 
BNFL National Stakeholder Dialogue
Method(s) Used
Name of person who posted the project:Edward Andersson
Location of project:United Kingdom
Date when the project started:1998
Date when the project ended/project ongoing:2005
Background to project:The BNFL Dialogue (1998-2005) was Europe's largest stakeholder engagement process around nuclear issues. Nuclear power has been a divisive issue for decades and the debate had tended to be entrenched and unproductive.BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels Ltd) funded a long term stakeholder dialogue to see if it was possible to overcome some of the issues of contention and agree a way forward. Purpose of project:The Dialogue had as its remit "to inform BNFL's decision-making process about the improvement of their environmental performance in the context of their overall development".It was open to national and regional organisations as well as to specialist concerns, ensuring that a full range of views was heard. The dialogue was managed by The Environment Council. Project activities:The first stage in 1998 was spent building trust between the different stakeholder groups, many of whom had never spoken to each other.The initial meeting was attended by over 100 stakeholders who identified and prioritised a list of issues and concerns to be addressed in further meetings. The diversity and complexity of the issues made it necessary to set up a number of working groups, each to deal with a specific problem. Through the different working groups and their reports the dialogue was able to review and make recommendations on many different aspects of the nuclear industry from the disposal of spent plutonium to the socio-economical effects of plant closures. Project results:While some stakeholders dropped out of the process, the vast majority stayed on and reaffirmed their commitment to the process.The BNFL dialogue succeeded in building better relationships between key stakeholders and while the issue of nuclear energy is still very contentious, the dialogue established where there is room for negotiation between groups and where it remains impossible. In many ways it set the scene for the current nuclear engagement processes Contact details:The Environment Council212 High Holborn London, WC1V 7BF Telephone: 02078362626 Fax: 02072421180 Email: info@envcouncil.org.uk Web: http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk 
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