In the run-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), more than 300 participants from business, government and others gathered to discuss how to realise inclusive and green growth.

A core topic was how to best leverage business strengths in innovation, adaptation and implementation to facilitate the transition to a green economy. The outcomes of the discussions will be fed into the negotiation process for Rio+20 to be held in Brazil in June 2012.

Organised by the government of the Netherlands, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD 2012), this two-day consultation was a major event in the Rio+20 preparatory process.

Participants discussed how business could scale up sustainable development but also shared their expectations of governments for Rio+20. The general consensus was that all stakeholders involved need to work together and move from theory to action.

BASD 2012, the official coordinator for business and industry in Rio, commented that leading companies around the world have placed sustainability at the top of their agendas, realising the significance and urgency of global environmental, social and economic challenges. Using science and technology to stimulate innovation and investment for green growth, the private sector is a catalyst for sustainable development.

The core function of business is to provide the products and services required by society, by bringing together natural, human, and financial resources in efficient and productive ways.

In doing this, businesses contribute to the realisation of a green and inclusive economy - alleviating poverty, raising living standards, and ultimately improving human well-being.

"Whatever progress we have made since Rio in 1992, we could not have done it without the contributions of business and industry," acknowledged Sha Zukang, UNDESA Under Secretary and UNCSD (Rio+20) Secretary General.

Zukang also spoke of the BASD 2012 Business Day to take place on 19 June, the day before the official start of Rio+20. This leadership event will bring together senior business, government and NGO participants, and will address both sector and cross-cutting issues.

As the final input from the business community before the Rio+20 Conference, the Business Day will be essential in engaging business and government leaders from around the world in a series of discussions to address the challenge of achieving scale in sustainable development.

Ben Knapen, minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation of the Netherlands, underlined that governments can play an important role by fighting barriers to sustainable investment, while businesses need to accept sustainability as a prerequisite for profitability.

"Without the private sector, it is almost impossible to reach a sufficient scale and have a major impact. That is why the Netherlands attaches so much importance to this consultation in the lead-up to the Rio+20 Conference," he concluded.