Countries commit to report on sustainability

Brazil, Denmark, France and South Africa are forming a group to advance corporate sustainability reporting.

The vision of the collaboration, called "Friends of paragraph 47," is that reporting on sustainability should be a standard practice among companies.

Paragraph 47 of the Rio+20 outcome document says in part that "We acknowledge the importance of corporate sustainability reporting and encourage companies, …to consider integrating sustainability information into their reporting cycle."

The vision of the four countries is that corporate transparency and accountability are key elements to enhancing the private sector's contribution to sustainable development.