collaborative projects, platforms & partnerships to scale solutions to ecosystems, energy, carbon, materials & water challenges.

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The US BCSD was founded in 1992 to give leading US businesses a platform to work together to design, implement and scale sustainability solutions. Today, the US BCSD’s cross-sector platforms, projects and partnerships bring leading companies together to solve circular economy, carbon, energy and water challenges across North America. The US BCSD is a Global Network partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

 

current projects at a glance

WE'RE MATCHMAKERS AND CONNECTION CREATORS - and we can help leverage OUR NETWORK TO BRING GREAT SUSTAINABILITY IDEAS TO SCALE.

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Louisiana and Texas Water Synergy Projects

 

Circular Economy

Connecting businesses to develop and scale new reuse and recycling market opportunities.

Carbon

Developing multi-industry decarbonization projects in the Gulf Coast and Great Lakes region.

Water

A replicable business solution for improving watershed collaboration between stakeholders to reduce shared water risks.

Energy

Supporting the development of strategies for reducing building energy consumption by 30% or more in the US.


Our open and collaborative structure also creates opportunities for members to work together on their own project ideas, with US BCSD tracking and facilitation as needed. Learn more about how that works here.

circular economy

connecting businesses to develop and scale new reuse and recycling market opportunities

 
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Materials Marketplace

The Materials Marketplace is an award-winning regional and national platform that connects businesses to develop and scale new reuse and recycling market opportunities. Through our platform, traditional and non-traditional industrial waste streams are matched with new product and revenue opportunities, ultimately enabling the culture shift to a circular, closed-loop economy. In addition to diverting waste from landfills, these recovery activities generate significant cost savingsenergy savings, and create new jobs and business opportunities.

[Re]verse Pitch Competition

The [Re]verse Pitch Competition is a social innovation program from the City of Austin and community partners including the US BCSD to help turn valuable raw materials that are currently leaving local businesses, non-profits, and institutions as waste into the foundation of new social enterprises. This four week program, run for the first time in November 2015, helped launch two new start-ups in the Austin area. Learn more at reversepitch.org.

carbon

A cross-sector platform designed to reduce carbon emissions and enhance economic vitality

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Gulf Coast Carbon Collaborative

The Gulf Coast Carbon Collaborative is a cross-sector platform aimed at reducing the region’s carbon emissions and impact while preserving and enhancing its economic vitality. Businesses in the Gulf Coast region are increasingly motivated to reduce carbon emissions because the area is both positioned for economic growth and uniquely vulnerable to the physical and regulatory risks posed by climate change and the control of greenhouse gas emissions. Stakeholders also are increasingly interested in how business and industry will respond to these challenges.

Challenges to the reduction of carbon emissions include access to technology, information and capital to fund change. An ongoing cross-sector collaboration structure specific to the region is needed to address these challenges and empower managers and decision-makers to create strategies through shared experiences that will help protect regional assets and economic opportunity.

water

a replicable business solution for improving watershed collaboration between stakeholders to reduce shared water risks

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Louisiana Water Synergy Project

For the past four years the US BCSD has been working with 23 diverse companies in the lower Mississippi River Basin to address a range of water supply, water quality, stormwater and coastal resiliency risks. Companies are working together to address water quality concerns through design of a Water Quality Trading Program, and have explored new options for wetlands restoration through changes in water management. Projects and policy recommendations have emerged that have been greeted with high interest by state and local agencies, academia, and NGOs. This multi-sector teaming demonstrates that there is considerable regional interest in using the speed and efficiency of market-based institutions to seek out ways of converting water problems into economic opportunities, and to developing a collective capacity for conserving watershed systems as both private and public goods.


Strategic Alliance with The Water Institute of the Gulf

The Water Institute of the Gulf and the US BCSD, two groups that have separately tackled a number of issues involving the protective role played by the region’s eroding wetlands and the importance of Louisiana’s water resources, are now joining forces to collaborate on applied research aimed at finding solutions to water challenges in the region and around the world. 

Strategic Alliance with Restore the Earth Foundation

The US BCSD and Restore the Earth Foundation have formed a Strategic Alliance for landscape-scale restoration and a $1 million Collaborative Fund. The funds will be used to restore 1,000 acres at Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area, Louisiana, the largest land area that provides the last line of defense protecting more than 250,000 people, including the United Houma Nation and Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, from the threat of storms and land loss. The region is home to threatened and endangered species, commercial and recreational fisheries, and a rich diversity of wildlife and birds.


Louisiana Coastal Zone Game

A playable prototype simulation game to enable participants to explore and understand mutual interests, trade-offs, and consequences of potential decisions about funding resiliency projects. This game is designed to start conversations that lead to collaboration and action.

 

US BCSD & WBCSD relationship

collaboration links global thought leadership to action-oriented, regional sustainability projects.

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The US BCSD and WBCSD work together for meaningful action on urgent sustainability challenges.

 
 

The US BCSD brings 20+ years of experience with real projects, teaming with US members, government academic and NGO partners on common solutions and creating pathways to better finance, implement and communicate results.

 
 

The WBCSD brings decades of world-class thought leadership from its network of 200 global companies to grasp beyond-the-horizon views of what’s coming next and break-through solutions to deal with sustainability’s business challenges. 

The US BCSD links to WBCSD’s rich global idea flow and serves as a project proving ground and implementation platform in the US.

ACT, ENGAGE, ENABLE, COLLABORATE

Have other questions about our work? Get in touch using the form below, or hover over the staff photos to contact one of us directly.

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Staff

Contact Us

Phone: 512.981.5417  |  Email: info@usbcsd.org  |  Mail: PO Box 634, Austin, TX 78767