In a video message addressed to the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged companies to deliver not only financial value, but also social, environmental and ethical value, as well as to scale up and spread responsible and sustainable business practices.
15 June 2012: In a video message addressed to the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged companies to deliver not only financial value, but also social, environmental and ethical value.
Ban welcomed business leaders to the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the sidelines to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). He commended their commitment to demonstrating that business “is able and willing to lead the way in transforming our society for the better.”
Ban noted that corporate sustainability is enacted at the level of boardrooms, factories, supply chains and investments, and urged leaders to scale up and spread their efforts. He highlighted certain issues of concern at Rio, including energy, climate change, water and food, corruption and women empowerment, and stressed that these issues “should also be prime concerns for responsible business.” He expressed hope that the Forum would generate commitments and partnerships to advance corporate sustainability. [UN Secretary-General’s Message Transcript]