Green Alliance

Green Alliance is an independent charity and green think tank working on environment policy in the United Kingdom (UK). It works with senior decision-makers in government and business, and other major environment groups. It conducts research, holds seminars and events, publishes reports and makes recommendations on environment policy issues.

The organisation has four main strategic themes around which its work is based: politics, green living, energy, and waste and resources.

It was founded in 1979. Individuals involved early on with Green Alliance include Maurice Ash, Tim Beaumont and [http://www.tomburke.co.uk Tom Burke] . The current director Stephen Hale was previously special adviser to Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP when she was secretary of state for the environment.

Green Alliance's staff is based in central London. It has an individual membership of approximately 400, including environment professionals and well known personalities. Around 20 major companies belong to its Business Circle scheme. "Inside Track" is the quarterly magazine for Green Alliance supporters. It features articles by prominent commentators on environmental policy issues.

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 [http://www.green-alliance.org.uk/grea1.aspx?id=56 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 ("Next steps for energy taxation" ref|tax) and microgeneration ("A micro-generation manifesto" ref|microgen), increases to landfill tax and more investment in recycling ("Creative policy packages for waste"ref|waste).

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.

Board

*Dorothy MacKenzie (Chair)
*Philip Parker (Hon. Treasurer)
*Robin Bidwell
* [http://www.tomburke.co.uk Tom Burke]
*Pamela Castle
*Nigel Haigh
*Tony Hams
*Alistair Keddie
*Deborah Mattinson
*Derek Osborn
*Fiona Reynolds

Associates

External specialists providing advice and support to Green Alliance:

*Ian Christie
*Julie Hill
*Jiggy Lloyd
*Derek Smith
* [http://www.rebeccawillis.co.uk Rebecca Willis]

References

:# [http://www.green-alliance.org.uk/grea_p.aspx?id=376 "Next steps for energy taxation: a survey of business views"] (Green Alliance, 2002).:# [http://www.green-alliance.org.uk/grea_p.aspx?id=350 "A micro-generation manifesto"] (Green Alliance, 2004):# [http://www.green-alliance.org.uk/grea_p.aspx?id=380 "Creative policy packages for waste: lessons for the UK"] (Green Alliance, 2002)

See also

* List of UK think tanks

External links

* [http://www.green-alliance.org.uk Green Alliance]