When Two Heads Are Better Than One

Leading companies know it: “Business as usual” is changing. Customers, consumers and shareholders often want companies to address social and environmental concerns. At the same time, many of the most effective environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) recognize that they can no longer go it alone.

Businesses know that the best way to address serious environmental issues and make lasting changes that improve the environment is to harness the power of the marketplace. To achieve goals that are good for the environment, social change and the economy, many companies and NGOs are joining forces. These unique partnerships, if designed and executed effectively, can achieve remarkable business and environmental results. And, they inspire the next generation of environmental innovations and innovators. 

Why Partner?

Over the past two decades, Environmental Defense Fund and many members of the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) have found that business/NGO partnerships can provide substantial business and environmental benefits. These relationships can and need to be built on mutual trust and respect, and the partners must be ready for a high degree of commitment and transparency. A true partnership between a company and an NGO should not rely on financial contributions. Rather, a partnership occurs when independent organizations bring together their distinct views, expertise and resources to work toward common goals. These partnerships are best measured by the environmental and business results achieved and by how working together has permanently changed the game.

There are three primary goals that should propel an NGO and a business to consider partnering: 

• Create measurable business value and environmental benefits. Include reduced costs, reduced risk, new market development and enhanced brand value along with reduced environmental impacts in the company’s product line, operations or supply chain.

• Gain access to skills and perspectives not available in the organization. Help a company address issues that it may not have the expertise, skills or resources to manage on its own, and provide a testing ground for the effectiveness of an NGO’s approach to a particular issue.

• Achieve a long-term vision. Create lasting competitive advantage as well as establishing a new standard of environmental excellence for others to build on in the future.

Partnering may not be for all companies or all NGOs and should not be taken lightly. If the need is not material or the desired result is one that can be achieved independently, a partnership may not be the best solution.

The Importance of Structuring Partnerships for Success

 
The foundation of any business/NGO partnership is taking the up-front time and effort to design the project. Agreeing on the details of a partnership may take many months after the initial contact between a business and an NGO. But overall, the project design phase should begin with an initial concept and end with the signing of a public agreement or other way of formalizing the work plan and ground rules for the partnership. Partnership design should include the following elements:

• Develop criteria. Specific criteria help determine a project’s overall success. Even before approaching potential partners, an organization should know what it wants to achieve.

• Assess environmental impacts. Will the project address significant environmental impacts from the company? Will it result in measurable long-term benefits to the environment?

• Assess business benefits. Will the project add business value? Will the benefits be significant, long lasting and measurable? Broadly, an environmental partnership can add value to business performance in one of three ways: decreasing or avoiding costs, increasing revenue and reducing risk, both short and long term.

• Determine how the company/NGO capabilities and mission fit together. Does the potential partnership area leverage and utilize the NGO’s capabilities and expertise as

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