The credibility of Bellona and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) should not be questioned just because these groups enter into commercial agreements with the corporate world.

For the past decade since my tenure as communications director of Greenpeace International, I have been helping companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to build productive relationships. While activist and advocacy organisations can play effective roles as catalysts for positive change, it is companies that must inevitability be the engines of such change.

Headlines are generally made when environmentalists publicly attack business. All-too-often, it is only when some companies find their reputations are on the line that they are prepared to modify their behaviour. 

But as business increasingly wakes up to the importance of corporate responsibility and good environmental stewardship, there is space for more ‘civilised’ engagement. Happily, this is becoming more commonplace.

While my former employer has a strict policy of not receiving any funds from companies, there are many other reputable organisations that do so.

NGOs must surely be weary of “greenwash”, where a business attempts to deflect bad practice buy supporting some unrelated environmental cause. But there are many decent companies who forge quite legitimate partnerships with environmental groups to the benefit of everyone involved.

I see no reason why good environmental performance shouldn’t be rewarded. The likes of Bellona and WWF can just as effectively achieve their goal to green the business sector by applauding good practice, as they may be criticising irresponsible behaviour.

As with everything in life, there are good and bad deals struck between companies and environmental groups. Unfortunately even the most solid organisations can make mistakes.  Maybe they are successfully hoodwinked by unscrupulous companies, or their judgement is clouded by the lure of money. But, in my experience, this is rare indeed.

It is vital that both the company and the organisation involved with any commercial deal fully disclose the nature of their relationship.

But conservation work is expensive and these organisations often depend of corporate sponsorship to carry or their important missions. 

Provided such relationships are conducted in good faith and are properly monitored, I see no reason why businesses shouldn’t contribute funds to help environmental organisations carry out their much-needed work.

Companies cannot and should not be seen as the automatic enemy of the environment. But NGOs must always be on the lookout for the ‘bad apples’.

Jonathan Wootliff leads the Corporate Accountability practice at the consulting firm, Reputation Partners. He specializes in sustainable development and in building of productive relationships between companies and NGOs.