(CSRwire) GENEVA - In a continued effort to promote business involvement in sustainable development worldwide, the China Business Council for Sustainable Development officially became the 48th member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) Regional Network. The China BCSD is the first organization of this kind in the country, bringing together a cross-section of national and foreign companies.

The China BCSD, whose aim is to implement more sustainable practices in the country, is the result of a joint effort with the China Enterprise Confederation (CEC). The China BCSD's board includes the following WBCSD members: Sinopec, Novozymes, BASF, Shell, BP and Lafarge.

Over 200 high-level representatives from all sectors attended the launch event in Beijing last Friday, including China Economic and Social Council President Chen Jinhua, CEC Executive Vice-President Zhang Yanning, BP Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive and chair of the WBCSD's China Task Force Charles Nicholson, and WBCSD President Björn Stigson.

"China's businesses face major challenges to implement more sustainable practices, such as improving resource and energy efficiency to support their current pace of spectacular economic growth," said Stigson at the press conference. "Another challenge is the need to restructure industry sectors to achieve economies of scale to afford environmentally friendly modern technology."

CEC's Zhang Yanning also pointed to the value of the national BCSD in helping China cope with some of the key challenges resulting from structural transformation, rapid growth, and increasing international economic integration.

Stigson added that the government's aim to quadruple China's GDP by 2020 adds to the challenges ahead, and also means that the growing demand for resources is likely to affect prices of natural resources on the world markets. "Global Sustainability is not possible without a sustainable China," he said. "We are looking forward to cooperate with our Chinese counterparts in their journey toward sustainable development."

The China BCSD's priorities for 2004 include:

China Enterprise Confederation (CEC) will have a permanent seat at the board. In the coming months, another 50-60 national and foreign companies are expected to join the China BCSD.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a coalition of 170 international companies united by a shared commitment to sustainable development via the three pillars of economic growth, ecological balance and social progress. Our activities reflect our belief that the pursuit of sustainable development is good for business and business is good for sustainable development. We also benefit from a Regional Network comprising 32 business councils and partner organizations located in developing countries, and 16 in OECD countries, representing a large and diversified group of business leaders worldwide.

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