A new web resource from the University of Sussex offers new thinking and practical solutions for sustainable futures.

For more than 20 years the University and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), which is based on campus, have been working together to address the global challenges of poverty reduction, social justice and environmental sustainability.

Back in 1992 the work of the Global Environmental Change programme at Sussex fed in to an Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In 2012, two decades after that Earth Summit, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20) from 20-22 June has put sustainable development at the top of the global political agenda.

To help research users access Sussex resources on issues being highlighted at Rio+20, the School of Global Studies and IDS, together with SPRU and the STEPS Centre, have launched the Beyond Rio Resource Centre.

The aim is for practitioners, policymakers, academics, students, civil-society organisations and others to find resources that are useful and accessible to them.

Professor Martin Todd, leader of the Sussex Climate Change Network, says: “Today we have a wealth of research and expertise with vital relevance to the Rio+20 agenda, building on our heritage of marrying critically engaged social science with world-class environmental research.”

The web pages bring together a selection of key publications and other resources with direct relevance to the two over-arching themes and seven critical issues identified by the UN for Rio+20, all of which will have continuing relevance post-Rio.

A printed guide with information about the online resource will also be circulated at Rio+20 and supporting events.