From the beginning, the German Sustainability Award has been granted in close cooperation with the German government, which has made the award a measure of the German Sustainability Strategy.
The cooperation includes the (further) development of the methodology (from 2008; German Council for Sustainable Development), the joint awarding of prizes (including the BMBF Research Prize), regular patronages (including German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel in 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016), and the participation of federal ministers in the award ceremonies (annually since 2008).
On November 6, 2019, initiator Stefan Schulze-Hausmann and jury chairman Prof. Günther Bachmann presented six DNP award winners to German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. The CEOs/board members of Grüner Punkt, REWE Group, Deutsche Telekom, Sodasan and Knipex explained their successes and took a position on the German Sustainability Strategy.
Since 2012, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has presented an award for outstanding scientific achievements related to sustainability. Since then, special successes in changing subject areas have been awarded. The competition is currently on hold.
From 2018 to 2022, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, together with the SKEW of Engagement Global, honoured German stakeholders who cooperate closely with partners in the Global South to implement the goals of the 2030 Agenda. In 2023 the award became the International GSA, implemented in cooperation with Wilo.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior has been a partner of the new GSA Sport since 2023 and presents the award for transformative achievements in the world of sport together with the DOSB and other sponsors.
The guests were Federal Ministers Olaf Scholz and Brigitte Zypries (2008), Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Thomas de Maizière and Franz-Josef Jung (2009), Dr. Norbert Röttgen (2010), Ilse Aigner and Ronald Pofalla (2011), Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble and Dr. Guido Westerwelle (2012), Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (2013), Peter Altmaier, Prof. Johanna Wanka (2014), Dr. Barbara Hendricks (2015/2016), Katarina Barley, Svenja Schulze and Gerd Müller (2018), Dr. Franziska Giffey (2019), Olaf Scholz (2020), Anja Karliczek (2021), Nancy Faeser (2023), as well as Klara Geywitz, Prof. Karl Lauterbach and Claudia Roth (2024).
The first patron of the German Sustainability Award was the then acting Federal President Prof. Horst Köhler in 2008. Subsequently, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel took over the patronage for several years. This was followed by numerous politicians who backed the award with speeches and greetings. The patron of the tenth anniversary in 2017 was Federal President Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier.