Agenda 2030 in Asker Voluntary local review 2021 Content Opening Statement by mayor Lene Conradi ....................................4 Highlights........................................................................................5 Introduction ....................................................................................6 Methodology and process for implementing the SDGs ...................8 Incorporation of the Sustainable Development Goals in local and regional frameworks ........................................................8 Institutional mechanisms for sustainable governance ....................... 11 Practical examples ........................................................................20 Sustainability pilots .........................................................................20 FutureBuilt, a collaboration for sustainable buildings and arenas .......20 Model projects in Asker ...................................................................20 Citizenship – evolving as a co-creation municipality ..........................24 Democratic innovation.....................................................................24 Arenas for co-creation and community work ....................................24 Policy and enabling environment ..................................................26 Engagement with the national government on SDG implementation ...26 Cooperation across municipalities and regions ................................26 Creating ownership of the Sustainable Development Goals and the VLR ........................................................................... 27 Leaving no one behind .....................................................................29 Structural issues ............................................................................ 30 Progress on Goals and targets .......................................................34 The U4SSC KPI Methodology ............................................................34 Key recommentations U4SSC KPI assessment .................................34 UNECE City profile - Asker ................................................................36 Means of implementation .............................................................38 Data harvesting and management ....................................................38 Centre for innovation and learning ....................................................38 Sustainable Asker – a programme to support implementation of the goals .............................................................38 Innovation projects .......................................................................... 41 Conclusion and next steps ............................................................44 Front page photo: Askers sustainability ambassadors at Norway Cup 2019 2 Asker kommune Agenda 2030 in Asker – Voluntary local review 2021 3 Opening Statement By Mayor Lene Conradi develop good solutions locally that also contribute globally. The SDGs helped us to achieve that. If the municipality is to succeed in translating the global goals into local actions and practices, the SDGs must be integrated into all management, planning and governance. We do this through our strategic planning processes, as part of the ordinary measurement and manage- ment system and in the budget work. Asker is in the process of developing its own set of statistics. We use national and international indicators where available, and try to make them locally relevant. In 2020, the three municipalities Hurum, Røyken and Asker were merged, forming a new and large Management is crucial in order to succeed in the municipality named Asker. In Asker municipality, sustainability work within our own organization. The we want to remain aware of our global responsibility SDGs both set the direction for municipal governan- while working to achieve sustainable local communi- ce, as well as giving guidance as to how the individual ties. In order to do so, we utilized the UN Sustainable employee works in everyday life. Therefore, sustai- Development Goals (SDGs) as an overall and integral nable management and leadership development are framework when structuring and organizing the new part of the work of building a new municipality. municipality. The work with the SDGs has already inspired us to Asker participated at the World Urban Forum 2020 work across political and professional divides. In together with the Ministry of Local Government and addition, we see that the goals inspire our citizens, Modernization and the Ministry of foreign Affairs businesses and Non Governmental Organizations to share our work with implementing the SDGs and (NGOs). working with youth on that matter. The New York City Mayor’s Office invited me to produce a Voluntary We find that the SDGs give us many opportunities to Local Review (VLR) to compile our understanding, work together for the benefit of the Asker community methods and experiences working with localizing the – and in solidarity with the rest of the world. SDGs since 2016. I hope this will inspire continued efforts towards In this VLR, we have compiled an overview of what sustainable solutions, both locally and globally! we have done so far to make the 17 SDGs relevant to our municipality, and how we will work to achieve the goals going forward. It was important for us, as politicians, to expand our perspective, steer in the right direction and Lene Conradi In Asker municipality, we want to remain aware of our global responsibility while working to achieve sustainable local communities. 4 Asker kommune Highlights Agenda 2030 commits us to achieve human well- Norwegian government. This will help overcome being for all within the planetary boundaries. We need challenges in multi-level governance. We view this to localize the Sustainable development goals and publication central to our further development, transform our operations accordingly. highlighting challenges and lessons learned, helping to establish partnerships both locally and in the The municipality of Asker has used the process of a global community. municipal merger to build the new municipality on the SDGs. Our VLR process has been coordinated The model below is based on the Bold City Vision with both the Voluntary subnational review submitted Framework1 and summarizes what we have achieved by The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional in Asker and our actions moving forward. Authorities (KS), and the VNR submitted by the Modell 1 Bold City Vision: Data - Policy - Action Standardization (Gathering data and gaining insights) Done To do √ KPI assessment by United for Smart Sustainable Cities • Better data management through SDG-taxonomy √ Received a UNECE City Profile, highlighting our main • Local indicators from more sources, like citizen science SDG-related challenges • Regular KPI assessments to track progress Policy development Done To do √ Thorough methodology for localizing the SDGs • Increase broader inclusiveness in long- and short- term policy making √ Municipal governance model built on the SDGs from municipal master plan to operations and budgets, making all political • Facilitating multiple helix participation in the proceedings take sustainability related issues into account development of thematic plans Innovation partnerships Organizational development Citizen engagement Done Done Done √ Established a sustainability program to facili- √ Established a program for organizational √ Established local arenas to facilitate tate partnerships with other societal actors, andleadership development with a citizenship, co-creation and partnership like the business community and academic curriculum of sustainability, innovation for the SDGs institutions and transformation √ Started a democratic innovation process √ Active role in establishing a national network √ Opened a Center for Innovation and Learning to support co-creation and real influence of excellence for sustainable transformation on policy making To do To do To do • Broaden the base of partnerships across all • Participate in shaping and rolling out a • Strenghen possibilities for active citizen sectors, focusing first on local SMEs and national program for sustainable leadership engagement through a location based academic institutions central to us and organizational transformation approach to make sure no one is left behind • Adopt best practice projects from other • Seek out transformative projects that help • Increase and institutionalize the knowledge municipalities faster. “Steal with style” us take bigger leaps of development of sustainable development in all of the local community Project development Done To do √ FutureBuilt and Nordic Swan Ecolabelled buildings • Zero-emission construction sites √ FutureBike bicycle declaration • NADA – an innovative procurements project to document reduction of waste from construction sites √ Green loan financing • Regional center for Marine Pollution √ The Asker Youth Conference • Idea bank for sustainable daycare centers √ Night trek on the United Nations Day • Planning a shopping mall with only recycled or √ Local community hubs called “Citizen Square” second hand products √ OECD project “A Territorial Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals 1 https://www.innoradar.eu/innovation/36657 Agenda 2030 in Asker – Voluntary local review 2021 5 Introduction Nesøya Holmen Asker sentrum Borgen Asker is a rural municipality2 located in the County of care. The municipality is home to 623 non-govern- Dikemark Vollen Viken, approximately 20 kilometres