There may have been a lack of substantive outcomes, but J’Burg has helped clarify the Rio+20 agenda for business
More than a year of preparatory meetings, tens of thousands of participants, millions of words and dollars expended. Was it all worth it? I believe that there were some very valuable outcomes.
First, while there is no doubt that some people remain suspicious of the mechanics and sceptical of the number of concrete positive outcomes that will be achieved, there is acceptance of the fact that we will only achieve sustainable development if all sections of society work in partnership. Business certainly accepts this, and governments and many civil society organisations also accept that business is an essential part of the solution. This is not to say that economic development on its own will lead to sustainable development – clearly we need more than just a focus on the economic aspects.
Development aid and more of it is an essential component, but it is not a permanent solution. The acknowledgement of the need for partnerships and of the essential role of business, with clear conditions attached, is one of the great changes seen at Johannesburg. Some non-governmental organisations, led by Friends of the Earth, pressed hard for some kind of global convention to control international business. There was never very much chance of this being taken up by governments, but I think that they should be encouraged by another development very evident at Johannesburg. This is the development of many flourishing partnerships between business, civil society organisations, labour organisations, UN agencies, and others to define what represents best practice for business. The Global Mining Initiative is one such approach, but there are many others addressing sustainability in forests and fisheries, energy and mining in relation to biodiversity and so on. These coalitions define the standards by which the performance of international business will be judged. The agreements which stem from them will also inform national legislation and where appropriate international agreements. Businesses not involved will ignore them at their peril. The Global Reporting Initiative, well recognised in many speeches as well as in the intergovernmental agreement, is an overarching partnership dedicated to defining common indicators for sustainability reporting.
And lastly, there was an acknowledgement that sound local governance is essential to sustainable development. In their New Plan for African Development (NEPAD), African governments acknowledge that this is a government responsibility. But they also call for assistance and partnerships to carry it out – development assistance from governments and involvement of business of all sorts, national and international. This was a very important recognition at the summit that international agreements and targets are only delivered at the national and local level, and we need sound governance, including sound governance of business, to achieve this. This is perhaps the most important task we have to work on in each and every country in the coming years. And we have to do it in partnership.
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