The Manifesto reads: "We, the signatories to this Manifesto, refuse to sit idly by in the face of another failure of governments to provide hope for a sustainable future for all. ... We pledge ourselves to: equity ... localizing our systems of economies ... [and] a Global Citizens Movement."

"It's fitting that we're launching the process in Rio de Janeiro, twenty years on from the 1992 Earth Summit. Governments at Rio are talking about institutional frameworks for sustainable development and the green economy. But these efforts will not succeed unless we also pay attention to the health of the world's dominant political system – democracy," stated Co-Chair of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (FDSD) John Lotherington, whose organization lead the manifesto development process.

A public consultation process, soliciting feedback to finalize the Peoples' Sustainability Manifesto, will run until the end of November 2012. FDSD is also looking for champions of the manifesto, which is scheduled to officially launch in early 2013.