The Johannesburg Summit has turned the world's attention to the issue of sustainable development.

According to the Brundtland Commission, this amorphous term means 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs'.

In this vital enterprise, the contribution of the private sector is crucial. So what exactly are companies doing in the pursuit of a sustainable future?

BASD has assembled a series of case-studies which give a flavor of the work which businesses around the world have undertaken in the interests of sustainability.

Citigroup backs sustainable business
26 July 2002 – Financial services giant Citigroup partners with World Resources Institute to encourage sustainable enterprise in Latin America.

ABB helps young South Africans fight drugs and violence
26 July 2002 - As part of ABB’s social responsibility policy, the engineering group is working with a local initiative in the township of Westbury to help young people build a future free from gang-based violence and drugs.

Fiat geared up to reduce pollution on Italy’s roads
28 June 2002 - Car-maker Fiat teams up with the Italian Ministry for the Environment and the country's oil industry association Unione Petrolifera in a new drive to promote low-emission methane-powered vehicles and reduce air pollution in Italy's cities.

Smart solution brings clean water to rural South Africa
17 June 2002 - When Xholiswa Khula leaves her house in rural South Africa, she knows that within half an hour she'll back with clean drinking water for her family.

H&M builds Bangladeshi children a bridge to safe work
3 June 2002 – H&M partners with UN agencies to give young people in Bangladesh the chance of a better future.

Aventis reawakens the war on sleeping sickness
30 May 2002 – Pharmaceutical company teams up with World Health Organisation to fight sleeping sickness in Africa.

Bankers go wild as HSBC invests in nature
13 May 2002 – HSBC workers leave their desks and head into the field to help scientists collect data for environmental projects ranging from watching sea turtles in Costa Rica to tracking endangered jaguars in Brazil.

DaimlerChrysler turns waste coconuts into car seats
27 March 2001 - Ananindeua - Under an ambitious recycling campaign hatched in the depths of Amazonian Brazil, the car manufacturer has turned to natural fibres to make car seats, sun visors and truck upholstery.

A small loan that went a long way in an Indian village
6 March 2001 - The Deutsche Bank Microcredit Development Fund (MDF) backs small loans for poor people through 12 organizations around the world. The loans give people a chance to buy basic equipment and raw materials to set up or expand a business, thus breaking the poverty cycle.

Cyber-doctors bring free advice to developing countries
20 June 2000 - A leading medical organization is using the internet to spearhead an ambitious plan to deliver free, instant medical assistance to people in the world's least developed nations.