Event Sustainability

The Global Compact aims to minimize the environmental impacts of the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum. Sponsorship packages to help offset the event's carbon footprint are currently available, and more information can be found here.

The Forum will be the first ever UN event to be labelled WindMade - meaning that the event will be exclusively powered by wind energy. WindMade, the organization behind the first global consumer label for organizations using wind power, is the official Sustainability Partner of the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum, ensuring that the environmental impact of the event is minimized through all phases of planning and execution.

Wind power procurement will cover 100 percent of Forum's electricity footprint, including event preparations at the UN Global Compact's offices, power usage at the Windsor Barra Hotel and electricity used at social events. In order to achieve this, the UN Global Compact has committed to procuring the equivalent amount of GoldPower, a high quality energy-based product. The power is derived from windfarms in developing countries (with no Kyoto targets), thereby stimulating investments in new capacity. This commitment is compliant with the requirements set out in WindMade's Events Standard (Appendix C).

A variety of actions are included as part of the Forum's sustainable event strategy:

• The Windsor Barra Hotel & Congresses was selected for the venue's commitment to sustainability in terms of infrastructure, energy efficiency, operations and sustainable business practices.
• Special efforts will be made to reduce waste, use sustainable materials and recycle products.
• Participants at the Forum will be encouraged to contribute to offsetting the carbon emissions caused by their participation and travel (see Carbon Emissions below).
• Following the UN's PaperSmart guidelines, there will be no printed materials (publications, background materials, agendas, flyers) at the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum. Materials will be made available to participants through a customized mobile device application, an electronic compendium of deliverables, banners that feature key deliverables with scannable QR codes, and this website.
• Bottled water will not be offered during the Forum in an effort to reduce waste and carbon emissions related to the production and transport of plastic bottles.
• A comprehensive event sustainability assessment will be conducted after the Forum. This report will highlight best practices and provide recommendations for future events.

Carbon Emissions

The Global Compact Office strongly encourages all participants to help offset carbon emissions generated by the Forum and related travel. The voluntary carbon offset contribution for each participant is USD 45 and will be collected at the time of registration.