Abstract

The adversarial relationship between business and government in the United States is nowhere more evident than in environmental regulation. Most western governments have avoided much of such conflict through some system of business-government consultation. The most extensively developed of these systems is that of Great Britain. This article examines British environmental control procedures with emphasis on the extensive process of consultation which has developed over a period of more than 200 years. The British experience detailed here suggests some important principles which may guide business and government in considering consultative measures to improve the climate of environmental affairs.