4 October 2012: The Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012 (BASD 2012) has released a briefing highlighting three areas for priority action by business and government to collectively ensure that the UN Conference for Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) outputs help achieve sustainable development on a broad scale.

The briefing, titled “A Sustainable Path Forward: Business Perspectives on Rio+20,” identifies three activities. First, it calls for innovation through collaborations to develop and deploy new solutions for sustainable development. The briefing notes that the business community is uniquely capable of moving at the pace required to scale-up innovation and deliver sustainability solutions. It also stresses that business has an obligation to broaden and deepen its engagement in order to address the sustainability challenges at the scale necessary. Second, it notes the importance of leading by engaging to build trust and deliver progress at scale, and stresses that good governance and supportive enabling environments at the international, national and local level can stimulate investment and foster the research and expertise sharing needed. Third, it highlights the need to invest by encouraging and facilitating private investment in sustainable development. The briefing notes that the effective combination of private and public capital will require a range of incentives, partnerships, policy frameworks, and risk sharing.

BASD is the official Business and Industry Major Group representative for Rio+20. [Publication: A Sustainable Path Forward: Business Perspectives on Rio+20]