Theo de Bruijn

Partnerships for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts and strategic options

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise the extent to which partnerships with non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) are a necessity for successful efforts of businesses in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approach – The main findings are based on an analysis of existing literature on NGO typologies and strategies for CSR and illustrated with examples from the Dutch National Research Program on CSR.Findings – Based on three different strategies towards CSR, the suggestion is that NGOs tend to become involved in partnerships with companies that have an interest in postponing concrete results, while partnerships with companies that have the potential for the biggest contribution to the ambitions of NGOs have the highest risk of diminishing NGO‐legitimacy.Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper. Suggestions are given to test the hypotheses put forward as well as the actual results associated with each of the strategies towards corporat...

Pollution prevention and industrial transformation; Evoking structural changes within companies

Pollution prevention has developed as an attractive method for improving the environmental performance of companies. Often the concept is promoted in a project format, for instance in a regional perspective or for a specific sector of industry. This article analyzes the contribution of pollution prevention projects to the transformation of industry. Different formats that have been carried out in the Netherlands during the last 8 years are evaluated in terms of direct results (implemented measures and their effects) and long-term effects. The main issue in this article is what contribution pollution prevention has in evoking structural changes towards more sustainable behavior in companies. The general conclusion is that pollution prevention is at least potentially a powerful and interesting concept. The current formats used to promote pollution prevention show some serious deficits, especially in failing to elicit a learning process within participating companies. The trend towards the use of quickscans as a prevention method is worrying in this respect. Some recommendations are given to improve future projects.

Shared responsibility at the regional level: the building of sustainable industrial estates

The long felt contrast between economic growth and environmental protection is dissipating in environmental and industrial policy in Europe. Sustainable development has become the leading motive in environmental policy in this regard. In trying to give meaning to this abstract concept, current environmental policies build on the ideas of ecological modernization. Although often advocated, relatively little experience exists of putting the theories of ecological modernization into practice. This paper makes an attempt to develop a regional perspective. Alongside the notion of ecological modernization the necessity of collaboration has emerged. Throughout Europe one can witness a movement that blurs the lines between governments and private actors. Shared responsibility is one of the key principles of the Fifth Environmental Action Programme. The leading question of the paper is which model can be used to support the implementation of notions of shared responsibility and ecological modernization. The paper explores the potential value added of the industrial ecology approach in stimulating industry towards sustainability and the opportunities it offers for (local and regional) authorities to deal with the environmental issues. Different options for improvements are identified in the paper. Apart from these concrete options, the management of the process of implementing industrial ecology proves to be the crucial success factor. The paper makes a case for building a regional consortium as a first step. By bringing possible partners together at least the options for cooperation can be assessed, planned and managed. Shaped this way, industrial ecology holds many opportunities and can be of value in implementing the notions of shared responsibility and ecological modernization.

GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING— A PLACE FOR ECOLOGY?

This introductory article summarizes the discussions and results of the Fifth Annual Greening of Industry Conference, Global RestructuringÐA Place for Ecology?, held in Heidelberg, Germany, November 25-27, 1997. The Greening of Industry Network is concerned with the transition of industry towards sustainable production as an essential part of achieving a sustainable society. The Network conferences, held at different locations around the world, promote this goal by bringing together participants from different regions and with different backgrounds (academia, industry, governments and NGOs). The conferences are venues for information exchange, learning and dialogue about different aspects of the greening of industry and possible pathways to a sustainable society.

Negotiation-based Policy Instruments and Performance: Dutch Covenants and Environmental Policy Outcomes

Numerous governments have adopted innovative policy instruments to deal with important environmental policy challenges and negotiated instruments offer the potential to improve performance beyond what regulation alone can accomplish. Dutch covenants, which represent negotiated agreements with sectors of industry as targets of behavioral change, provide useful evidence of the determinants of success. For improving environmental performance, certain features of the policy setting explain much of the variance in ambitions and outcomes: attitudes of decision makers in the affected businesses, attention to cost minimization, and possibly the degree of ambition built into the agreement. Modeling to explain the extent of ambition and compliance offer further insights. While some Dutch lessons may be restricted to more corporatist policy settings, others may help improve the effectiveness of negotiated agreements in many national settings.

Environmental negotiated agreements in the Netherlands

Governance for sustainable development requires new approaches to governance that go beyond the government versus market debate. Negotiated agreements and other new policy instruments have become quite popular in environmental governance, although not without debate. Based on the official evaluation of the Dutch system of environmental negotiated agreements, two central questions are answered. What is the degree of success (criteria for effectiveness, efficiency and positive side effects for learning and flexibility) of the use of negotiated environmental agreements in the Netherlands, and to what background factors is the degree of success related? What role is played by follow-up implementation after the agreements are signed and what is the interaction with other instruments? The assessment of the negotiated agreement as an instrument of environmental governance is generally positive.

The Emergence of Sustainable Innovations: Key Factors and Regional Support Structures

This chapter analyses the emergence of sustainable innovations in a selected number of firms and addresses key explanatory factors that contribute to emergence and diffusion of the innovations. The focus is particularly on regional support structures that facilitated the innovation processes, and on gaps between the needs identified within firms’ innovation processes and functions provided by support structures. Ten sustainable innovation processes are analysed to gain insight in the relationship between the nature of the innovation process, the type of needs for firms, and the type of functions provided in regional innovation systems. It is concluded that especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) demand articulation remains a major barrier as users are often only involved when the innovation is ready to enter the market, while regional support functions in this respect are deficient. Moreover, SMEs have major difficulty interpreting and anticipating sustainability policies and regulations at local and national levels, leading to innovations that face major regulatory barriers or are unable to cope with policy changes.

Pollution prevention: increasing environmental capabilities of SMEs through collaboration

The concept of sustainability increasingly impacts the nature of industry’s operations. Whereas in the past sound economic performance was expected to guarantee success by companies and its shareholders, now increasingly business is led by the so-called triple bottom line. Achieving good economic results needs to be accompanied by minimisation of environmental impacts and increasing attention to social aspects. Over the years, environmental management has therefore developed into a strategic issue for industry. Adopting the triple bottom line implies that environmental management in organisations has to go beyond regulatory compliance and needs to include concepts such as pollution prevention, product stewardship and social responsibility.

André Nijhof, Theo de Bruijn, Olaf Fisscher, Jan Jonker,Edgar Karssing and Michiel Schoemaker

The traditional divide between the state and the market is fading. Companies are increasingly, being held accountable for issues such as fair trade, environmental degradation and local or regional socioeconomic matters. They are being required to expand their corporate agenda, and the corporate world realizes that it cannot ignore society is demand for greater responsibility. It also recognizes that companies can themselves benefit from corporate social responsibility (CSR). When developing CSR the organization takes into account additional values and long-term responsibilities in order to meet the expectations and address the critical viewpoints of all parties involved. Implementing CSR requires a company’s perspective to be reoriented so that new relationships can be formed, new values defined and new strategies developed. This is more than just another business project. Ultimately, it involves revisiting the very core of the organization, and this poses some difficult challenges for organizations.

Environmental management in a printing company; transformation patterns in the Dutch industry

The concept of sustainability presents an enormous challenge for industry. Where in the past a sound economic performance ensured survival, in the near future the triple-bottom-line will determine whether a company is successful or not. Next to outstanding economic results, companies will have to minimise environmental impacts and pay full attention to social aspects. Over the years, environmental management has therefore developed into a strategic issue for companies. The concept of sustainable development implies that environmental management in organisations has to go beyond compliance with regulation. Aspects such as waste minimisation and life cycle analysis are becoming more and more part of environmental management. Moreover the environment is no longer the sole responsibility of governments. Companies and other organisations have to take up their share of responsibility.