Events:
Partnering for Sustainability – Success Stories
New Directions Group – as presented by Paul Griss, Coordinator
“In defining partnerships, the analogy of dating and marriage helps to put things in perspective. Organizations that are taking part in a participatory or consultative process are not part of a partnership, just as those that are casually dating are not considered married. The key to both is commitment.
Looking back, partnering for sustainability is nothing new, so the question we must ask ourselves is: "why aren't we seeing more partnerships." The problem is that the right partners so rarely come together. On sustainability issues, they have more in common with the classic Hollywood mismatching of big-ticket actors, than matching to compatible doubles tennis players.”
The New Directions Group (NDG) takes on the role of a virtual institute for NGO-business relations. They provide a neutral forum for leaders from progressive Canadian businesses and NGOs to debate potentially divisive sustainability issues. In addition to advancing policy, the purpose of the NDG is to enhance capacity building, mutual learning and collaboration on significant sustainability issues.
The NDG's Current initiatives include:
- Examining risk management options in various forms of partnerships between business and NGOs on environment and sustainability issues.
- Organizing meetings and workshops for leaders of the business and NGO communities to further understanding of current sustainability issues.
- Looking at innovations in environmental governance.
- Examining incentives for the provision of ecological services.
- An international workshop to examine negotiated performance agreements between industry and government.
- Exploring relationships between life cycle assessment and environmental decision-making.
Link back to Partnerships home