Overview
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global community of leading businesses driving systems transformation to address pressing sustainability challenges, aiming for a planet where all can thrive by 2050. Together with its members, WBCSD seeks to accelerate the necessary transformation of businesses, their value chains, and the systems in which they operate to tackle interconnected challenges – the climate emergency, the loss of nature, and mounting inequality.
Each year, WBCSD hosts a range of impactful events, from its annual flagship gatherings—the Liaison Delegate Meeting and Council Meeting, where sustainability leaders and members collaborate on strategic initiatives—to various open community events that engage a global audience in urgent climate action and policy discussions, such as COP and Climate Week.
Since 2021, gther has been WBCSD’s strategic partner in delivering impactful events through its hybrid event platform, VX, which supports WBCSD’s global reach and high-profile stakeholder engagement. Over the years, WBCSD’s relationship with gther’s technology and team has grown, enabling them to host seamless, mission-driven events that engage their global audience in meaningful ways.
Partnership genesis and growth
WBCSD first partnered with gther’s VX platform in 2021 to adapt to the shifting demands of virtual events brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform’s flexibility, high customization, and continuous support enabled WBCSD to host their flagship events in a seamless, fully virtual environment. This early success led WBCSD to expand their use of the VX platform to include the VX Mobile App, enhancing the hybrid experience for members.
As the partnership progressed, gther became an integral part of WBCSD’s event management strategy, consistently adapting and introducing new features to meet WBCSD’s evolving needs. Looking ahead, WBCSD is set to adopt gther’s end-to-end event management solution as their trusted partner for their annual events programme.
“Working with gther feels like more than just a client-vendor relationship. They’re committed to our mission, and it shows in every interaction. They truly share our goal of making each event impactful and engaging.”
– Irge Olga Aujouannet, Senior Director of Events and Digital
Key challenges and solutions
- COVID-19 Virtual Transition: gther’s platform allowed WBCSD to seamlessly transition to virtual events without sacrificing the quality of their events and engagement. The platform’s support for interactive tools, such as member voting and Q&A sessions, kept WBCSD’s mission moving forward in a virtual environment.
- Complex event management needs: WBCSD’s events are intricate, with high-profile stakeholders and extensive logistical requirements. gther’s team provided robust platform customisation options, ensuring that every detail aligned with WBCSD’s standards for quality and precision.
- Real-time adaptability: WBCSD’s event needs are dynamic, often requiring last-minute adaptations. For example, gther’s team quickly integrated translation services to accommodate a VIP attendee, exemplifying their agile support and technical capability.
- Enhanced engagement tools: Leveraging the VX Mobile App, WBCSD elevated attendee engagement by providing private messaging, session check-ins, and networking tools that enriched the hybrid event experience for both in-person and virtual attendees.
Building brand consistency
Brand integrity is paramount for any organisation, especially in creating cohesive and memorable event experiences that resonate with their global audience, and this is no different for WBCSD. gther’s gives WBCSD the blank canvas they need to create fully branded, engagement-driven, rich spaces to build their communities and create value for attendees events, aligning with their mission-driven identity by seamlessly integrating their visuals, colour schemes, and logo into the digital platform. This ensures that every interaction reflects WBCSD’s commitment to sustainable development and offers a familiar, cohesive environment for attendees.
By providing complete white-labelling a default, gther allows WBCSD to convey their brand’s essence consistently, at every event and supports WBCSD’s mission and fostering trust throughout the attendee journey and reinforcing brand recognition and trust for both new and returning attendees.
“gther has a unique ability to bridge the gap between digital and in-person experiences. Their platform doesn’t just support our events technically—it helps us foster real, meaningful connections in a digital environment. This white-labelling capability is a huge part of why our events feel like ‘WBCSD’ and not just another virtual platform.”
– Irge Olga Aujouannet, Senior Director of Events and Digital
“The support from gther has been incredible. They feel like an extension of our team, always available to tackle any challenge that comes our way. Their white-labelling ensures our brand stands front and center, maintaining the integrity and high standards of our organization.”
– Tamara Enzler – Senior Associate, Global Events
The gther difference
The relationship between WBCSD and gther has been built on trust, shared purpose, and a deep commitment to delivering high-quality events. WBCSD highlights gther’s customer support as a key component of their success, with gther acting as an extension of their own team.
- Responsive and proactive service: gther’s team provides rapid responses, expert guidance, and proactive solutions, ensuring WBCSD’s events run smoothly and effectively. This responsiveness has been crucial in adapting to real-time needs, allowing WBCSD more time to focus on the event content.
- Collaborative and flexible approach: WBCSD describes gther’s support as highly collaborative, with team members working closely to anticipate and address evolving event requirements. This flexibility has built trust, with WBCSD confident that every event challenge will be met with thoughtful, effective solutions.
- Personalised assistance: From the day-to-day questions to attendee-specific needs, the gther team offers personalised support that aligns with WBCSD’s vision. This approach allows WBCSD to confidently scale their events, knowing that gther has every detail expertly managed.
This dedicated support structure has been key to WBCSD’s long-term confidence in gther’s solutions, making gther an invaluable partner in their journey toward a sustainable future.
“The support from gther has been incredible. They feel like an extension of our own team, always available to tackle any challenge that comes our way. It’s rare to find a partner so dedicated to ensuring our events are flawless.”
– Tamara Enzler – Senior Associate, Global Events
“gther is always listening and adapting. Their team takes our feedback seriously, and we’ve seen constant improvements that make a real difference in how we manage and experience events. It’s reassuring to know we have a partner committed to evolving with us and staying at the forefront of event management.”
– Irge Olga Aujouannet, Senior Director of Events and Digital
Future Plans
As WBCSD looks to the future, they plan to deepen their integration with gther by adopting Ticketing for event registration, integrating with their CRM and finance system for payments, and badge printing. This end-to-end solution will streamline the attendee experience from registration through to check-in, with engagement metrics that capture valuable insights into audience interactions. Additionally, gther’s ongoing feature development will help provide WBCSD with enhanced KPI tracking for engagement, content interaction, and digital conversion, enabling continuous optimisation of their events.
Summary
The WBCSD-gther partnership exemplifies how collaboration, innovation, and shared goals can drive impactful event experiences. By providing a customisable, high-quality platform and dedicated support, gther allows WBCSD to deliver immersive and mission-aligned events that engage a global audience in the work of sustainability. This partnership-focused approach not only reinforces WBCSD’s event strategy but also highlights the importance of adaptable, reliable solutions in bringing a global vision for sustainability to life.
