SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Local
One City Plan
Local and international partnerships continue to be crucial to Bristol’s progress against the SDGs, and the One City Plan encourages their ongoing creation.
Bristol SDG Alliance
Bristol SDG Alliance is a network of more than 170 organisations across all sectors working to improve awareness, adoption and implementation of the SDGs in Bristol and the city region. The Alliance has been instrumental in increasing alignment to the SDGs across the city and in developing Bristol’s efforts to attain the goals.
City Leap Energy Partnership
The City Leap Energy Partnership is integral to Bristol’s decarbonisation and infrastructure efforts. Working with two private sector partners, Bristol City Council aims to decentralise the city’s energy network and provide cleaner and more democratic energy.
The project will utilise up to £1 billion of private investment to help create a renewable energy revolution in Bristol, contributing significantly to Bristol’s goal of becoming net zero by 2030 and delivering on a range of other social benefits.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Bristol’s Once City Plan reflects a determination to work through partnerships in the city to deliver collectively articulated goals: an approach that resonates strongly with the ethos of the SDGs.
Through membership in the Global Parliament of Mayors, Bristol aims to support coordinated action in cities across the world.
Bristol also has a strong international development community comprised of organisations working with partners in other countries to support delivery of the Goals.
Increase in bus usage and service frequency
The Bus Deal, confirmed in 2019, is a collaborative venture to increase buses’ share of all Bristol journeys to 20% by 2031. As part of achieving this objective, the project partners aim to double the frequency of buses in core corridors of traffic.
Bristol Citizens’ Assembly
From January 2020, Bristol City Council helped convene a Citizens’ Assembly to discuss issues concerning health, transport, and climate change. In June 2021, the assembly published a report entitled ‘How do we recover from COVID-19 and create a better future for all in Bristol?’, containing 17 recommendations directly addressing those key questions.
International
Bristol’s ongoing contribution in Europe
Bristol has maintained its reputation as a global city even after the UK exited the EU in 2020. Bristol still makes vital contributions to international groups such as Eurocities, the Resilient Cities Network and the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, is a member of the Global Parliament of Mayors which continues to establish international connections and partnership between cities. The city was also recently selected to participate in the EU Cities Mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. This programme aims to connect and support likeminded European cities with an aspiration of becoming net zero by 2030.
Working globally
Bristol has also worked with many other cities around the world through the Brookings Institution’s SDG Leadership Cities Network. The network provides opportunities to learn from other cities adopting the SDGs and helps initiate innovative approaches to delivering the goals.
Decarbonising cities
Mayor Rees has led a campaign across the UK to unlock finance for the decarbonisation of cities, including through partnerships with the World Economic Forum and UK Climate Investment Commission.
More recently, Bristol has supported research to calculate how much money would be needed for all the cities in the Commonwealth to decarbonise. This work, conducted in partnership with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, helped focus discussions on net-zero ambitions at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.