At the beginning of the 21st Century, economic decision-making is being shaped by a new idea: Sustainable Development.
Emerging from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 as a result of growing public concern about the environmental and social impacts of traditional approaches to development, it recognizes that economic progress is limited if the social and environmental dimensions are ignored. Importantly, the idea implies that governments alone are insufficient without the skills and resources of business and civil society and that all these sectors must work more closely together. Today, economic decision-making and leadership is about partnership.
Of the three sectors involved in development, the role of business is emerging as pivotal. One of the defining trends of the last 10 years is the massive transfer of assets from the government sector to the private sector. Privatization and globalization have brought business to the heart of economic decision-making, and given business a central role in delivering services to people. As government involvement in the lives of people contracts, there is a growing public expectation that business will become more involved in the life of the community. By discharging its social and environmental responsibilities through partnership, business can deliver stakeholder expectations of corporate responsibility more effectively and manage the risks and costs of sustainable development more equitably. Strategic alliances between business and non-governmental organizations such as environmental charities are now accepted business practice for responsible companies.
