The Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) was founded as a corporate lobby group for Rio Earth Summit in 1990 and merged with the World Industry Council on the Environment (WICE) into the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in1995 (Clapp & Dauvergne, 2005).

WBCSD is global association dealing exclusively with business and sustainability and consists of world leading companies such as Toyota, GE, Posco, Shell, BP and so on (WBCSD, 2010).

It is based on market liberalism which believes technology can overcome environmental problems. WBCSD has been actively engaged in global discussions on the environment and development (Clapp & Dauvergne, 2005).

Industry are important actors for promoting innovation, and WBCSD has contributed toward sustainable development. However, the emergence of such strong associations representing the voice of business can also become a menace to global environmental governance.

Sources:

Clapp, J. & Dauvergne, P. (2005) Path to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment. London, MIT Press.

WBCSD website http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=MQ&doOpen=1&ClickMenu=LeftMenu

Entry submitted by Miki Hirose