From Challenge to Opportunity: The role of business in tomorrow's society

Companies able to tackle issues such as poverty, climate change and population shifts are those most likely to succeed in the future. This is a view shared by eight global business leaders in a major new publication from the WBCSD.

From Challenge to Opportunity ( 918 kb) sets out a "manifesto for tomorrow's global business" as defined by the Tomorrow's Leaders group of the WBCSD. It also discusses why and how four key areas of business and sustainable development need to be profitable in order to be effective.

Foreword by the Tomorrow’s Leaders co-chairs

We are publishing this paper at a time of intense debate about the role of business in society, particularly in relation to major global issues such as poverty and climate change. Directions set in the next few years will have profound consequences for future generations, and in such a context, we believe business should be clear about its purpose and candid about its dilemmas.

We have therefore come together as a group of business leaders – all members of the WBCSD and all responsible for international businesses – in an effort to stimulate discussion in the business world.

We do not claim to have all the answers to the profound issues business faces, but we have taken some time as a group to order our thoughts on this subject and agree some principles.

In this paper we:

• Set out a model that we believe provides a constructive way for companies to see their role;
• Put forward what we believe to be the main issues with which companies should engage;
• Ask some critical questions that companies and those they work with need to discuss and resolve.

We have focused mainly on the perspectives and experiences of our own companies and other global businesses. However, we believe some of the themes discussed are also relevant to smaller companies and those operating within one country. We offer the paper to provoke discussion and to contribute to the wider debate over business and society.

Download

• English: From Challenge to Opprotunity ( 918 kb)
• Portuguese: Do Desafio a Oportunitade ( 5.58 MB)

Author WBCSD Publication Date 20 Feb 2006 Document Type Publications Issue/Topic Business Role/CSR Source WBCSD Include In RSS WBCSD News & Updates		918 kb Click here to order