Collaboration between environmental organizations and companies has increased significantly in the last 15 years. Systematic studies on the significance of this for environmental policy or on the factors associated with successful collaborations of this kind are not yet available.
The aims of this research project were to determine the current state of research on corporate-NGO collaborations in the environmental sector, to identify current practices in the context of partnerships of this kind, to develop a system for classifying collaborations and to analyse their potentials for the partners and for the environment. The knowledge gained was used to derive a set of basic conditions conducive to collaborations that are successful and give rise to beneficial environmental effects. The research focused primarily on bi-sectoral collaborations between public-benefit civil society organizations and companies in Germany.
The research was based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources, as well as interviews and discussions with the staff of organizations and companies that are already involved in collaborations associated with environmental issues.

To the report (german)