The Brundtland Commission is another name for the World Commission, which was "established in 1983 by the United Nations General Assembly" and named for its chairperson Gro Harlem Brundtland (The Corporate Ethics Monitor, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 78). In 1987, the commission put out a report entitled 'Our Common Future' whose goal was "to reexamine the critical environmental and developmental issues and to formulate realistic proposals for dealing with them; to propose new forms of international cooperation on these issues that will influence policies and events in the direction of needed changes; and to raise the levels of understanding and commitment to action of individuals, voluntary organizations, businesses, institutes, and governments" (The Corporate Ethics Monitor, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 78). The commission stated that companies must make development sustainable -"to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (The Corporate Ethics Monitor, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 78).

In order to reach this goal of sustainable development, the commission outlined "seven natural-resource thresholds that cannot be crossed without severely damaging our biosphere systems. The thresholds identified are the greenhouse effect, the depletion of atmospheric ozone, the acidification of our environment, the disposal of toxic wastes, desertification, the extinction of species of plants and animals, and the threat of nuclear war" (The Corporate Ethics Monitor, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 78). Many of our resources are misused because people living in poverty-stricken countries need to quickly develop to increase their living standard to reach that of the developed world. However, this mismanagement of resources, while developing the undeveloped world quickly, will ultimately lead to much larger global problems. Therefore, corporations can contribute to sustainable development directly by adopting appropriate manufacturing, accounting, technology, and waste management policies and practices and indirectly by addressing or combating poverty, which "often causes the use of local resources in ways which are not in keeping with worldwide needs or the best ecological standards" (The Corporate Ethics Monitor, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 79). Since 1987, the Brundtland Commission has been the foundation for corporate sustainable development initiatives and poverty eradication programs.

In short, it does not. Because attitudes toward social responsibility evolve and change, as does technology and society, EthicScan relies on a technique called the Modified Delphi Process (MDP) - a democratic expression of opinion by respected panellists that meet every 3-4 years to debate and update the definitions of corporate social responsibility through cycles of mutual discussion and learning. The latest panel took place in 2000. The level of discussion is detailed and covers dozens of variables, recommended weights, and proposed topics. Often the opinion of two MDP panellists may sway the definition of CSR of the majority of other participants on the panel.