The Role of Business and Environmental Policy

Since the beginning of the modern environmental movement some thirty five years ago, American business has played a uniquely important role in environmental policymaking. From helping to set the political agenda and formulate environmental policies to influencing decision-making in executive agencies and the courts, US firms have been among the most significant policy actors at all levels of government. they have made a concerted effort to set out positions on a range of environmental protection, natural resource, and energy issues, influence public opinion, and advance political strategies to attain their goals. so, we know about the political activities of business and the effects they have had. Yet we think the influence of business on environmental policy more systematic. There are several key questions at the center of such an investigation. What does business try to achieve in the policy process? What factors affect whether it succeeds in getting its way? How does such success vary from one institutional venue to another. For example, from the U.S. congress to the executive branch, the courts, and state and local governments. We try to address these questions through a concentration on the American political system. The relative neglect of these kinds of questions is particularly prominent in light of often heated debates in the united states over proposed new directions in environmental policy and the participation of business and environmental groups in these debates. For example, American corporations have long research to create a business friendly environmental policy, with mixed success. They have argued that many environmental policies actually undermine the public welfare because of their economic inefficiency.