What’s in it for me?

Society as a whole benefits from green plans through the improvements that are achieved in environmental quality, health, and overall quality of life. Specifically, green plans provide distinct benefits for government, businesses, and non-government organizations (NGOs).

With green planning, the role of government becomes more that of steward rather than police officer because business and government work together toward agreed-upon objectives. Green plans employ the business principle of management by objective, applying the same standards for results and accountability to the public sector as are required in private enterprise. The benefits for government are real and tangible.

Industry leaders find that green plans work to their advantage in several ways: by streamlining government bureaucracy; by allowing businesses the flexibility to use their own methods to achieve agreed upon objectives; and by creating a long-term—and therefore predictable—regulatory environment. Our website contains specific examples illustrating the numerous benefits for business.

Non-profit and non-government environmental and community organizations play a key role in green plan development and implementation. No longer are NGOs faced with the prospect of playing a defensive, outsider role, relying solely on protest and litigation to effect change. Instead, they are actively involved in the process of shaping and implementing a shared vision for the future and tracking that process every step of the way. NGOs in green planning countries play important roles as both advocates and collaborators. Examples of how this works are described in benefits for NGOs.