Green Alliance - Influencing Policy

Influencing Policy

Green Alliance's work influences UK government policy and decision-making on the environment. It elicited the first environmental policy statements from all the main UK political parties in the mid-1980s. Green Alliance was the first organisation in the UK to raise genetic modification (GM) as an environmental issue at the end of the 1980s. Its risk analysis of the issue helped to inform new government regulation.

Its work on environment as a foreign policy issue led to the formation, in 1998, of the Green Globe Network of foreign policy experts, based at Green Alliance and supported by cross-cutting funding from three government departments: the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Recommendations made in reports by Green Alliance have contributed to new government strategies on green taxes and microgeneration, increases to landfill tax and more investment in recycling. A number of new organisations and initiatives have arisen from Green Alliance's past work, including the National Food Alliance (now Sustain), the Environment Agency, the Carbon Trust and the UK's Renewables Obligation.

In February 2008, the independent consultancy Firetail conducted a detailed evaluation of Green Alliance and its work, this was through interviews with representatives of the three main political parties, civil servants, NGOs, businesses and other think tanks. It concluded: “Green Alliance’s key strengths are considered to be its influence within Westminster and Whitehall and its understanding of the political process. Green Alliance’s relationships with politicians, special advisors and civil servants are its primary strength. It is considered influential within government. Those in government value the ability of Green Alliance to bring them policy positions and mediate relations with NGOs.”

Green Alliance works on various projects under six key themes: political leadership, sustainable economy, third sector, climate and energy futures, green living and designing out waste. Additionally, Green Alliance has a separate European Union work programme which aims for a low-carbon EU budget.