World Business Council for Sustainable Development

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a CEO-led, global advocacy association of some 200 international companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development.

Its origins date back to the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit of 1992, when Stephan Schmidheiny, a Swiss business entrepreneur, was appointed chief adviser for business and industry to the secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). He created a forum called "Business Council for Sustainable Development", which went on to become Changing Course, a book that coined the concept of eco-efficiency.

The WBCSD was created in 1995 in a merger of the Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Industry Council for the Environment and is based in Geneva, Switzerland with an office in New York and New Delhi.

Operations

The Council provides a platform for companies to explore sustainable development, share knowledge, experiences and best practices, and to advocate business positions on these issues in a variety of forums, working with governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations.