ICC/UNEP AWARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LEADERS

Through the World Summit Business Awards for Sustainable Development Partnerships, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aim to bring recognition to effective multi-stakeholder partnerships, which have been designed to pursue and achieve sustainable development.

The Awards are intended to coincide with the international multi-stakeholder process leading up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002.

The Summit provides an opportunity for the international community to comprehensively review the achievements in sustainable development during the ten years since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, and focus on the considerable challenges that lie ahead.

The Awards will spotlight real examples of what has been accomplished, the obstacles encountered, and the lessons learned. Moreover, these effective partnerships can help reveal where further efforts should be concentrated. The spirit of the Awards is the recognition and revelation of leading innovative approaches to advance sustainable development and set an example for others.

The achievements recognized by the Awards will contribute a powerful element to multi-stakeholder dialogue in the lead up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002, where the Awards themselves will be presented during a special ceremony.