I’m heading to the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2026 — and I’m not going there to nod along. Hamburg, 29 June 2026. Around 1,600 participants from 115 countries are descending on the Hanseatic city this weekend for the third Hamburg Sustainability Conference. German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open proceedings, flanked by 22 ministers, 13 heads … Read more
Circular economy and bio-based materials policies have developed in silos for too long. This joint report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Latin America and Caribbean Circular Economy Coalition proposes a unified five-strategy framework, backed by real business cases, that could unlock USD 10 trillion in annual opportunities by 2030 and deliver a third … Read more
Report from the EU Food Justice Forum, Brussels, 9 June 2026 In a world where multinational agribusinesses increasingly treat food systems as financial markets, smallholder farmers from Zimbabwe, rice breeders from the Philippines and EU parliamentarians gathered in a Brussels conference centre on 9 June 2026. The civil society-organised EU Food Justice Forum placed one … Read more
(TL;DR) A GIZ-commissioned study examines how plastic packaging practices in supermarkets across Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico intersect with food loss and waste (FLW), concluding that material substitution alone cannot solve either crisis: systemic redesign of retail models, supply chains, regulatory frameworks, and consumer engagement must be pursued simultaneously and coherently, since up to 56% of … Read more
An EADI webinar shows that a genuinely green economy in rural Africa depends on three things working together: locally affordable climate-smart practices for smallholders, coherent national and regional policies that connect research with practice, and climate finance that explicitly supports a just transition with strong community agency. It highlights how programmes like the Great Green … Read more
(TL:DR) Local knowledge is a city’s hidden strategic asset: when municipalities, communities, universities and businesses connect what they already know, they can drive transformative learning, social innovation and more resilient urban development, instead of relying mainly on imported expertise. The article concludes that urban practitioners should start with mapping existing knowledge, value qualitative methods, design … Read more
Climate protection and sustainable development are two sides of the same coin. Karsten Weitzenegger Consulting is a registered supporter of the Stiftung Allianz für Entwicklung und Klima (Foundation Alliance for Development and Climate), Germany’s leading platform connecting voluntary climate action with measurable development impact in the Global South. What is the Alliance for Development and … Read more
Advocacy and expertise belong together. Since December 2016, Karsten Weitzenegger has been an active supporter of Action for Sustainable Development (#ACTION4SD) — a global civil society platform driving progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. What is Action for Sustainable Development? Action for Sustainable Development is a … Read more
Development work is as much about ideas and networks as it is about projects. Karsten Weitzenegger is a member of the Society for International Development (SID), one of the oldest and most respected global networks of development professionals, thinkers, and advocates working toward a more equitable and sustainable world. What is SID? Founded in 1957, … Read more
Impactful evaluation starts with the right community. That is why Karsten Weitzenegger is a proud member of EvalForEarth, a global community of practice connecting evaluators around the world’s most pressing challenges: food security, environment, agriculture, and rural development. What is EvalForEarth? EvalForEarth is an international community of practice dedicated to strengthening evaluation capacities in food … Read more
SCALED is emerging as one of the most ambitious attempts yet to fix a stubborn problem in development finance: how to move from promising blended finance pilots to repeatable, large scale investment in sustainable projects across emerging markets and developing economies.Why SCALED matters now Despite a decade of rhetoric about mobilising trillions for the Sustainable … Read more
The following references reflect a track record of Karsten Weitzenegger built over more than 30 years of consulting and evaluation work across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Sustainable Development Ecuador: Conducted a mid-term review of the REDD Early Movers programme on forest protection and climate finance mechanisms as Lead Evaluator, funded by KfW and … Read more
