Sustainable development takes the three areas of economy, society and environment and finds ways of balancing the three interests to produce the results that will benefit most people. The subject hit the global spotlight in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit where the world's governments developed a number of key international agreements, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In 2012, the UN is again meeting in Rio de Janeiro to chart progress on sustainable development at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (otherwise known as Rio+20).

ATAG will coordinate aviation industry representation at Rio+20. It gives the air transport sector a chance to outline the sustainable development actions it is already taking and further work with governments on the challenges of providing economic growth and meeting environmental responsibilities. ATAG has also been asked to join industry groups from other sectors in Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012. BASD2012 is a coalition of leading international business groups who are committed to sustainable development with the overall objective to enhance the conference contribution to sustainable and inclusive markets.