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GEMI-Environmental Defense
Fund (EDF): Guide to Successful Corporate-NGO Partnerships
is the product of collaboration among GEMI member
companies and Environmental Defense Fund. It is intended as a comprehensive aid
to organizing, designing, implementing and measuring the success of
corporate-NGO partnerships. The Guide also includes several case
examples of successful partnerships. While the focus is on environmental
projects, we feel the lessons learned can apply to any type of
sustainability-driven partnership that involves active engagement between
businesses and NGOs.
The Guide contains the following sections:
Why Partner.
An overview of the key drivers behind business-NGO partnerships as well
as potential pitfalls
Partnership Best Practices.
Detailed recommendations for successful business-NGO
partnerships based on Environmental Defense Fund’s almost 20 years of working
with corporations and the legacy of GEMI member companies’ experiences. This
section is organized into three parts: outlining best practices in project
design (Part 1); project implementation (Part 2); and, measurement of results
(Part 3) and contains specific examples of business-NGO partnerships featuring
a range of experiences among GEMI companies and Environmental Defense Fund. These
case examples highlight aspects of partnership best practices as well as the
environmental, social and business benefits.
Companies can help the environment and the
communities where they operate in many ways, including through philanthropic
activities. In this Guide, however, we distinguish business-NGO partnerships
from corporate philanthropy. In our view, a true partnership between a company
and an NGO should not rely solely on financial contributions. Rather, a
partnership occurs when independent organizations bring together their distinct
views, expertise and resources to work towards common goals. A partnership is
best measured by the environmental and business results achieved once both
organizations have shared the risks, responsibilities and rewards of the
project.
This Guide focuses on environmentally driven
partnerships, including partnerships with broader mandates that have
environmental components. However, we believe that many of the practices can be
adapted to a wider range of business-NGO partnerships, including those
addressing community developments, health and other social issues.
The Guide is a product of a business-NGO partnership
involving GEMI member companies and Environmental Defense Fund, so it is also
self-reflective. Based on an earlier Environmental Defense Fund publication, Catalyzing
Environmental Results: Lessons in Advocacy Organization-Business Partnerships
(1999), this updated Guide reflects the more recent partnership experiences
of GEMI member companies and Environmental Defense Fund.
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