The Rio+20 Conference was an action-oriented conference focusing on implementation of sustainable development. Member States, the United Nations system, and Major Groups and other stakeholders are together leading the way forward to the Future We Want.

Rio +20 as well as earlier sustainable development conferences have all emphasized the importance of action-oriented voluntary initiatives to complement government-led action in realizing sustainable development. Key voluntary initiatives for implementation of sustainable development include Voluntary Commitments, Partnerships for Sustainable Development, and Green economy policies and initiatives. All voluntary initiatives are expected to announce and achieve concrete time-bound deliverables that advance sustainable development.

Rio +20 mandated (para 293, Future We Want) the United Nations Secretariat to establish and maintain a comprehensive registry of voluntary initiatives for sustainable development whose partners have requested registration with the United Nations Secretariat.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships

17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships

More information: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

E. Registry of commitments

283. We welcome the commitments voluntarily entered into at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and throughout 2012 by all stakeholders and their networks to implement concrete policies, plans, programmes, projects and actions to promote sustainable development and poverty eradication. We invite the Secretary-General to compile these commitments and facilitate access to other registries that have compiled commitments, in an Internet-based registry. The registry should make information about the commitments fully transparent and accessible to the public, and it should be periodically updated.

More information: The Future We Want Partnerships for SDGs is an online platform created to encourage global engagement around multi-stakeholder partnerships and voluntary commitments in support of the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Initially developed in response to the mandate set out by the Rio+20 Conference (paragraph 283, Future We Want), this platform, which is being further enhanced to respond to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will function as a tool to inform stakeholders on initiatives carried out by multi-stakeholder partnerships around the world in support of the sustainable development goals, track progress, and share innovative ideas. The platform is free and open to the public.