Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2006
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29947 |
| _version_ | 1826213132731678720 |
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| author | Rossi, Mark S. (Mark Stephen), 1962- |
| author2 | Lawrence Susskind. |
| author_facet | Lawrence Susskind. Rossi, Mark S. (Mark Stephen), 1962- |
| author_sort | Rossi, Mark S. (Mark Stephen), 1962- |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:43:51Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/29947 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:43:51Z |
| publishDate | 2006 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/299472019-04-12T15:30:03Z Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change Rossi, Mark S. (Mark Stephen), 1962- Lawrence Susskind. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003. Includes bibliographical references (p. 473-491). This dissertation examines how national environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Sweden and the United States (US) tried to diffuse cleaner production technologies in the pulp and paper industry from 1980-1998. The environmental organizations were: Greenpeace Sweden, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Environmental Defense, Greenpeace USA, and Natural Resources Defense Council. The technologies they tried to diffuse reduced dioxins and other organochlorines from mills that bleach pulp for making white paper products. Totally chlorine-free (TCF) bleaching emerged as the cleanest bleaching technology in commercial use: it eliminated organochlorine water pollution. The Swedish environmental organizations, with help from Greenpeace Germany, were more successful at diffusing TCF bleaching. The success in Sweden emerged because the environmental organizations created market demand for TCF paper: they formed collaborative relations with major buyers of bleached paper, proved that TCF paper was a technically viable alternative, and connected environmentally-minded consumers with like-minded manufacturers. Supporting their success were: a longer history of market campaigns to transform paper bleaching, the lack of opposition to TCF paper in Germany (a major consumer of Swedish bleached pulp), and massive seal and fish die-offs in 1988. The failure in the US occurred because the environmental organizations did not create market demand: they disagreed on environmental goals, they did not succeed in forming collaborative alliances with major purchasers in favor of TCF paper, and they could not overcome a sophisticated counter-campaign from environmental laggards in the American pulp and paper industry. (cont.) This dissertation proposes that success in the face of strident industry opposition entails changing organizing strategy: national environmental groups need to engage in sectoral organizing. In sectoral organizing environmental groups work to create a more environmentally sustainable busies sector, rather than addressing a single problem within that sector. Sectoral organizing creates opportunities for achieving challenging goals by collaborating with consumers across multiple environmental problems, addressing the low hanging fruit first, then moving to more complex problems. By creating trust, credibility, and legitimacy with consumers, environmental organizations are more likely to succeed in the face of opposition from environmental laggards. by Mark S. Rossi. Ph.D. 2006-03-24T18:05:29Z 2006-03-24T18:05:29Z 2003 2003 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29947 53009920 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 491 p. 23593149 bytes 23592950 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Urban Studies and Planning. Rossi, Mark S. (Mark Stephen), 1962- Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change |
| title | Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change |
| title_full | Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change |
| title_fullStr | Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change |
| title_short | Greening the invisible hand : how environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeed and fall in technology change |
| title_sort | greening the invisible hand how environmental non governmental organizations ngos succeed and fall in technology change |
| topic | Urban Studies and Planning. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29947 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rossimarksmarkstephen1962 greeningtheinvisiblehandhowenvironmentalnongovernmentalorganizationsngossucceedandfallintechnologychange |