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What is the G7?

The G7 is an international forum designed to bring together the leaders of seven of the world's most industrially advanced democracies. The G7 continues to function as a forum for discussion of economic and financial issues and usually includes the Managing Director of the IMF and G7 finance ministers and central bank governors. The member countries include: France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and the United States. The European Union is also included as an attendee.

The presidency of the G7 changes on an annual basis; the president for 2017 is Italy. Below is the calendar of events for the Italian presidency from the G7 website.

G7 calendario web eng

What is the B7?

The B7 serves as the business side of the G7, representing the business community of the G7 countries. The goal of the B7 is to contribute to the G7 agenda by providing the business perspective on major economic issues through recommendations and proposals. The B7 organizes various initiatives and events by bringing together civil society, business, and opinion leaders. They provide a forum for high-level debate on international issues and potential solutions.

Italy currently presides over the B7 and is hosting a number of working groups and events throughout the year.

Current B7 policy focus

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY, A GROWING GLOBAL PRIORITY

Resource efficiency has gained in importance recently, in large part due to the global resource flow across borders and the challenges and opportunities that could be effectively addressed through international dialogue and cooperation.

  • In 2015, resource efficiency became a priority, with the launch of the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency. Its goal is to promote the exchange of ideas on addressing the challenges of resource efficiency, sharing best practices, and creating information networks.
  • In 2016, the G7 leaders endorsed the Toyama Framework on Material Cycles, providing a new framework for a common vision and guide for actions to encourage future efforts on resource efficiency.
  • In 2017, Germany has introduced the new Energy, Climate and Resource Efficiency taskforce for the B20 agenda and advocates for the creation of a platform that can encourage the exchange of information on best practices, and lead to possible international cooperation on resource efficiency at the G20 level.