The Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) Portugal is a non-profit association that brings together and represents more than 140 companies reference companies in Portugal that are actively committed to the transition to sustainability.

Our mission is to help our member companies on their journey to sustainability by promoting positive impact for stakeholders, society, and the environment.

This mission is materialized in 3 key activities:

• Working Groups (WG) - which foster collaboration among companies to create innovative solutions, mechanisms, and tools to address business challenges in the transition to sustainability;
• Training - open to professionals and employees of companies and organizations, whatever the sector, stage of the journey to sustainability, level of knowledge and maturity in matters of sustainability;
• Communication, events, and publications - to mark the national agenda with regard to sustainability issues and raise the awareness of business and society.

We have a broad sectorial representation and companies of different sizes, from those that are part of the PSI20 stock market index to other smaller ones.

The sales volume of our associates represents about 10% of the national GDP.

BCSD Portugal is part of the Global Network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the largest international business organization working in the area of sustainable development.

The WBCSD was established in 1995, following the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, also known as ECO-92, as a platform to help companies respond to the sustainability challenges that were beginning to be faced at the corporate level as well. 

The WBCSD is a CEO-led global organization of more than 200 leading companies working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. Member companies represent all business sectors and all major economies, with member companies' sales volume representing about 8.5 trillion and this group of companies employing 19 million people.

Since its establishment, the WBCSD has uniquely positioned itself to work with member companies along and across value chains to provide impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues.

BCSD Portugal is also one of the national business councils that are part of the WBCSD Global Network. This network is composed of 70 national business councils in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania.

The Network, which comprises more than 5,000 companies, shares a commitment to promoting business leadership for the sustainable development of their respective countries and regions.

This alliance enables us to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world, making business more sustainable worldwide. 

Together, we are the business voice for sustainability: united by our vision of a planet where more than 9 billion people live well and within their limits. 

We help companies to better integrate and perform better on the three ESG dimensions, i.e. the various environmental, social and governance dimensions. We walk with companies to help them achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the Paris Climate Agreement, which we believe are the pillars of a modern, balanced and inclusive society, capable of generating employment and wealth, while respecting the biosphere and human rights.

Our priorities for action are aligned with the priorities of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), whose Global Network BCSD Portugal is a member.