Structural vulnerability and environmental advocacy: conditions for green alliance formation in global governance

This study investigates how multinational corporations and environmental NGOs form voluntary “green alliances” to advance environmental governance outside traditional regulatory frameworks. The study develops a theoretical matrix based on corporate vulnerability and NGO capacity to explain the conditions under which alliances form. Four case studies explore theoretically grounded propositions about when vulnerable corporations and powerful environmental organizations are likely to form such partnerships. The McDonald’s-Environmental Defense Fund and Samsung-Greenpeace cases illustrate alliance formation under high-vulnerability/high-capacity conditions. Climate change self-regulation and Forest Stewardship Council cases show limited outcomes when either dimension is weak. Findings suggest that green alliances may offer viable alternatives to state-centered environmental governance under certain structural conditions. These partnerships can create new regulatory pathways through civil society participation, demonstrating how non-state actors address environmental challenges via market mechanisms.