Ecos Corporation began working with Cotton Australia over two years ago. At the time, the industry was under sustained criticism for its substantial use of scarce water resources, the way it used chemicals - particularly Endosulphan, and its contribution to land degradation. Concern about industry practices reached far beyond green groups extending to government, agricultural communities and the general community. The pressure was great and the cotton industry understood it needed to change. It could do so voluntarily or cede control to government.

Cotton Australia, the peak industry body for Australia's 1500 cotton growers, asked us to assist the industry understand the environmental and social imperatives pressing in on it, and to help design an industry framework that addressed national sustainability frameworks. The project has been one of our longest, lasting over two years. Throughout, the focus was to turn perceived costs involved in change to recognised advantage for growers and the industry. The project went through a number of phases.

Initially, Ecos Corporation worked with Cotton Australia to manage a mounting crisis over the industry's use of Endosulphan by designing and implementing a Best Management Practices manual for growers, which included information on how to manage chemicals and spraying regimes. In the first year of rollout, focussing on spray management, Cotton Australia held more than 300 workshops reaching 97% of cotton growers. The results were staggering - from having multiple Endosulphin incidents, the industry went to having none the next year.

It was clear there were a number of "champions" amongst Cotton Australia's board who were determined to improve the industry's environmental reputation and standing with local communities. With a new Cotton Australia management team dedicated to self-regulating the industry and improving its chemical and safety performance through the best management practices system, Ecos Corporation was asked to help develop a Code of Sustainability for the industry.

The best people to help Cotton Australia build their Code were those most opposed to the industry's farming practices - Australia's leading environmental organisations. Through our understanding of and contacts in the broad green movement, we were able to facilitate a workshop between the key opponents and the leading growers. In the words of Cotton Australia's head of policy, "(Ecos Corporation) turned around the Coogee meeting from a disaster at the start, to one of the most productive afternoons I have ever had. After the Coogee meeting we had the vegetation statement done in a month, we constructed a statement on the need for landscape planning and we were starting to work with the greens."

The vegetation statement was the first real sign to environmental groups that the industry was serious about change and willing to incorporate green concerns into its business. The statement took the form of joint green and industry support for restrictions on the massive clearing of vegetation that continues in Queensland. Initially, Cotton Australia was criticised by other agricultural industries for its stand. Ultimately, it won both political and progressive industry support for the initiative and began acting as a bridge between key environmentalists and other industries wanting to end the divide between farmers and the green movement.

Finally, came the biggest reward - a draft agreement between key environmental groups and Cotton Australia. The proposed relationship, the first of its kind in Australia, allows some of Australia's key environmental groups to provide advice to Cotton Australia on developing and implementing the industry's Code of Sustainability and leading to positive marketing and branding of Australian cotton internationally.

A number of things made the working partnership between environmentalists and industry possible. We had the key contacts within the green movement and industry to facilitate a dialogue. No media was involved, so an open dialogue was possible. Industry representatives never let go of the need for better outcomes for cotton growers and the environment groups pursued better environmental outcomes. People took risks on both sides of the table in genuinely pursuing sustainability-focussed change. These two objectives became shared objectives.

As the project progressed, key champions from the environmental and the farming community lead the way. Internal politics within the industry and within the rest of the environmental movement sometimes meant that progress was slow. Both groups actively anticipated and addressed concerns of their peers as they arose.

At the time of our departure from the project, Cotton Australia had developed the first draft of their policy document, with statements on trade, sustainability and landscape scale planning, vegetation, biotechnology and water management. Cotton Australia was about to release the second version of their Best Management Practices manual and their management team were committed to signing a long-term agreement to work with the greens and other stakeholders to further develop the Code of Sustainability and ways to enhance their markets overseas.