Fourth place for the first time: Berlin among the most sustainable cities worldwide
- German capital achieves its best result to date in the most important international sustainability ranking, the Global Destination Sustainability Index
- Berlin climbs from fifth to fourth place as a travel destination
- visitBerlin promotes sustainable tourism development in Berlin
Berlin, 24 September 2025 Berlin is one of the most sustainable cities in the world: in the latest Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDSI), the German capital has moved up to fourth place, achieving its best result to date. Berlin has improved by one position compared to last year and is now one of the most sustainable cities in the world. With an overall performance of 80.5 per cent, the city was able to improve its result by around five percentage points. Melbourne, Singapore and Barcelona rank ahead of Berlin in the index. This year, 81 cities took part, including 15 international cities with more than 1.5 million inhabitants.
Sabine Wendt, Managing Director of visitBerlin: ‘Berlin has been one of the leading sustainable travel destinations for years. The fact that we were able to significantly improve our result once again in 2025 and that Berlin achieved fourth place for the first time is a sensational success. The ranking shows what is possible when many tourism partners in our city work together towards a common goal: to further develop Berlin as a climate-friendly, liveable and attractive metropolis for our guests and Berliners alike.’
GDSI – Benchmark for sustainable destinations
The index is considered the most important international sustainability ranking for the tourism and events industry and confirms sustainability efforts. The assessment takes into account 76 criteria in four areas: urban environmental strategy and infrastructure, social sustainability, visitor economy engagement (hotels, venues, restaurants) and destination management strategies and initiatives.
Berlin's progress in sustainable development
Three quarters of all Berlin hotels with more than 75 rooms are now certified as sustainable. This represents an increase of 41 per cent since 2022. Of all congress and trade fair venues in Berlin, 81 per cent now have sustainability certification.
Berlin is the first major German city to initiate a climate roadmap this year. To this end, a comprehensive plan for the climate-resilient further development of Berlin's tourism and congress industry is being drawn up. The declared goal is for Berlin to be climate-neutral by 2045.
In terms of accessibility, Berlin attracted worldwide attention this year as the host of the Global Disability Summit. Further improvements have also been made in this area in public transport and public spaces. These include additional step-free transport options as well as improved audiovisual and tactile information systems.
The Berlin Paper is new. With this action plan, Berlin aims to become the world's leading metropolis for sustainable, inclusive and innovative major events by 2035. Launched this year, the Berlin Impact Programme is a strategic consulting and support service for all event planners. It provides assistance with event planning and makes their sustainable impact measurable. ‘Bestival’, the MICE festival organised by visitBerlin, is one of many examples proving that the city is already well on its way: ‘Bestival’ 2025 was once again planned this year in accordance with ISO20121 for sustainable event management.
visitBerlin as a driver of sustainable development
With its Sustainable Berlin programme, visitBerlin is supporting the tourism and convention industry on its path to a sustainable future. Innovative projects such as the 15-minute city and the Berlin Tourism Citizens' Advisory Council promote urban compatibility, participation and climate protection.
The top 4 success was made possible by the support of the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and close cooperation with the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment.
Further information
All results of the Global Destination Sustainability Index can be found at gds.earth. Details on Berlin's results can be found here.
Information on sustainable tourism development in Berlin can be found on this page. The visitBerlin website also offers tips for a sustainable visit to Berlin.
