventional supermarket standards, and K.R.A.K.E., the Cologne-based Rhine clean-up squad. Together, these projects show how versatile sustainability can be and how much every single person can contribute to climate protection.

Cologne is and should remain a place of diversity. Diversity management is concerned with implementing diversity strategies, the reasons for which vary. Companies implement them to comply with legal requirements, for example. Some feel this will bring them benefits, while others act according to their convictions. 

In deciding to establish a diversity management program in Cologne, the city is demonstrating its commitment to and respect for diversity, as well as its conviction that diversity offers the potential for sustainable development.

Diversity cannot constitute grounds for discrimination.

According to the General Equality Act (Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetz or AGG), institutions are legally obligated to provide freedom from discrimination.

"No one shall be discriminated against on the grounds of ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity."

Towards sustainable urban development

End poverty, zero hunger, quality education, gender equality and reduced inequalities – these are 5 of the United Nations Agenda 2030's 17 sustainability goals. In Cologne, the Agenda serves as a compass for sustainable and social urban development.

Inequalities also exist in cities that are perceived to be "open". Social inequalities impact societal stability and hence social sustainability. In other words, only by promoting diversity can we act sustainably. The goal is to turn Cologne into a city of diversity, openness, public spirit, and cohesion.

The University of Cologne wants things on campus to be Fair. That is why the range of fair-trade products on offer at the university's coffee bars, refectories and senate meetings is growing all the time.

Since 2018, the University of Cologne has been honored every year for its commitment to promoting fair global trade. Various criteria must be met to receive the Fairtrade University award, which has been presented to universities and colleges by Fairtrade Deutschland e.V. since 2014. The University of Cologne meets the criteria on multiple fronts. Here are just a few:

• The Cologne Student Union offers fair trade products in its bistros, cafeterias, and coffee bars.
• The range of fair-trade products has continuously expanded since the title was first awarded in 2018.
• At Senate meetings, people drink coffee sourced from fair-trade producers.
• Students are made aware of the topic through seasonal campaigns.

"Awareness of sustainability and social responsibility is now anchored at all levels of the university," says Corinna Köhler, head of the University of Cologne's specially established steering group, which is made up of representatives from the student union, the student union catering department and the university's central procurement department.

If everything goes to plan, Cologne students will soon also be able to enjoy sustainable desserts. A fairtrade chocolate pudding is already in the pipeline

SmartCity Cologne is a local network and central communication channel around innovation and climate neutrality in Cologne. Anyone can join, be they private individuals, companies, associations, universities, and initiatives. Intelligent ideas and forward-looking technologies are jointly developed to make Cologne an even more livable city.

Back in 2012, the city of Cologne launched the SmartCity Cologne (SCC) initiative with the local energy supplier RheinEnergie AG. SCC connects participants and activities for climate protection, energy efficiency and innovation. By harnessing the opportunities of digitization and driving innovation, the SCC initiative is making a significant contribution to shaping Cologne's energy and transport transition in a sustainable way.

The GrowSmarter and ParkPilot projects in the Cologne district of Nippes provide concrete examples of this. Using smart sensors, artificial intelligence and LED displays installed on lampposts, the digital parking guidance system helps to make finding a parking space easier, thus making traffic more efficient and improving the quality of life for residents by reducing pollution and noise emissions.

In addition, to funding programs such as "SmartCity Cologne GO", many other innovative projects received funding in the period from 2019 to 2023.

More info on the SmartCity Cologne initiative can be found here.

When trees suddenly start to wander ...These Cologne initiatives and projects show that a sustainable lifestyle is even possible in big cities.

The Wandbaumallee Since 2019, members of the association have been planting trees in mobile containers to show how different a square or street could look if it were just a little greener. More about mobile trees and green dreams can be found here: www.wanderbaumallee-köln.

Finkens Garten Experience nature with all your senses for children and adults alike at the nature experience garden in Cologne's Rodenkirchen district. On the 5-hectare site, a barefoot path, a telephone tree, different biotypes, and themed areas invite you to discover and appreciate nature - with all your senses - anew.

Marktschwärmer Marktschwärmer combines supply and demand. Farmers and customers meet at four Cologne locations in Ehrenfeld, Sülz, Südstadt and Poll - on set weekdays. It's novel because Marktschwärmer events are about the sale of sustainable products as much as they are about sustainable exchange on issues related to cultivation, price development, or preparation. This gives yogurt, fruit etc. a whole new (mediating) role. What's more, produce sold at the market generally only travels an average of 40 kilometers before it ends up on your plate.

In an interview, Dunja Karabaic, founder of ökoRAUSCH and a stakeholder in various sustainability initiatives, reveals how to live sustainably, what drives her, and which place in Cologne she finds the most beautiful.