20 June 2012: The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) Secretariat has reported on the latest submissions of voluntary commitments, which it is compiling in an online compendium on the Rio+20 website. As of 19 June, a total of 485 voluntary commitments have been registered.

Commitments by the UN and other IGOs rose to 37 and commitments by major groups and civil society increased to 424. The number of government commitments remains at 24.

The number of private sector commitments via the UN Global Compact continued to increase, with 38 new commitments. The Walt Disney Company’s two commitments include funding reforestation projects and forest management projects that enhance carbon sequestration while still providing certified wood and paper. The BMW Group announced new environmental targets for its operations, including reducing resource consumption per vehicle produced, leading in renewable energy usage in production and value-added chain, and pioneering innovative mobility services. Eight companies committed to water and related ecosystem targets, including Patagonia, Lockheed Martin, SABMiller, the Coca Cola Company, Anheuser-Busch, Glaxo Smith Kline, NedBank, and Reed Elsevier. In the tourism sector, Marriot pledged ten new hotels built according to sustainable building standards in addition to $500,000 to sustain the preservation of the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve in Brazil.

Under UN commitments, UNDP committed to accelerate progress towards lagging MDGs with particular attention to eliminating major disparities, addressing cross-cutting issues such as HIV/AIDS, and focusing on the poorest countries facing the greatest difficulties in meeting the MDG targets.

Commitment registration can be done at www.uncsd2012.org/commit. Username/password can be received by emailing uncsd2012@un.org. [Rio+20 Webpage on Voluntary Commitments]