Brazil has the largest economy in South America and the ninth largest in the world. It is a country of extremes, with extraordinary social, cultural and ecological diversity. Embracing the Amazon rainforest and the sprawling cities and shantytowns of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero, it is a land where modern industry and commerce has flourished alongside extraordinary inequality, poverty, crime and violence.

In part because of these extremes, Brazil has long been associated with sustainable development: hosting the first Earth Summit in 1992 and convening the first World Social Forum in 2001. The country’s incumbent President Lula was elected on a platform to address some of the fundamental challenges of inequality, although his government has since been shaken by revelations of endemic corruption. In a year when Brazil will again be in the spotlight – with federal elections this autumn – this Country Study aims to provide an overview of the tensions, challenges and opportunities for sustainable development and corporate responsibility in Brazil. This issue brief presents an overview based on our in-depth Brazil Country Study.