Business-government cooperation in environmental decision-making

Environmental problems in the United States often are marked by adversarial relationships between businesses and government. Adversarial decision-making creates delays and often fails to achieve satisfactory results. Cooperative relationships might enable businesses and governments to better solve pressing environmental problems. In many instances, governments and businesses could achieve "win-win" environmental solutions that were good for the environment and economy. Though people in government and business endorse these approaches, efforts to put such principles into practice have proved difficult. This paper reviews the movement toward greater cooperation in environmental decision-making, showing both advances that have taken place and limits to further progress.