The historic Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro - the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development - effectively demonstrated to the world the magnitude of the challenge we face. Those of us who represented industry and government in Rio, like the many delegates and environmentalists who participated, came away with a renewed sense of urgency. After two years of intensive preparation and two weeks of even more intensive negotiating, the real work remains to be done. Earth Summit agreements on climate change, biodiversity, and forest protection lack prescribed mechanisms for ensuring that words become actions. Furthermore, despite a broad consensus that industry/government partnership is essential for launching significant new initiatives, the actual roles of industry and government remain blurred.