With less than 48 hours for the start of the 2012 United Nations Conference in Sustainable Development the excitement in Rio de Janiero has become palpable in every street and corner of the city. The multiples side events hosted by the UN and strategic NGOs do not only show the level of involvement by society, governments and private institutions but at the same time show us that the need for a change is expected now.  One of these side events was “Green and Growth/China and Action” in which Prof. Jiang WU Vice-president of Tongji University, and Dean of IESD explained the importance of the Universities for sustainable development and the inter-institutional collaboration in which Tongji is engaged with the Global University Partnership on Environment and Sustainability.