Putting the spotlight on sustainable development imperatives

THE SOUTHERN Africa Business and Environment Programme (BEP), which is run by Cambridge University in association with the GSB and the National Business Initiative, was launched recently with a number of prominent business leaders being challenged to make a difference in the domain of social equity and sustainable development.

The inaugural seminar saw international and local business and academic leaders converge on Lanzerac Manor in Stellenbosch for the week-long event.

This is the first time that the renowned BEP programme has been run in the southern hemisphere. Developed and run by Cambridge University's Programme for Industry, and supported by the Prince of Wales, BEP was established in the UK 10 years ago to act as a high-level forum where business leaders come to understand the strategic implications of sustainable development.

More than 700 leaders from 350 organisations have attended its seminars. The programme was launched in Europe and the US in recent years and last year Cambridge University also committed to running the programme in South Africa on an annual basis.

“The Southern African Programme was remarkable in the quality of the course design, the learning process and the calibre of the delegates, many of whom were executive directors, CEOs or senior managers of our leading companies,” said Professor Anton Eberhard, a member of the core faculty of the programme and associate professor at the GSB and Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

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