ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT AS BUSINESS STRATEGY - THE CASE OF THE CORPORATE WILDLIFE HABITAT ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

A new management approach and conservation process is the corporate wi ldlife habitat programme. This programme, co-ordinated by the non-prof it-making Wildlife Habitat Council, encourages corporations to volunta rily manage lands for wildlife and biodiversity protection. This case study examines the benefits to corporations from participating in this programme in terms of the programme's influence on relationships with key corporate stakeholders including employees, host communities, env ironmental groups and regulators. The method of the study was a survey of individuals responsible for wildlife habitat enhancement programme s at 164 sites in the United States. Ninety-five percent of respondent s indicated that wildlife habitat programmes led to improved employee morale. Seventy-two percent indicated improved relationships with envi ronmental groups. Sixty percent of respondents noted a positive effect of the programme on community relations. Forty-nine percent of respon dents reported an improved relationship with regulators. These benefit s were in addition to the 50% of programmes that reported annual cost savings. The study also identifies specific benefits to the wildlife p rogramme as a result of outside group involvement. Relationships with community, Government, and environmental groups led to better wildlife programmes due to increased expertise. Furthermore, 24% of the wildli fe monitoring was done by outside groups.These results are useful, bot h for aiding managers to identify the range of benefits the wildlife h abitat enhancement programme can provide to their companies, as well a s to improve their organization's wildlife and biodiversity protection . Furthermore, this case provides a tangible example of where business and the environment can be mutually compatible. (C) 1998 Academic Pre ss Limited.