USING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - THE BUSINESS CASE

Sustainable development has been adopted by a variety of interests in the international environmental debate, each of which constructs the m eaning of the phrase in its own terms. The author analyses the publica tions and activities of the international Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to show that a business construction of sustainable development may excl ude key elements identified by other commentators, especially three di fferent forms of equity (intergenerational, intragenerational and inte rnational), and concentrate instead on market mechanisms and technolog ical change. This links sustainable development primarily to growth, a nd only secondarily to environmental quality or social equality, and d emonstrates how a potentially radical notion can be used by reformist groups to influence the policy debate.