World leaders at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable development which embraces economic progress, social development, and environmental protection for the benefit of all. One of the principal outcomes of Rio+20 was the call to develop a set of universally applicable sustainable development goals (SDGs) that carefully balance the environmental, social and economic dimensions of
sustainable development. This paper provides advice and guidance on how environmental sustainability can be incorporated in the SDGs. It is intended to stimulate a dialogue on environmental sustainability and the SDGs rather than be the last word on the subject.