Rio+20: A Tale of Two Conferences |
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Later this decade, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host the two largest sporting
events in the world, the World Cup and the Olympics. This year the city was the
venue of another event of major international proportions but instead of sports
the focus was sustainability. The Rio +20 event was arguably the largest single
event related to sustainable development. This UN Conference gathered
delegations from 188 member states, including heads of state of over 130
countries. There were also over 40,000 credential passes issued for the massive
event. |
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Some of the conference results were also record breaking. |
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There were over 700 voluntary commitments by governments, businesses, NGOs, and
other institutions reaching a total of over $500 billion. This included a
pledge
of $175 billion by eight multilateral development banks to support sustainable
transport in developing countries. |
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The predominant conclusion of the Rio+20 event was a document approved by 193
countries entitled “The Future We Want.” The key points of this international
compromise included the following: |
- Launching a process to establish sustainable development goals
- Detailing how the green economy can be used as a tool to achieve sustainable
development
- Strengthening the UN Environment Programme and establishing a new forum for
sustainable development
- Promoting corporate sustainability reporting measures
- Taking steps to go beyond GDP to assess the well-being of a country
- Developing a strategy for sustainable development financing
- Adopting a framework for tackling sustainable consumption and production
- Focusing on improving gender equality
- Stressing the need to engage civil society and incorporate science into policy
- Recognizing the importance of voluntary commitments on sustainable development
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These results appear impressive and are certainly a step in the right direction.
But those who have studied sustainability understand that planning and strategy
are only a small fraction of the total equation. Implementation is the lifeblood
of a successful sustainability initiative and this key element was inadequately
addressed. |
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The key to a viable implementation plan is specific and measurable action items
and this was not produced by this event or the “The Future We Want” document.
Although the commitments are remarkable, little detail was provided in terms of
how these commitments will be applied, the expected timetable, or whether the
financial commitments would be grants or loans. There is promise, however, that
the event created the appropriate momentum that will allow the details to be
worked out in the months and years to come. |
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Yet those who were not present in Rio in June may have failed to notice that
Rio+20 was in fact two events. There was the much publicized UN conference that
gathered diplomats and produced the open-ended “The Future We Want” document.
But there were also a series of conferences, meetings, and workshops that
gathered various actors in the world of sustainability including NGOs and
businesses focused on social responsibility. Although less impressive on their
own, the totality of these various “micro” events likely produced more
implementable activities than the “macro” event of the official UN conference. |
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The conclusion of Rio+20 may be that coordinated government action may in fact
be less effective than a collection of activities by smaller non-governmental
players. Achieving consensus within a single nation is difficult in itself, thus
making agreement on detailed actionable steps between hundreds of governments
next to impossible. But implementable initiatives are a plausible outcome of
interactions of various businesses and other non-governmental institutions. The
Rio+20 Conference therefore reiterates the importance of all businesses and
organizations understanding sustainability and how they can contribute to its
improvement. |
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has a background in business strategy
and consulting. He began his career at KPMG with a focus on strategic planning for
international transactions. Steve has gained his experience in sustainability consulting
through work for a European Fair Trade and in teaching sustainability business strategy
at UCLA Extension.
Steve holds a JD University of California, Hastings College of the Law and an MBA
from University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business.
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