Sustainable Cities and Communities

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, it is time to re-think our approach to disaster response and recovery. Since 1980, average annual disaster costs have doubled every decade. This is financially unsustainable.

Today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, over 30 leading companies across 16 sectors joined forces to implement the circular economy through WBCSD’s newest initiative, Factor10. Collectively responsible for USD $1.3 trillion in annual revenues, the companies in Factor10 represent a powerful business effort scale up momentum for circular economy solutions.

Join Schneider Electric and CNBC as we bring you a panel debate live on Facebook at the World Economic Forum in Davos

Catch up on all of the inclusive business stories from Business Call to Action (BCtA). Learn how they are helping companies meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We have a problem. The population of the world is growing. Almost all of that growth is occurring in urban centers around the world, and each city already draws on more resources and ecological services than the land that it manages can support - many times over.

Larry Cooley, President Emeritus of MSI, A Tetra Tech Company, co-authored a blog post for the Brookings Institution’s Future Development blog with Jonathan Papoulidis, Executive Advisor on Fragile States at World Vision, titled “Scalable Solutions in Fragile States.” All opinions expressed in this post are the authors’ own.

In Weledi, a town located 330 km from the capital city of Addis Ababa, Bechtel experts in partnership with the local government, NGOs, and community; and Engineers Without Borders, worked together to strengthen the resilience of the community against future health hazards that arose from water contamination.

If someone asked you to name the top challenge presented by urbanization and our escalating world population, what would you say? One answer could be: the ever-increasing need for energy – which is one of the most basic dilemmas of modern life. But with the right approach, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity.

Traditionally, economic growth and environmental sustainability have been at odds. In Texas, we tend to adopt a "growth first" attitude, and then worry about environmental and lifestyle impacts later. But the 2017 Dallas Urban Heat Island Management Study from the Texas Trees Foundation provides reasons why we need to rethink how we handle the region's growth, building a better balance between the gray and green infrastructures.