The debate about the role and responsibilities of the business community in pursuing sustainable development has never been more lively.

On climate change, for instance, business organizations like The Climate Group, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Business & Environment Programme’s Corporate Leaders Group have recently adopted very pro-active, progressive stances in their dealings with governments and consumers.

Individual companies not only acknowledge publicly how much more they could be doing, but are getting on and doing it.

Off the back of that, some have argued that there’s a new global economy in the making, a new model of responsible globalisation emerging. Others continue to see big business as the principal driver of everything that’s going wrong in the world today.

It is of course possible to ignore these issues and their potential impact on the business community. But they won’t go away. Nor will the expectation for business leaders to get on top of them.

These Masterclasses provide a unique opportunity to do just that.