Slovenia with its National Development Strategy 2030 (NDS 2030) sets a new strategic framework for national development, which is based on the principles of sustainable development. The document will builds on the vision of Slovenia in 2050 and is linked to the commitments made in Agenda 2030.

Preparation of the strategy was is coordinated by the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy. In accordance with the principles of sustainable development, the document will beis  based on the recognition that ecosystem capacity of the environment sets boundary conditions to development and sustainable development only provide a good life for present and future generations.

The response of the Republic of Slovenia to Agenda 2030 and the preparation of the national development strategy until 2030 are parallel, closely intertwined processes that are distinctly horizontal and require a comprehensive approach of the government and the active involvement of stakeholders. The adoption of Tthe document was adopted by the government is expected in December 2017.

In preparation of the strategy, Slovenia workeds closely with the OECD experts and useds relevant OECD tools, e.g. the OECD Pilot Study on Measuring the Distances to the SDGs targets – Figure: Slovenia’s starting position on SDG targets:

In addition to the process of drafting the National Development Strategy, several sectoral or horizontal strategies, programmes and instruments, committed to pursue various combinations of SDGs, are being implemented or are under preparation. Among them, a the new Resolution on the National Environmental Action Programme (ReNEAP) up to 2020 and beyond, prepared by the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and adopted in February 2020 by the Parliament, will be based on the vision proposed by the 7th Environment Action Programme of the EU: “In 2050, we live well, within the planet's ecological limits.” The background document for the NEAP is a comprehensive report on the state of the environment in Slovenia prepared by the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning in 2016. The findings reveal that the state of the environment doesn’t depend only on local practice but it is also affected by global pressures that are growing faster than in the past mainly due to economic growth, population growth and changing consumption and production patterns. Therefore traditional measures of “emission control” are replaced by an awareness of the limited space and natural resources, of the importance of ecosystem services for the conservation and welfare of the people and that negative impacts of our consumption and production patterns cannot be shifted onto the shoulders of other regions. Environmental efforts are moving in the direction of low-carbon society, the circular economy, resilient ecosystems, and sustainable macroeconomic development models. To achieve the 2050 vision, environmental protection policy cannot be implemented in isolation from policies in other sectors such as agriculture, transport, energy, tourism. It is inextricably linked to the broader economic and social development.

One of the key horizontal programmes that primarily integrates environmental and economic goals of sustainable development is the Framework programme for a transition to a green economy adopted by the government in October 2015 and coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister. It includes government action in many areas, including the sustainable management of resources (water, waste, physical space, protected natural areas, forests, wood, opportunity for greater social inclusion), greening of the economy with smart specialisation strategy, the promotion of green jobs and the skills and knowledge necessary for them to flourish, green financial reform and the reform of green public procurement, sustainable urban development and sustainable transport policy, green farming practices.  To support implementation of the framework programme, the government has established the Partnership for Slovenia’s green economy with interested parties from the economy, non-governmental organizations and local communities.

Among sectoral instruments for SD one of the most successful is the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism – GSST – SLOVENIA GREEN, the central mechanism in developing and promoting sustainable tourism in Slovenia coordinated by the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO). With the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism the STO is following Slovenian strategical guidelines for sustainable development, policies of European Union and a wider sustainable path on a global scale. By implementing it, they are in line with upcoming Strategy of sustainable growth of tourism for 2017-2021 and all sustainable development dimensions, from environment and economy, to society and culture. As the crown of all these efforts, Slovenia was the first country to receive the Green Country title by gathering 96 out of 100 points in line with the Global Destination criteria, and became a role model for the rest of the world.