Building Competence for Sustainability

We believe a sustainable future is possible: every private sector company, every public institution and every other organisation can be operated in a responsible and future-oriented way. The commitment to sustainability in its human, environmental, social and economic dimensions can become an integral part of business and societal development.

We know from experience that sustainability engagement requires competence in

cross-sector cooperation, stakeholder dialogues and leadership for sustainability and that it calls for creative innovation and awareness about global interdependence. With our

• educational programs,
  
• project management and
  
• process-oriented research

we build competence in collaborative sustainability engagement for leaders, project managers and change agents from

• corporations,
• small and medium sized companies,
• development agencies,
• the public sector and
• civil society organisations

The winners will be announced at the 17th meeting of the UN Commission for Sustainability Development in New York in May 2009.

The SEED Initiative identifies, profiles and supports promising, locally-led start-up enterprises working in partnership to improve livelihoods, tackle poverty and marginalisation, and manage natural resources sustainably in developing countries. SEED develops learning tools for the broad community of social and environmental entrepreneurs, informs policy- and decisionmakers, and aims to inspire innovative entrepreneurial approaches to sustainable development. The CLI is coordinator of the SEED Support Programme.