The Hamburg Sustainability Conference is driven by the vision that reaching the SDGs requires interdisciplinary and trustful collaboration among the international community. The conference aims to foster new partnerships and collective action of those who are willing to commit to action: global policymakers, private sector leaders, academia experts, and civil society representatives. Multilateral alliances will advocate for scalable projects and progressive policies. Open dialogues will lead to decisions that turn into concrete actions with measurable results. 

The event invites citizens and civil society actors from across the city to spend a week working together on key challenges facing Hamburg while showcasing and making sustainability topics tangible and accessible. The initiative aims to advance local transformation and foster new solutions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, Hamburg Sustainability Week seeks to create a space that connects people and encourages them to learn more about the sustainability goals of the City of Hamburg.

HSC 2026 will revolve around the following thematic pillars: Resilient Economies, Technology and the Future of Our Planet; Risk, Uncertainty and Conflict; and Ensuring the Future of Human Collaboration: Multilateralism and Governance. The annual conference is a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the Michael Otto Foundation.