Formally known as the
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), the
Brundtland Commission's mission is to unite countries to pursue
sustainable development together. The Chairman of the Commission,
Gro Harlem Brundtland, was appointed by
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Secretary General of the United Nations, in December 1983. At the time, the
UN General Assembly realized that there was a heavy deterioration of the human environment and natural resources. To rally countries to work and pursue sustainable development together, the UN decided to establish the
Brundtland Commission. Gro Harlem Brundtland was the former
Prime Minister of Norway and was chosen due to her strong background in the sciences and
public health. The Brundtland Commission officially dissolved in December 1987 after releasing
Our Common Future, also known as the
Brundtland Report, in October 1987, a document which coined, and defined the meaning of the term "
Sustainable Development".
Our Common Future won the
University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in 1991. The organization Center for Our Common Future was started in April 1988 to take the place of the Commission.