“So I wanted to meet with everyone today to show you some computer software that can be used to support the concepts that are being taught in your curriculums.”

Blank stares. This was one tough crowd.

Rio De Janeiro: 20 - 22 June 2012.

Business has made great progress in internalizing the concept of sustainable development since the 1992 Earth Summit, and is now addressing its role in society at large. Rio+20 will focus on how business can engage more fully in this process and act as a catalyst for action by identifying ways in it can achieve the most effective synergy with government, while helping shape the sustainability agenda over the next 20 years.

The WBCSD is developing specific deliverables for Rio+20 which are to:

• Demonstrate the WBCSD’s role as the business thought leader on sustainability issues;
• Be recognized for the progress the WBCSD and its members have made since 1992;
• Insert key positions in outcome documents;
• Create vehicles for member companies to tell their stories and engage in the process.

With the right policies and partnerships, business can improve the reach, quality and reliability of energy access.

 Traditionally, the bell that tolls at midnight on New Year's Eve rings out the old and rings in the new. But for billions of people, 2012 promises more of the same – another year without adequate access to energy. Across the world, more than a billion people lack access to electricity, and 3 billion still rely on dung, wood and other biomass fuels for cooking and heating. This means nearly half the world's population prepares food and heats their homes in a way that, according to the World Health Organisation, causes about 2 million premature deaths every year through indoor air pollution from inefficient biomass combustion – with women and girls disproportionately affected.