About

Had I known about such an interesting approach, I would not have spent so much time developing one which might not be nearly as effective. The "Best Practices Network for Sustainable Development" exists to serve this hypothetical speaker — the person who, in government or industry, is tasked to solve a problem which, all too often, is far from unique. The Network’s underlying premise is that information on ‘successful practices’ is not easily available, which leads to duplication and ultimately prevents a more widespread dissemination of those practices. Its main goal is to identify, document and disseminate 'successful practices'.

The need for, and premises of, the Network were determined through an extensive consultation involving representatives from government, industry and academia from several countries. Following this, an international workshop held in the Paris office of the United Nations Environment Programme served to establish the Network's working methods and initial focus areas. Participants in the Paris workshop helped operationalise the work of the Network by (i) establishing the role of its members, (ii) selecting the topics to be addressed, (iii) deciding on a plan of work for those topics, and (iv) determining the Network’s basic management structures.

Inaugural meeting