A shift from a reactive approach towards an anticipatory, proactive attitude is needed to take advantage of environmental-based business opportunities. This article analyses the implications of this change in the strategic attitude towards environmental issues, in terms of both the opportunities and the risks. The article is in three parts. Part one clarifies the opportunities and risks in adopting a proactive Green Strategy, stressing in particular the multidimensional nature of environment problems, and the uncertain evolution of environmental expectations. Part two discusses a contingent approach to the strategic analysis of environmental problems. According to where a company competes (in terms of public opinion, industry norms, and technology), this offers some implications for its most effective strategy on and approach to environmental problems. Specific courses of action are suggested for companies operating in an anticipatory, proactive, or creative mode, in order to reduce the risk involved in the management of environmental problems. Part three discusses the application of the recommended approach to the automotive industry in the EU market.
