The São Paulo City Hall, through the International Relations team, delivers the first Local Voluntary Review (VLR) to the United Nations (UN) in August. The document presents the commitment of a local government to build a more sustainable city, aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDOs). The process to adhere to the VLR Declaration took place in September 2019, when the Mayor of New York (USA), Bill de Blasio, invited the city of São Paulo to join the movement. The commitment of the São Paulo’s capital to deliver the VLR reflects the city's actions on a global scale, is aligned with the City Hall's policies to implement the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and enables the exchange of experiences between São Paulo and the other cities that have adhered to this declaration.

Produced with the support of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) network, the "Report on the Location of Sustainable Development Objectives in the City of São Paulo", São Paulo's first VLR shares the city's main public policies for sustainable development and measures to combat Covid-19. "São Paulo’s City Hall has been working to make the actions fulfill the 2030 UN Agenda. This document is fundamental to evaluate the solutions found in the city of São Paulo for environmental preservation, sustainable urban development, inequalities reduction, quality education and gender equality," said Mayor Bruno Covas.

The adhesion to the Declaration of Local Voluntary Review represents the commitment of the City of São Paulo in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Agenda is a public policy guideline for the municipality of São Paulo, determined by law 16.817/18, which instituted the program for implementing the 2030 Agenda and authorized the creation of the Municipal Commission for Sustainable Development, instituted by decree 59.020/19. In addition, the ODS are linked to municipal management planning and budget instruments, such as the 2017-2020 Goals Program, the 2018-2021 Multi-Year Plan and sector programs (such as the Municipal Early Childhood Plan, Municipal Health Plan and the most recent Municipal Tourism Plan).

 "The elaboration of the Local Voluntary Review is a further incentive for the City Hall's work in the city of São Paulo continues aligned with international guidelines. More than monitoring the location of SDO, the production of VLR is a way to direct our actions towards the construction of a fairer, more egalitarian and sustainable society," said the Secretary of International Relations, Luiz Alvaro Salles Aguiar de Menezes.

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 History

In order to monitor the implementation of 2030 Agenda, the UN encourages Member States to submit national reviews on progress at the national and sub-national levels, led and guided on a voluntary basis by countries. Each year, Member States present their Voluntary National Reports during the High-level Policy Forum in New York City.

In 2018, New York City developed the concept of the Voluntary Local Review, an effort to present the advance of the 2030 Agenda at a local level. The city was the first local government to submit the document to the United Nations. Since then, the New York City government, with support from the UN, civil society organizations and other local authorities, has publicized this action so that other cities around the world will also develop the document, through a commitment to the Voluntary Local

Review Declaration. In this way, the VLR serves as a mechanism for local governments to formally commit to reporting on local progress in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda.