As a concrete legacy of the Conference, the Brazilian government announced the creation of the World Center for Sustainable Development (Rio+ Center) on the morning of Friday, June 22 at a ceremony held at Riocentro. The event was attended by Izabella Teixeira, Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Helen Clark, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator.

The Rio+ Center is a collaborative effort of partners, including the Brazilian government, the state government of Rio de Janeiro, the Municipality of Rio, UNDP, other UN agencies as well as national and international representatives from universities, companies and civil society.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, welcomed the partnership: “Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has said that not only is it possible to grow and to include, protect, and preserve at the same time, but also truly sustainable development requires that we do so, and at UNDP we believe the same thing,” she said.

"Governments, private sector and civil society will be able to use this center to learn from each other’s experiences, identify people and partners with fundamental experiences, plan ahead and design programs and policies. UNDP can contribute with their experience and extensive network of specialization. We have a long history of support for capacity building, and an established role as an impartial agent who can connect sustainable development initiatives and widen their scale," Helen Clark continued.

With initial support from about 25 institutions and a broad international consortium of partners, consisting of government agencies, United Nations agencies, local governments (including the state government and municipality of Rio de Janeiro), NGOs, universities, think-tanks and the private sector, the Rio+ Center will facilitate research, knowledge exchange and promote international debate about sustainable development.

Luciano Coutinho, president of the National Bank for the Economic and Social Development (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social -BNDES) said that "the institution joins the Brazilian government to support the Rio+ Center and congratulates the UNDP and other partner institutions in this important initiative, a fruit of the Rio +20 Conference. It will create a unique space for discussions of innovative ideas and actions for building a sustainable world," he said.

According to official announcement of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Rio+ Center "is born with the mission of being a reference center for the promotion of one of the defining debates of this century: the integration between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development."

The aim of its creation is audacious and it actively seeks to develop new and innovative mechanisms to involve the participation of local governments, civil society, companies and universities in knowledge exchange and discussions on the subject.

The Rio+ Center will continue the discussions initiated by the Dialogues for Sustainable Development, which were developed by the Brazilian government in order to ensure the active participation of civil society and experts.

The new Center will build on the already existing success of the partnership between the Brazilian Government and UNDP, the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), established in 2004 in Brasilia. Since its founding, the IPC-IG has played a key role in the dialogue between countries of the South, through policies of protection and social inclusion, innovation, development, rural issues and sustainable development in general.

The Rio+ Center will initially be hosted by the Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Engineering (COPPE / UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University, on the campus of ‘Fundão Island’.

The creation of the Rio+ Center received initial support from the following institutions:

• United Nations Development Program(UNDP);
• United Nations Environment Program(UNEP);
• International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG);
• United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT);
• International Labor Organization (ILO);
• Institute of Advanced Studies, United Nations University (UNU-IAS);
• Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development (RCE);
• Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil;
• Rio de Janeiro State Government;
• Municipality of Rio de Janeiro;
• Studies and Projects Financial Supporter (FINEP);
• National Bank for Economic and Social Development (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social - BNDES);
• Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE);
• Institute for Global Green Technologies and Employment (Instituto Global para Tecnologias Verdes e Emprego - GIGTech, COPPE / UFRJ);
• Center for Sustainable Development at the University of Brasilia (UNB-CDS);
• Rio de Janeiro’s Network of Technology and Innovation (Rede de Tecnologia e Inovação do Rio de Janeiro - REDETEC);
• Latin American Technological Information Network (RITLA / UNESCO);
• National Confederation of Industry (CNI);
• Brazilian Service to Support Micro and Small Enterprises (Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas - Sebrae);
• Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS);
• Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FBDS);
• BVRio (Rio de Janeiro’sGreen Stock Market);
• ‘Reverurbano’;
• ‘Pró -Natura Foundation’.