Sectors

Environment

Relationships between a company and the environment can present either a threat or an opportunity. They amount to a threat if a company is perceived by its stakeholders to have a negative or damaging impact on the environment. They offer an opportunity if the company's behaviour demonstrates that the environment matters, to its employees, its suppliers, its shareholders and its customers.

Many companies have derived positive benefit from good environmental behaviour and practice. A company with a notably green reputation will find it easier to attract high quality staff, especially graduate applicants. Its shareholder meetings will not be targets for noisy environmental protesters. Its planning applications for new development are less likely to be opposed by local councillors.

Above all, good environmental behaviour needs to be at the heart of corporate communications programmes, so that the key target audiences are made aware that environmental impact is positive rather than negative. To some audiences, and customers, this is more important than sports or arts sponsorship. It must be real, not fake, thought through rather than impulse, and be seen to work. It is also good PR.

Only an old-fashioned company completely ignores the environment in this modern world. Most commercial organisations are aware of the thrust of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 -- that "the polluter pays". As cost control is vital to corporate profitability, unnecessary pollution can be expensive in terms of finance and reputation, so it makes sense to keep pollution to a minimum.

In its dialogue with councillors and local residents, Chelgate is able to provide a deep understanding of how local communities function, which can only be gained by working "on the ground".

Chelgate has a separate environment unit, staffed by consultants with specialist knowledge and experience of environmental issues. The unit was established in 1989, as the Green Party took 15 per cent of the poll in the European elections, and as the Environmental Protection Act was being steered into legislation by Chris Patten. The unit is led by Nick Wood-Dow, who is deputy chairman of the Environment Council and founder/chairman of the pressure group Tory Green Initiative. Nick has experience in local government, where he was a borough councillor in Surrey; in national government, where he was a parliamentary candidate and an adviser to a minister; and in the European Union, where he was a press officer and has organised many presentations to MEPs in Brussels and Strasbourg.