People's right to know about and participate in decisions that could affect their quality of life is increasingly recognized as a critical element of sustainable development.¹ In this context, the environmental matters have been a "wedge issue," allowing advocates to open up government processes and make them more accountable.² Natural resources and the environment play a fundamental role in ensuring a safe, healthy, and productive life, thus people are more likely to demand opportunities to be involved in decisions that affect these natural resources.³

Why is opening up government processes important to business? What is the business value of stakeholder engagement? Public and consumer pressure play an important role in providing market incentives to motivate and reward corporate change. The assumption has been that improving public participation in environmental decisionmaking could provide benefits to business in terms of increased public acceptance, and there has been grudging acceptance that better solutions and outcomes are possible through multi-stakeholder dialogues. However, active engagement with stakeholders and documented good performance can protect licenses to operate, drive product and service innovation, reduce legal liabilities, and improve business strategy: