Promoting pollution prevention through community-industry dialogues: the good neighbor model in Minnesota

This article examines five attempts by communities to promote pollution prevention through direct negotiations with local manufacturing plants. These projects were Good Neighbor Dialogues spearheaded by Citizens for a Better Environment-Minnesota, an environmental advocacy organization. Three community-company partnerships (a container plant, a foundry, and a cabinet manufacturer) were successful and two (a munitions plant and a petroleum refinery) were not. Successful dialogues all shared certain characteristics: the company was open to negotiating with the community; there was an effective "champion" within the company; a skilled, independent facilitator served as moderator; community participants received independent technical assistance; and both the company and community understood the value of cooperative environmental decision making. Results suggest that Good Neighbor Dialogues can, under the right settings and circumstances, be an effective mechanism for building social capital by fostering greater understanding and trust between companies and communities. They offer the prospect of community-company partnerships that promote pollution prevention and other environmental improvements, while at the same time reinforcing and amplifying traditional pollution control strategies.