Published on 24.09.2025
Berlin ranks 4th among participating metropolises in the 2025 Global Destination Sustainability Index with a score of 80.5%. The capital follows Melbourne, Singapore and Barcelona, confirming its status as a leading sustainability destination.
Körnerpark Berlin, Neukölln – One of the city's many parks
Berlin, 24 September 2025 – Berlin is now among the world’s most sustainable metropolises: in the latest "Global Destination Sustainability Index" (GDSI), the German capital rises to 4th place, marking its best result to date. The city improves by one rank compared to the previous year and is now counted among the top sustainable metropolises worldwide. With an overall performance score of 80.5 per cent, Berlin was able to increase its result by around five percentage points. Melbourne, Singapore and Barcelona occupy the places ahead of Berlin. This year, 81 cities participated in the ranking — including 15 international metropolises with more than 1.5 million inhabitants.
Sabine Wendt, Managing Director of visitBerlin: "Berlin has been counted among the leading sustainable destinations for years. To have significantly improved our result in 2025 and to have reached 4th place for the first time is a phenomenal achievement. The ranking shows what is possible when many tourism partners in our city work together towards one goal: to further develop Berlin as a climate‑friendly, liveable and attractive metropolis — both for our guests and for the people of Berlin."
The index is considered the most important international sustainability ranking for the tourism and events sector, reflecting sustainability efforts across destinations. The evaluation comprises 76 criteria in four areas: urban environmental strategy and infrastructure, social sustainability, engagement of the Visitor Economy (hotels, venues, gastronomy) and strategies and initiatives of destination management.
Three‑quarters of all Berlin hotels with more than 75 rooms now hold sustainable certification — an increase of 41 per cent since 2022. Among all congress and trade fair venues in Berlin, 81 per cent now have a sustainability certification.
As the first major German city, Berlin has this year initiated a climate roadmap. A comprehensive plan for climate‑resilient development of Berlin tourism and the congress sector is being developed. The declared goal is Berlin’s climate neutrality by 2045.
In terms of accessibility, Berlin as host of the Global Disability Summit this year attracted global attention. Improvements were also made in public transport and in public spaces: these include additional step‑free accessible vehicles as well as enhanced audiovisual and tactile information systems.
A new initiative is the "Berlin Paper". With this action plan, Berlin aims by 2035 to become the world’s leading metropolis for sustainable, inclusive and innovative large‑scale events. The "Berlin Impact Programm", launched this year, is a strategic advisory and support offering for all event planners. It helps with event planning and makes their sustainability impact measurable. BESTIVAL, the MICE‑festival by visitBerlin, is one of many proofs that the city is already on a promising path: BESTIVAL2025 was again organised in compliance with ISO20121 for sustainable event management.
Through the Sustainable Berlin programme, visitBerlin supports the tourism and congress sector on its path to a sustainable future. Innovative projects such as the 15‑minute city or the citizens’ advisory board Berlin‑Tourismus promote city compatibility, participation and climate protection.
The top‑4 achievement was made possible by support from the Berlin Senate Department for Economy, Energy and Enterprises as well as by close collaboration with the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment.
All results of the "Global Destination Sustainability Index" can be found at gds.earth. Details on Berlin’s results are available here. Information on sustainable tourism development in Berlin is available on this page. The visitBerlin website also offers tips for a sustainable visit to Berlin.
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