June 2012: The Regeneration Project has published a white paper titled “Unfinished Business: Perspectives from the Sustainable Development Frontier,” highlighting the need for the business sector to lead in achieving sustainable development and to raise questions about the future. The paper is the first in a series of three that will be released in the course of The Regeneration Project.

The paper is based on interviews conducted with 20 sustainable development “pioneers” on how to achieve regeneration and whether there is enough time to achieve it. In particular, it traces developments since the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or Rio Earth Summit) and highlights ways for businesses to contribute to achieving sustainable development. The paper underlines the need for a change in incentives and penalties in the current economic systems, as well as for businesses to better recognize and respect planetary limits. It further calls for businesses to create new models that take into account biodiversity and natural resources.

The paper addresses a variety of issues, such as: who should take the lead in the “sustainable development journey;” the responsibility that society shoulders in the road ahead; and how to balance the needs of the future with the world’s current priorities. [Publication: Unfinished Business: Perspectives from the Sustainable Development Frontier]