Organised Business and Environmental Governance in Western Europe [1945-1995]

Focusing on five national peak-level BIAs—BDI (Germany), SHIV (Switzerland), CBI (United Kingdom), CNPF (France), and Confindustria (Italy)—this research examines how organised business interests framed environmental concerns, responded to regulatory initiatives, and sought to influence national and supranational policy. These federations brought together a wide variety of companies, including regionally based chambers of commerce and sectoral associations, each facing different challenges from emerging environmental legislation. The project considers the political and economic stakes of environmental regulation for businesses, including profitability risks, inter-sectoral inequalities, and the competitive effects of domestic versus international standards. It analyses how BIAs articulated shared positions across diverse sectors and companies, and how they engaged both nationally and through European platforms such as CEIF and UNICE. A particular focus is placed on the 1970s, when environmental issues became institutionalised with the creation of dedicated environmental ministries in many European countries. This period marked a shift in business strategies: from sector-specific technical discussions (e.g. on water, air, and soil pollution) toward broader engagement with the principles and frameworks of environmental policy.

This project pursues four main goals:

• To analyse how business interest associations coordinated political responses to environmental regulation, both within individual countries and at the European level;
• To assess the diversity of national responses and how institutional contexts—such as France’s tradition of economic planning, Germany’s politicised green movements, or Switzerland’s direct democratic system—shaped BIA strategies;
• To investigate the role of BIAs in shaping key concepts in environmental governance (e.g. the “polluter pays” principle, “best available technologies”) and their implementation or avoidance in formal regulation;
• To contribute to business history and environmental political history by revealing the influence of non-state actors in defining the boundaries of regulation and promoting alternative governance tools such as self-regulation or financial incentives.

The research adopts a historical and comparative approach, grounded in archival work across five national contexts. It draws primarily on internal documents from major business federations, allowing for in-depth analysis of their strategies, rhetoric, and lobbying practices. Special attention is paid to the evolution of their positions over time, particularly in moments of regulatory acceleration and institutional change (e.g. creation of environmental ministries, EC policy developments). The study also analyses the interaction between national BIAs and European organisations (CEIF, UNICE), examining how transnational cooperation and exchange shaped policy positions. In parallel, the project explores how BIAs provided expert knowledge to policymakers and contributed to the creation or contestation of environmental standards. Through this lens, the research seeks to unpack the “black box” of business interests, revealing the complexity of their influence on the governance of environmental issues.