Can business do business in ways that reduce poverty and save the environment?
Geneva, 21 February 2006 – Can sustainable business models be made to work for nature? Can they be made to reduce poverty? Do companies have a role in addressing the global challenges such as poverty and climate change? And does society trust them to take such a role? This was debated on Monday, at an event hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva. 250 people gathered to discuss “The Role of Business in Tomorrows Society.” Among the participants were CEOs of leading global companies, government representatives, intergovernmental organizations and members of civil society organizations such as Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF. The WBCSD is a coalition of 180 global companies committed to sustainable development. The debate occurred as the WBCSD reviewed the first ten years of its operations and looked at the challenges ahead. Expressing a need for deeper dialogue and more purposeful engagement among companies and policy-makers, the debate built on a manifesto
