October 2004, International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
A Business Guide to Development Actors aims to introduce the business community to potential partners in the development community. It is a first port of call for managers who are interested in working with a development organization, but unsure of how to begin. The main part of this guide consists of profiles of 30 organizations already engaging in these new forms of collaboration. The profiles introduce business managers to some of the main development actors and offer a glimpse of the diversity of the development community and the ways in which its goals and strategies are converging with those of business. The 30 profiles are only a glimpse of a broader resource tool, as the guide has been produced in conjunction with an online database that includes information on some 100 organizations.
This guide suggests that there is a wide range of partnership possibilities between business and development actors. Some will primarily improve the environment in which companies operate; others will bring financial capital or non-financial resources to business projects that have a positive impact on development.
