Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), have reconvened for the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development the "Business Action for Sustainable Development" (BASD 2012). The first BASD was convened in 2002 for the Johannesburg Earth Summit.

BASD 2012 was the official UN major group coordinator of business and industry at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), known as Rio+20, on 20-22 June 2012.

A coalition of businesses

BASD 2012 is organized as a coalition of leading business groups committed to sustainability. It includes a number of partners representing a broad cross-section of industries and geographies, helping to ensure that as many ideas and viewpoints as possible can be taken into account before, during and after the Conference.

BASD 2012 will:

• Provide constructive policy input to the Rio+20 preparatory processes and coordinated business input to the formal United Nations Rio+20 Conference.

• Demonstrate business' commitment to delivering market-based solutions and showcase its active engagement in initiatives and partnerships to promote sustainable development. Market-based solutions are essential to move toward a more sustainable world.

• Represent business and industry at the UN DESA Major Groups Program aimed at enhancing Major Group participation in the Rio+20 process.

• Emphasize business solutions to sustainable development that deliver results and expand the concept to embrace poverty alleviation, job creation, environmental stewardship and social empowerment.

• Express global business positions on key sustainability issues to assist governments in making decisions that allow for a sustainable global business engagement.