How We Operate

The New Directions Group operates on several levels.

The NDG provides information services and networking opportunities to all of its participants. Current information on Business-NGO Relations is made available in the Members area of the NDG website. This provides an opportunity to remain current and build capacity in this field, identify significant upcoming events relating to business-NGO relations and the issues under discussion by the NDG, and identify key policy processes and decision-makers on those issues.

Periodically, the NDG convenes participants for seminars or workshops on topical sustainability issues. Experts' workshops are held both to provide the basis for dedicated projects of the NDG (see below) as well as to take advantage of opportunities to influence environmental policy in Canada.

The principal focus of the NDG is to convene leaders from the business and NGO communities for dialogues on topical sustainability issues. These dialogues can take several forms. In some cases, such as the current project relating to Effective Business-NGO Partnerships, the NDG attempts to capture the insights of highly experienced members of the business and NGO communities to provide guidance to others. Other dialogues bring together leading individuals from the business and NGO communities to debate potentially divisive sustainability issues, especially emerging issues for which there may be inadequate policy in place.

These policy dialogues may produce two different outputs. Some result in a "state of the debate" report in which participants identify areas of convergence and divergence and suggest areas where additional effort is required to develop sound policy. The report Applying Precaution in Environmental Decision-Making in Canada is an example of such an initiative. In some situations, there may be sufficient agreement among participants as to what is required that the report is formally endorsed by participating businesses and NGOs to exert leadership in a particular area. The NDG's Criteria and Principles for the Use of Voluntary or Non-regulatory Initiatives to Achieve Environmental Policy Objectives is such a report.

Every attempt is made to balance participation in NDG activities between representatives of business and NGOs. Although the approach of the NDG is to bring business and NGOs together, it is recognized that an informed debate on the issues under examination may warrant the participation of outside expertise from governments, academia or consultants in NDG projects.