Stories: Markets & Enterprise

Green Chinese small and medium business owners in a remote university conference center in southern Guangdong province rolled up their sleeves to become better communicators.

In many parts of the world, water is increasingly scarce due to the confluence of population growth, urbanization and climate change. That makes water supplies a growing concern for business investors.

China’s energy efficiency industry is emerging as a high growth sector with the country projected to spend as much as Rmb2.1 trillion (USD300 billion) over the next five years on products and services that cut energy use.

The latest What Works case study from NextBillion looks at a business that is fighting infectious disease in Ghana by providing much-needed health care to the base of the economic pyramid.

Corporate procurement managers are increasingly looking for ways to ensure that wood and paper-based products are environmentally and socially sound. The WRI/WBCSD procurement guide being released today is a toolbox to help them.

Where do the interests of environmental protection and the base of the economic pyramid coincide–and where do they clash?

In a speech at Davos today, Bill Gates called for a more inclusive capitalism that “would have a twin mission: making profits and also improving lives for those who don’t fully benefit from market forces.” That is a major milestone in the evolving thinking of perhaps the most influential philanthropist of our time.