Corporate ‘Capture Strategies’ Impacting Human and Ecosystem Health

The concept of regulatory capture has been extensively studied in academic literature, primarily within the social sciences.This phenomenon has been increasingly discussed in the environmental sciences as the impacts of regulatory capture on human and ecosystem health have become increasingly apparent.Regulatory capture is just one tactic employed by vested interests in the strategy of delaying, weakening, or abolishing policies designed to protect the public interest.Here, we define capture strategies as 'the act of influencing individuals, organizations, or governments to prioritize corporate interests over those of human and ecosystem health'.Similar to the evolution of terms like whitewashing and greenwashing into the broader concept of colorwashing, this new definition expands the scope of capture to include a wide range of targets, such as individuals, educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, media, and local, national, and intergovernmental organizations.By broadening the definition, we anticipate that researchers, policymakers, and civil society will find it easier to identify and prevent such nefarious activities.This paper illustrates how 'capture strategies' have played, and (unless kept in check) will continue to play, an instrumental role in obstructing efforts to address the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Published
2025-09-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00277
Primary Topic
Energy, Environment, Economic Growth
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Corporate ‘Capture Strategies’ Impacting Human and Ecosystem Health

Miriam L. Diamond, Gabriel Sigmund, Rainer Lohmann, Penny Vlahos et al.
1 links
Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Energy, Environment, Economic Growth
article

Corporate ‘Capture Strategies’ Impacting Human and Ecosystem Health

Miriam L. Diamond, Gabriel Sigmund, Rainer Lohmann, Penny Vlahos, Noriyuki Suzuki, Marlene Ågerstrand, Alex T. Ford, Maria Clara V.M. Starling, Michael G. Bertram, Marta Venier, Martin Scheringer, Anna Soehl
article en

Abstract

The concept of regulatory capture has been extensively studied in academic literature, primarily within the social sciences.This phenomenon has been increasingly discussed in the environmental sciences as the impacts of regulatory capture on human and ecosystem health have become increasingly apparent.Regulatory capture is just one tactic employed by vested interests in the strategy of delaying, weakening, or abolishing policies designed to protect the public interest.Here, we define capture strategies as 'the act of influencing individuals, organizations, or governments to prioritize corporate interests over those of human and ecosystem health'.Similar to the evolution of terms like whitewashing and greenwashing into the broader concept of colorwashing, this new definition expands the scope of capture to include a wide range of targets, such as individuals, educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, media, and local, national, and intergovernmental organizations.By broadening the definition, we anticipate that researchers, policymakers, and civil society will find it easier to identify and prevent such nefarious activities.This paper illustrates how 'capture strategies' have played, and (unless kept in check) will continue to play, an instrumental role in obstructing efforts to address the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution.

Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR), Stockholm University (SE), University of Rhode Island (US), University of Toronto (CA), National Institute for Environmental Studies (JP), Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (AU), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), ETH Zurich (CH), Institute of Public Affairs (PL), Écologie Fonctionnelle et Écotoxicologie des Agroécosystèmes (FR), Institut de Ciències del Mar (ES), Monash University (AU), Indiana University (US), University of Portsmouth (GB), RWTH Aachen University (DE), Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 67%
Energy, Environment, Economic Growth
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