Abstract
The relationship between environmental organizations and the corporate sector has gradually shifted toward the collaborative end, resulting in a broad array of “green alliances.” In this paper, we focus on the strategies whereby environmental organizations seek to collaborate with private companies. In particular, we explore whether the ecophilosophy of an environmental organization—i.e., a set of values, attitudes, and beliefs about the natural environment—influences the selection of collaborative strategies. To address this question, we conducted two case studies of environmental organizations with a diverse ecophilosophy—namely, Greenpeace and WWF. In the cases, we covered a broad spectrum of collaborative strategies while also taking into account contextual factors with a possible influence on strategy selection. Building on our findings, we argue that ecophilosophy drives the selection of collaborative strategies and at the same time provides the lenses through which environmental organizations make sense of their operating context. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings and by suggesting directions for future research on environmentalist-business collaboration.
Résumé
La relation entre les organisations environnementales et les entreprises a progressivement pris une tournure plus collaborative, créant toute une palette d’ « alliances vertes ». Dans cet article, nous nous concentrons sur les stratégies par lesquelles les organisations environnementales cherchent à collaborer avec des sociétés privées. Plus particulièrement, nous recherchons si l’éco-philosophie d’une organisation environnementale, i.e. l’ensemble de ses valeurs, attitudes et convictions à propos de l’environnement naturel, influence le choix de ses stratégies collaboratives. Pour traiter cette question, nous avons mené deux études de cas d’organisations environnementales ayant des éco-philosophies différentes : Greenpeace et WWF. Dans ces deux cas, nous avons couvert un large spectre de stratégies collaboratives, en prenant également en compte les facteurs contextuels qui pouvaient influencer les choix stratégiques. Nos résultats nous permettent d’affirmer que l’éco-philosophie dirige le choix des stratégies collaboratives tout en fournissant l’objectif à travers lequel les organisations environnementales donnent un sens à leur contexte opérationnel. Nous concluons en examinant ce qu’impliquent nos résultats et en suggérant des pistes de recherche ultérieure sur la collaboration entre environnementalistes et entreprises.
Zusammenfassung
Die Beziehung zwischen Umweltorganisationen und dem Unternehmenssektor hat sich allmählich in Richtung Zusammenarbeit bewegt und zu einer ganzen Reihe „grüner Allianzen“ geführt. In diesem Beitrag konzentrieren wir uns auf die Strategien, mittels derer Umweltorganisationen eine Zusammenarbeit mit privaten Unternehmen anstreben. Im einzelnen untersuchen wir, ob die Ökophilosophie einer Umweltorganisation — d. h. eine Reihe von Werten, Einstellungen und Überzeugungen hinsichtlich der natürlichen Umwelt — die Wahl der kollaborativen Strategien beeinflusst. Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage führten wir Fallstudien zu zwei Umweltorganisationen mit einer diversen Ökophilosophie durch, nämlich Greenpeace und WWF. Dabei deckten wir ein breites Spektrum kollaborativer Strategien ab, unter gleichzeitiger Berücksichtigung kontextabhängiger Faktoren, die möglicherweise Einfluss auf die Strategiewahl nehmen. Basierend auf unseren Ergebnissen behaupten wir, dass die Ökophilosophie die Wahl der kollaborativen Strategien bestimmt und zugleich die Perspektive darstellt, aus der die Umweltorganisationen ihren operativen Kontext verstehen. Abschließend diskutieren wir die Implikationen unserer Ergebnisse und schlagen Richtungen für zukünftige Forschungen zur Kollaboration zwischen Umweltschützern und Unternehmen vor.
Resumen
La relación entre las organizaciones medioambientales y el sector empresarial se ha desplazado gradualmente hacia el extremo de la colaboración, dando lugar a un amplio espectro de “alianzas verdes”. En el presente documento, nos centramos en las estrategias mediante las cuales las organizaciones medioambientales tratan de colaborar con las empresas privadas. En particular, exploramos si la ecofilosofía de una organización medioambiental - es decir, un conjunto de valores, actitudes y creencias sobre el entorno natural - influye en la selección de estrategias de colaboración. Para abordar esta cuestión, realizamos dos estudios de casos de organizaciones medioambientales con una ecofilosofía variada - a saber, Greenpeace y WWF. En ambos casos, cubrimos un amplio espectro de estrategias de colaboración tomando en cuenta, al mismo tiempo, factores contextuales con una posible influencia en la selección de estrategias. Basándonos en nuestros hallazgos, argumentamos que la ecofilosofía impulsa la selección de estrategias de colaboración y proporciona, al mismo tiempo, las lentes a través de las cuales las organizaciones medioambientales dan sentido a su contexto operativo. Concluimos tratando las implicaciones de nuestros hallazgos y sugiriendo direcciones para la futura investigación sobre la colaboración empresa-ecologistas.
摘要
环境组织与企业之间的关系已逐渐转向合作方向,这就产生了各种各样的“绿色联盟”。本文关注环境组织在寻求与私营企业合作时所采取的策略。我们特别对以下问题进行了探究:环境组织的生态理念——即一系列关于自然环境的价值、态度、信仰——是否对其选择合作策略有所影响。为此,我们对两个具有不同生态理念的环境组织(即绿色和平与世界野生动物基金)进行了案例分析。该等案例分析涵盖了多种合作策略,同时还考虑了可能影响策略选择的环境背景因素。根据研究结果,我们认为生态理念驱动了合作策略的选择,同时还影响了环保组织对其运营环境背景的理解。最后,我们讨论了本研究结果的意义,还为未来关于环保组织与企业界合作的研究方向提出了建议。
ملخص
تحولت العلاقة بين المنظمات البيئية وقطاع الشركات تدريجيا˝ نحو النهاية المتعاونة ، مما أدى إلى مجموعة واسعة من “ تحالفات خضراء” في هذا البحث ، نحن نركز على إستراتيجيات حيث تسعى المنظمات البيئية في التعاون مع شركات القطاع الخاص .على وجه الخصوص ، نحن نفحص إذا كان توحيد الفلسفة وعلم البيئة لمنظمة بيئية – على سبيل المثال٬ مجموعة من القيم والمواقف والمعتقدات حول البيئة الطبيعية- عامل مؤثرعلى إختيارالإستراتيجيات التعاونية. لمعالجة هذه المسألة ، أجرينا دراسات لإثنين من حالات المنظمات البيئية مع توحيد الفلسفة وعلم البيئة بطرق متعددة- أي منظمات بيئية (Greenpeace) والتمويل العالمي للطبيعة (WWF). في الحالات، غطينا مجموعة واسعة من إستراتيجيات تعاونية مع الأخذ في الإعتبار أيضا˝ عوامل سياقية مع التأثير المحتمل على إختيار الإستراتيجية. بناءا˝ على النتائج التي توصلنا إليها ، فإننا نقول إن توحيد الفلسفة وعلم البيئة يدفع إختيارالإستراتيجيات التعاونية ، في الوقت نفسه يوفر العدسات التي من خلالها المنظمات البيئية تفهم سياق التشغيل الخاص بهم . نختتم من خلال مناقشة الآثار المترتبة على النتائج التي توصلنا إليها وبإقتراح إتجاهات للبحث في المستقبل في تعاون المناصر لحماية البيئة- الأعمال التجارية.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
For further information, see FSC Forest Stewardship Council (https://ic.fsc.org/) and SFI Sustainable Forestry Initiative (http://www.sfiprogram.org/).
References
Ählström, J., & Sjöström, E. (2005). CSOs and business partnerships: Strategies for interaction. Business Strategy and the Environment, 14(4), 230–240.
Aspen Skiing Company. (2007). Letter to Thomas Falk, CEO of Kimberly Clark. Retrieved 12 October, 2013, from https://secureusa.greenpeace.org/students/kits/files/16/Aspen_Letter.pdf.
Austin, J. E. (2000). Strategic collaboration between nonprofits and business. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(Suppl 1), 69–97.
Austin, J. E., & Seitanidi, M. M. (2012). Collaborative value creation: A review of partnering between nonprofits and businesses (Part I). Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(5), 726–758.
BCI. (2007). Better cotton initiative. Paper presented at the Environmental Justice Foundation Round Table for Sustainable and Ethical Cotton, London, 25 April.
Brown, D. L. (1991). Bridging organizations and sustainable development. Human Relations, 44(8), 807–831.
Calton, J. M., & Payne, S. L. (2003). Coping with paradox. Business and Society, 42(1), 7–42.
Canada Newswire. (2006). Over 650 businesses pledge not to use Kimberly Clark tissue products, 22 August.
Canada Newswire. (2007). Greenpeace criticizes Kleenex manufacturer’s “green” policy before AGM, 24 April.
Clair, J. A., Milliman, J., & Mitroff, I. (1995). Clash or cooperation? Understanding environmental organizations and their relationship to business. Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, 1, 163–193.
Crane, A. (1998a). Culture clash and mediation: Exploring the cultural dynamics of business-NGO collaboration. Greener Management International, 24, 61–76.
Crane, A. (1998b). Exploring green alliances. Journal of Marketing Management, 14(6), 559–579.
Cummins, A. (2004). The Marine Stewardship Council: A multi-stakeholder approach to sustainable fishing. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 11(2), 85–94.
Dalton, R. J., Recchia, S., & Rohrschneider, R. (2003). The environmental movement and the modes of political action. Comparative Political Studies, 36(7), 743–771.
den Hond, F., & de Bakker, F. G. A. (2007). Ideologically motivated activism: How activist groups influence corporate social change activities. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 901–924.
Elkington, J., & Fennell, S. (1998). Partners for sustainability. Greener Management International, 24, 49–60.
Elliott, C., & Schlaepfer, R. (2001). Understanding forest certification using the Advocacy Coalition Framework. Forest Policy and Economics, 2(3–4), 257–266.
Fox, W. (1994). Ecophilosophy and science. The Environmentalist, 14(3), 207–213.
Frooman, J. (1999). Stakeholder influence strategies. The Academy of Management Review, 24(2), 191–205.
Frooman, J., & Murrell, A. J. (2005). Stakeholder influence strategies: The roles of structural and demographic determinants. Business and Society, 44(1), 3–31.
Garcia, P., & Vredenburg, H. (2003). Building corporate citizenship through strategic bridging in the oil and gas industry in Latin America. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 10, 37–49.
Giraud-Guigues, L., Jeanrenaud, J. P., & McIntosh, A. (2004). Corporate ethics and the Harry superquarry. ECOS, Journal of the British Association of Nature Conservationists, 25(2), 45–52.
Gray, B., & Hay, T. (1986). Political limits to interorganizational consensus and change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 22(2), 95–112.
Greenpeace. (1997). Saving the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol and moral priorites. Position paper. Retrieved 5 April, 2008, from http://archive.greenpeace.org/ozone/greenfreeze/moral97/index.html.
Greenpeace. (2004). Greenpeace launches Kleenex “Kleercut” Campaign. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from http://kleercut.net/en/node/48.
Greenpeace. (2006a). Annual Report 2006. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/annual-report-2006/.
Greenpeace. (2006b). Chain of Lies. The truth about Kimberly Clark’s use of ancient rainforests for tissue products. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from http://www.kleercut.net/en/files/ChainofLies_final.pdf.
Greenpeace. (2006c). Forest Friendly 500 Action Kit. All you need to know to recruit forest friendly businesses. Retrieved 12 October, 2013, from http://forestfriendly500.org/files/ff_500_toolkit.pdf.
Greenpeace. (2006d). US Securities and Exchange Commission asked to investigate Kleenex’s manufacturer false environmental claims. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from http://kleercut.net/en/coastal.
Harris, J. T. (1992). Working with environmental groups. The Public Relations Journal, 48(5), 24.
Hartman, C. L., & Stafford, E. R. (1997). Market-Based Environmentalism: Developing green marketing strategies and relationships. In D. T. Leclair & M. Hartline (Eds.), American Marketing Association Winter Educators’ Conference Proceedings (pp. 156–163). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
Hartman, C. L., & Stafford, E. R. (2006). Chilling with Greenpeace, from the inside out. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 4(2), 54–59.
Heap, S. (2000). NGOs engaging with business: A world of difference and a difference to the world. UK: INTRAC.
Heimer, C., Pudney, R., Jeanrenaud, J. P., Giraud-Guigues, L., & Picard, M. (2006). Tough dialogue pays off. How Lafarge and WWF make their partnership work to help preserving the world’s ecological balance. Paper presented at the conference on “Business as an Agent of World Benefit: Management Knowledge Leading Positive Change”, Cleveland US, October 23–25.
Hendry, J. R. (2004). Influential environmental stakeholders: A grounded model of processes for effecting change. In S. Sharma & M. Starik (Eds.), Stakeholders, the environment and society (pp. 62–92). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hendry, J. R. (2005). Stakeholder Influence Strategies: An Empirical Exploration. Journal of Business Ethics, 61(1), 79–99.
Hendry, J. R. (2006). Taking aim at business: What factors lead environmental non-governmental organizations to target particular firms? Business and Society, 45(1), 47–86.
Henriques, I., & Sharma, S. (2005). Pathways of stakeholder influence in the Canadian forestry industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 14(6), 384–398.
Houlder, V. (2000). Inside track: Coolants spark heated debate. Financial Times.
IFC-WWF. (2004). Better management practices for agribusiness commodities. Retrieved 13 February, 2008, from http://assets.panda.org/downloads/finalbettercottonbriefing13sep04.pdf.
IUCN, UNEP, & WWF. (1980). World Conservation Strategy. Living resource conservation for sustainable development. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/WCS-004.pdf.
Jamison, A., Eyerman, R., Cramer, J., & Læssoee, J. (1991). The making of the new environmental consciousness: A comparative study of the environmental movements in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Jeanrenaud, J. P. (2007a). Interview on “The nature of business”. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/on_the_ground/index.cfm?uNewsID=99800.
Jeanrenaud, J. P. (2007b). One planet living and the challenge of corporate responsibility. Paper presented at the International Conference for Sustainable Conservation and Development, Romania, April 2007.
Jeanrenaud, J. P., & Boulos, M. (2003). The challenge of cooperation: WWF and partnerships with business. Sustainable Development International, 9, 1–3.
Jeanrenaud, J. P., & Boulos, M. (2005). One planet business: The challenge of corporate responsibility. Sustainable Development International, 16, 42–47.
Kimberly Clark. (2005). Our commitment to health and hygiene. Kimberly Clark’s Sustainability Report. Retrieved 13 April, 2008, from http://www.kimberly-clark.com/pdfs/2005SustainabilityReport.pdf.
Lafarge. (2000). Lafarge and WWF: A worldwide partnership. Retrieved 11 February, 2008, from http://www.lafarge.com/wps/portal/6_2_4-IxDet?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/Lafarge.com/AllPR/200.
Lafarge, & WWF. (2005). Two worlds, one planet. WWF and Lafarge partners since 2000. Retrieved 11 February, 2008, from http://www.lafarge.com/06202005-publications_sustainable_development-Lafarge_and_wwf_partnership-uk.pdf.
Lafarge, & WWF. (2011). Ten years anniversary brochure. The partnership explained in ten answers. Retrieved 22 September, 2011, from http://www.lafarge.com/07112011-sustainable_development-wwf_lafarge_brochure-uk.pdf.
Lertzman, D., Garcia, P., & Vredenburg, H. (2009). A national oil company as social development agent. International Review of Business Research Papers, 5(5), 1–15.
Livesey, S. M. (1999). McDonald’s and the Environmental Defense Fund: A case study of a green alliance. Journal of Business Communication, 36(1), 5–39.
Lober, D. J. (1997). Explaining the formation of business-environmentalist collaborations: Collaborative windows and the Paper Task Force. Policy Science, 30(1), 1–24.
Lohbeck, W. (2004). Greenfreeze: From a snowball to an industrial avalanche. Retrieved 11 February, 2008, from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2006/3/greenfreeze-from-snowball-to.pdf.
Mendleson, N., & Polonsky, M. J. (1995). Using strategic alliances to develop credible green marketing. The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 12(2), 4–18.
Menon, A., & Menon, A. (1997). Enviropreneurial marketing strategy: The emergence of corporate environmentalism as market strategy. Journal of Marketing, 61(1), 51–67.
Meyer, M. (2004). Organizational identity, political contexts, and SMO action: Explaining the tactical choices made by peace organizations in Israel, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. Social Movement Studies, 3(2), 167–197.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Milne, G. R., Iyer, E. S., & Gooding-Williams, S. (1996). Environmental organization alliance relationships within and across nonprofit, business, and government sectors. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 15(2), 203–215.
Mitchell, R. C., Mertig, A. G., & Dunlap, R. E. (1992). Twenty years of environmental mobilization: Trends among national environmental organizations. In R. E. Dunlap & A. G. Mertig (Eds.), American Environmentalism. The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970–1990 (pp. 11–26). Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
Murphy, D. F., & Bendell, J. (1997). In the company of partners: Business, environmental groups and sustainable development post-rio. Bristol: Policy Press.
Naess, A. (1973). The shallow and the deep, long-range ecology movement. A summary. Inquiry, 16(1), 95–100.
Nicholson-Crotty, J. (2009). The stages and strategies of advocacy among nonprofit reproductive health providers. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(6), 1044–1053.
Norton, B. (1991). Toward unity among environmentalists. New York: Oxford University Press.
O’Brien, T. (2010). Stuck in the middle: Maintaining the organizational legitimacy of the Regional Environmental Center. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 21(3), 339–357.
Parker, B., & Selsky, J. W. (2004). Interface dynamics in cause-based partnerships: An exploration of emergent culture. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 33(3), 458–488.
Phillips, R. (2002). Is corporate engagement an advocacy strategy for NGOs? The Community Aid Abroad experience. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 13(2), 123–137.
Pleuune, R. (1997). The importance of contexts in strategies of environmental organizations with regard to climate change. Environmental Management, 21(5), 733–745.
Poncelet, E. C. (2004). Partnering for the environment: Multistakeholder collaboration in a changing world. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Rehbein, K., Waddock, S., & Graves, S. B. (2004). Understanding shareholder activism: Which corporations are targeted? Business and Society, 43(3), 239–267.
Sharma, S., Vredenburg, H., & Westley, F. (1994). Strategic bridging: A role for the multinational corporation in Third World development. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 30(4), 458–476.
Sinha, P. C. (1998). Green philosophy. New Dehli: Anmol Publications.
Stafford, E. R., & Hartman, C. L. (1996). Green Alliances: Strategic relations between businesses and environmental groups. Business Horizons, 39(2), 50–59.
Stafford, E. R., & Hartman, C. L. (1998). Toward an understanding of the antecedents of environmentalist-business cooperative relations. In R. C. Goodstein & S. B. Mackenzie (Eds.), American Marketing Association Summer Educators’ Conference Proceedings (pp. 56–63). Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association.
Stafford, E. R., Polonsky, M. J., & Hartman, C. L. (2000). Environmental NGO-business collaboration and strategic bridging: A case analysis of the Greenpeace-Foron Alliance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 9(2), 122–135.
Switzer, J. V. (2004). Environmental politics: Domestic and global dimensions. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Tindale, S. (2002). Greenpeace business strategy and actions. Corporate Environmental Strategy, 9(3), 236–242.
Trist, E. (1983). Referent organizations and the development of inter-organizational domains. Human Relations, 36(3), 269–284.
Turcotte, M.-F. (1995). Conflict and collaboration: The interfaces between environmental organizations and business firms. Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, 13(Supplement 1), 195–229.
Turcotte, M.-F., & Pasquero, J. (2001). The paradox of multistakeholder collaborative roundtables. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 37(4), 447–464.
Van Huijstee, M., Francken, M., & Leroy, P. (2007). Partnerships for sustainable development: A review of current literature. Environmental Sciences, 4(2), 75–89.
van Huijstee, M., & Glasbergen, P. (2008). The practice of stakeholder dialogue between multinationals and NGOs. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(5), 298–310.
van Huijstee, M., & Glasbergen, P. (2010). NGOs moving business: An analysis of contrasting strategies. Business and Society, 49(4), 591–618.
Westley, F., & Vredenburg, H. (1991). Strategic bridging: The collaboration between environmentalists and business in the marketing of green products. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27(1), 65–90.
Winston, M. (2002). NGO strategies for promoting corporate social responsibility. Ethics and International Affairs, 16(1), 71–87.
WWF, & Lafarge. (2005a). Key achievements of the partnership. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=21313&uLangID=1.
WWF, & Lafarge. (2005b). WWF-Lafarge. New Ambitions for the partnership. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=21313&uLangID=1.
WWF International (2004). For a living planet. Brochure.
WWF International. (2007). Cleaner, greener cotton. Impacts and better management practices. Retrieved 10 January, 2008, from http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/cotton_for_printing_long_report.pdf.
WWF UK (2006). WWF-UK’s business and industry engagement policy.
Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research. Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Zietsma, C., & Winn, M. I. (2007). Building chains and directing flows: Strategies and tactics of mutual influence in stakeholder conflicts. Business and Society, 47(1), 68–101.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the input of members of Greenpeace and WWF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
See Table 3.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Comi, A., Lurati, F. & Zamparini, A. Green Alliances: How Does Ecophilosophy Shape the Strategies of Environmental Organizations?. Voluntas 26, 1288–1313 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-014-9478-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-014-9478-6