Decent Work, Green Jobs and the Sustainable Economy

Rio+20 in 2012 was attended by more than 100 Heads of State and Government and over 400 ministers. The Rio+20 outcome document sets out a vision of sustainable development with social inclusion. It firmly establishes the pivotal role of decent work for sustainable development, both in a dedicated chapter and through numerous cross-references, emphasizing that it is vital to understand and act on the interlinkages between the economic, social and environmental pillars. It identifies the concept of a green economy as one of the pathways to sustainable development and stresses that its goal must be social inclusion and the creation of employment and decent work for all:
we consider green economy in the context of sustainable development
and poverty eradication as one of the important tools available for achieving sustainable development and that it could provide options for policymaking but should not be a rigid set of rules. … We emphasize that it should contribute to eradicating poverty as well as sustained economic growth, enhancing social inclusion, improving human welfare and creating opportunities for employment and
decent work for all, while maintaining the healthy functioning of the Earth’s ecosystems. (UNCSD, 2012, para. 56)
While this international consensus has been emerging, a rapidly growing number of governments and enterprises have been acting on the need to achieve synergies and manage trade-offs between growth, employment and social inclusion and the preservation of the environment.