SDG Story: Tallinn

Guidelines for the implementation and monitoring of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the framework of Tallinn 2035 Development Strategy will be worked out during Global Goals for Cities project.
Tallinn City Council approved the Tallinn 2035 Development Strategy on 1st of January 2021.




The vision of the development strategy is - Tallinn. Green and global. To achieve this, six strategic goals have been set:

1. Friendly urban space

2. Creative global city

3. Healthy mobility

4. Green transformation

5. Kind community

6. Home that includes the street

The vision and strategic goals of the development strategy are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the European Green Deal and other international agreements, and the Estonia’s national goals, including the “Estonia 2035” strategy, which is the national development document for achieving sustainable development goals.

The six strategic goals are implemented through the city's fourteen areas of activity: business environment; education and youth work; environmental protection; law enforcement; culture; mobility; urban landscape; urban planning; maintenance and development of urban property; social welfare; sports and physical activity; utility networks; health and healthcare and governance and support services. The development strategy describes how and to which strategic goals each area of activity of the city contributes foremost.

To implement the development strategy, the city budget strategy is prepared together with the development strategy operational programme, the city budget and sectoral operational programmes.
The city strategy operational programme sets indicators together with the targets levels by which the progress of the implementation of the development strategy will be monitored and decisions in the city budget can be based on this. In addition, other cross-sectoral or sectoral development documents can be prepared to specify aspects of the city development strategy (see Figure 1).

Implementation of SDGs in Tallinn
Goal of the guidelines is to support the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs at Tallinn city level within the framework of Tallinn 2035 Development Strategy by developing the cross-sectoral guidelines.

The focus with the guidelines is to support the holistic implementation of SDGs within Tallinn 2035 strategy, and to address the systemic monitoring of SDGs.


The compiling of the guidelines will be coordinated by Tallinn Strategic Management Office with Urbact Local Group (ULG) and it will consist of the following parts:

• Description of the links between Tallinn 2035 vision/goals and SDGs (clarification of the links presented in Tallinn 2035)

• Definition of SDGs for Tallinn, incl. priority SDGs (methodology for evaluation, current situation) and the links with the city's areas of activity

• Principles of cooperation, governance and inclusion for the implementation of SDGs in the city

• Monitoring the SDGs, the key indicators (KPIs) used for monitoring and principles for compiling the Voluntary Local Review (VLR)

• Raising the awareness of SDGs in the city.