Since the Rio Summit in 1992, states are called to adapt their governance structures to the paradigm of sustainable development (SD). In the Rio Process the “sustainability state” was born - a state that possesses a significant set of formal institutions and practices dedicated to the governance of SD, with specialized administrative and political, regulatory and policy, financial, and knowledge structures that are aimed at shaping political, administrative and societal decision-making towards collectively pursuing SD. However, in case of conflict, the state – as a non-unitary political organisation – may engage in decisions and actions that ignore the sustainability state to serve competing and stronger functions and interests. The sustainability state is at risk of being decoupled from other state functions served through differing structures and decisions, confined to a sustainability bubble of like-minded actors, instead of mainstreaming sustainability in political decision-making. Employing an analytical framework of structures and indicators, we map the development of the emerging German Sustainability State based on document analysis. We also shed light on the limits and barriers of these structures in truly shaping political, administrative and societal decision-making, based on elite interviews with policy-makers and experts.