21 June 2012: The Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD) 2012 Business Day took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 19 June 2012, on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The day included sector-oriented workshops highlighting: business solutions being delivered; commitments to action; and hurdles to achieving scale, in several sectors: agriculture, cement, chemicals, consumer goods, energy/power, forestry, materials, oil and gas, and transport.

The BASD Business Day identified key actions and catalysts to drive scale, as a final input to the Rio+20 Conference and for collaborative action by the participants going forward. Recommendations to Rio+20 included that: business must be included in policy development at Rio+20 and beyond in order to scale up innovative, sustainable solutions; business has a significant role to play in building and advancing the green economy; and that business and government collaboration is the quickest and most efficient way to achieve a green economy.

In a dialogue session on public policies to boost sustainable business, participants formulated specific recommendations for Heads of State and Government, including: shifting taxation from labor to resources; setting up mandatory measuring and reporting of environmental externalities; improving consistency and stability in international contracting law; reassessing local governments’ investments; harnessing existing opportunities around standardized reporting; and calling on Heads of State and Government arriving at Rio+20 to “unlock our potential” and allow business to contribute to sustainability.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the National Business Initiative (NBI) organized the meeting, which was the official UN Major Group Business and Industry event for Rio+20. [IISD RS Coverage] [BASD 2012 Website] [BASD 2012 Press Release] [BASD 2012 Agenda]