Over the past forty years, the Nordic countries have achieved significant results by working together on the environment, combining economic growth and welfare development with an ambitious environmental policy, and actively contributing to environmental improvements in the Nordic Region and beyond. Promoting sustainable production and consumption, environmentally friendly technology and green economic growth in collaboration with other sectors, including the corporate sector, and international organisations, are important challenges facing Nordic cooperation. Follow-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio 2012 will play a key role in future Nordic cooperation.