Over the course of nearly three decades, the Global Network has grown to more than 60 organizations, bringing together sustainability organizations with a wealth of knowledge and expertise from all corners of the world. More about the depth of this journey and the history can be found here.
The Global Network continues to present a unique and precious asset that helps to create bridges between global and local sustainability agendas, spreads content and key messages, adds valuable perspectives and provides a conduit to implement global initiatives at local and regional levels.
Examples of this include Vision 2050: Time to Transform where the Global Network played a key role in bringing local knowledge to the global stage, and adapting the work for their respective geographies. Reporting matters or Circular Transition Indicators are other examples where Global Network partners have played a key role in adapting, implementing and advancing the work with their constituencies in their regions.
Today, we continue to collaborate and create shared value and benefits to all partners involved, by:
Strengthening sustainability competence
Many Global Network partners share similar characteristics in terms of their organizational structure and resources and many face similar sustainability challenges. As a global community of peers, the network offers a unique platform to exchange insights and draw on each other’s experiences, to explore common solutions and enrich each other’s work, individually and collectively. Together, we build capacity and strengthen the competences within the community.
Enhancing global reach, impact and credibility
We collaborate to enhance our reach, impact and credibility by building upon and amplifying each other’s work. The Global Network supports global advocacy efforts and helps to position WBCSD as the lead partner for key stakeholders around the world. WBCSD benefits from the Global Network’s engagement with business and policy developments at at national, regional and market levels, allowing it to elevate regional perspectives as well as contextualize global priorities to local realities.
Implementing leading sustainability practices
Global Network partners are critical to WBCSD’s mission. They adapt and adopt global sustainability initiatives and leading practice to the regional contexts in which they and their members operate. While WBCSD initiatives are mostly targeted and tailored to large enterprises, the Global Network provides a channel to reach small- and medium-sized enterprises, to make sustainability initiatives tangible and to engage business leaders and policy makers at national, regional and market levels.