The theme of the 2012 conference is ‘International Business and Sustainable Development’. The most widely-quoted definition of sustainable development is ‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’
In September 2005, the United Nations World Summit identified three interdependent and mutually-reinforcing components of sustainable development, namely economic development, social development, and environmental protection. Furthermore the Summit stressed the important role that foreign direct investment (FDI) could play in the development process, particularly in developing and emerging economies.
This conference seeks to address the issues of how international business contributes to this process. The greater integration of goods, factor and capital markets means that countries are even more interdependent. The impressive growth rates of many emerging economies, not just the BRICs but other countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and evenAfrica, are stimulating a new international economic order. Direct investments by MNEs and SMEs in developing and emerging economies are on the rise, but so too are investments in developed countries by firms from emerging economies. Consumer needs and expectations are evolving worldwide. Many firms are adjusting their supply chains to take advantage of these global developments, and the outsourcing and offshoring of both manufacturing and service activities are increasingly important phenomena. At the same time, firms are increasingly being held responsible for their impact of their international activities upon people and upon the environment.