"It is time for business to be more transparent, accountable and responsible by working individually and through trade associations to support climate policy," the UN chief said during the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21).
Ban underscored that "green business is good business," adding that companies should regularly bring sustainability in from the sidelines and incorporate it into the core of their operations.
He spoke during the Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) Focus on Business Event, which brought together hundreds of business leaders and senior officials from all over the world.
The LPAA was launched a year ago at the previous climate change conference in Peru. It aims to strengthen climate action beyond COP21.
From November 30 to December 11, France is both hosting and chairing the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). The event is expected to result in the signing of a global agreement on climate change, introducing a common universal strategy on the issue, which is due to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997.