Government, Public Policy, and Sustainable Business
Read this chapter to find out more about the interplay between individuals, organizations, and governments in shaping public policy.
How are policies influenced? What factors affect the policy-making process? How does public policy affect innovation and sustainability practices?
3.1 Factors That Influence Public Policy
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
A nongovernmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not a private company and does not have formal affiliation or representation with any government. These are interest groups (see the preceding definition), and they often try to influence private business behavior either directly by persuasion or protest or indirectly by being influential in shaping public policy. There are currently thirty thousand to forty thousand NGOs globally, and that number keeps expanding as the groups gain support and legitimacy. This includes many environmental organizations.
There are many NGOs influencing the operating context for sustainable businesses. Table 3.1 "Examples of NGOs That Influence Sustainable Business" lists some of the NGOs active in support of sustainable business activities in the United States.
| NGO | Description |
|---|---|
| Ceres | Ceres collaborates with investors and environmental and public interest groups to change the marketplace such that consumers and businesses purchase from companies that incorporate sustainability into their business practices. Ceres developed the Global Reporting Initiative to help companies report sustainability performance in the same way as financial information. |
| The Nature Conservancy | Established in 1951, the Nature Conservancy is one of the world’s oldest and largest environmental NGOs. It focuses on using science and conservation to help businesses mitigate their environmental impact, specifically in areas of biodiversity, fresh water, forestry, and land management. |
| Sustainable Apparel Coalition | The coalition includes companies like Walmart, JCPenney, H&M, and Hanes, along with more traditionally environmentally minded manufacturers of rugged outdoor clothing like Patagonia and Timberland. The coalition is currently developing a comprehensive database of the environmental impact of every manufacturer, component, and process in apparel production, with the aim of using that information to eventually give every garment a sustainability score. |
Table 3.1 Examples of NGOs That Influence Sustainable Business
Figure 3.2 Satellite Image of Blue Dye and Other Chemicals Washing Downriver from Textile Mills in Xintang, China - the World Capital of Blue Jeans Production
