Business calls on governments to set policies that accelerate progress toward a green economy
Geneva, Paris, New York, November 7, 2011 – The Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012 (BASD) has submitted the formal Business and Industry input to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the convener of the upcoming Rio+20 Conference. The BASD submission outlines priorities for governments to maximize the contribution of business, not only at Rio+20 but beyond.
The BASD is coordinating the participation of the private sector to the Rio +20 conference. In June 2012, world leaders will meet in Brazil to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress and remaining gaps, and address new challenges.
“BASD 2012 welcomes the opportunity to submit input to the compilation document for Rio+20 and establish priorities for governments to further encourage the contribution of business toward sustainable development,” said Kris Gopalakrishnan, BASD Chair. “Companies worldwide must continue to drive sustainability, not just in their own operations but also in their interactions with local communities.”
While a growing number of companies around the world have put sustainability at the forefront of their agenda, recognizing its growing relevance and urgency, further private sector engagement can help ensure Rio+20 fosters widespread global action.
Overall, the submission reaffirms the business commitment and achievements in support of sustainability, green growth and poverty eradication. It calls on governments to work with business and others in implementing measures that support market solutions, provide incentives, and address risk and regulatory issues.
The submission focuses on the two key themes that will be debated in Rio, the green economy and institutional frameworks for sustainable development.
The section on the green economy outlines 10 high level system conditions for moving toward a strong and competitive green economy, based on social, environmental, economic innovation, as well as complementary cross-cutting elements. The section on institutional frameworks for sustainable development describes the mutually reinforcing nature of this topic with the green economy and calls for a structural change in institutions in order to improve coordination of efforts and policy implementation.
Further, the document presents private sector inputs on 10 key topics – from access to energy, social development, human rights and the role of business, to water for a green economy and poverty alleviation – with key messages, a narrative and policy recommendations.
Original article published at www.uncsd2012.org
