The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) today announced the nomination of nine new Executive Committee members including Peter Oosterveer, Arcadis CEO, and the re-election of its Chair, Sunny Verghese, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Olam, for another two-year term.
Reflecting on his appointment, Peter shares, “I am very proud to represent Arcadis in the Executive Committee of the WBCSD. Sustainability is a core value of Arcadis and our mission to improve quality of life aligns really well with the WBCSD mission to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world by making more sustainable businesses more successful. Creating a sustainable world will require all constituencies to collaborate effectively, and I look forward to helping advance that extremely important cause.”
Peter Bakker, WBCSD’s President and CEO said: “We’re delighted to welcome all these new colleagues to the Executive Committee. They bring significant distinguished international business experience to WBCSD’s mission, vision and strategy. Their know-how across various industries will be valuable in helping WBCSD in its key objective of accelerating the transition to a sustainable world and fostering business action to transform economic systems in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.”
About the WBCSD’s Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is responsible for supervising the strategy and monitoring the effectiveness of operations, controls and governance of WBCSD. In order to strengthen the diversity of backgrounds and experience represented in WBCSD’s ExCo, the Organization’s charter was updated to allow for up to 22 members to be appointed, up from 18 in the past. The appointment was enacted by a vote from members at the 2019 Annual General Meeting of WBCSD, held today in Lisbon, Portugal. Their term will begin on 1 January 2020 for a duration of two years.
Sunny Verghese, WBCSD Chair and Co-Founder and Group CEO of Olam International Ltd., said: “The science that underlines the need for action towards a sustainable and inclusive future has never been stronger. People are also waking up to the climate emergency. Business needs to take the lead to deliver solutions to help the low-carbon transition and move past commitments to actions and clear targets. The Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and all other international frameworks will not be achieved by any company alone and we, business leaders and our companies, need to work with others to maximize impact at scale.”
Find the full composition of WBCSD Executive Committee 2020 here