Are globalization and sustainability compatible? A review of the debate between the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the International Forum on Globalization

In March of 2003, the publishers of two books with contrasting perspectives sponsored a public debate about the contents of these books, and the larger issues involved. The lead authors of each of the books participated in the debate: Chad Holliday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DuPont, for Walking the Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development; and John Cavanagh, Director of the Institute for Policy Studies, for Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World Is Possible. These panelists represented not only their books, but also their organizations: Holliday represented the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), of which he is past chairman, while Cavanagh represented the International Forum on Globalization (IFG), of which he is Vice President and a member of its Board of Directors. A review of these two books and a discussion of the issues involved in the debate follow.