Taking the time to listen, learn and act—an example of complex international dialogue

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p> <jats:list list-type="bullet"> <jats:list-item> <jats:p>Increased low‐level radioactive discharges from Sellafield in West Cumbria began to attract strong criticism from Norwegian Ministers, media, NGOs and local community groups during 2001. The best practicable environmental option was to discharge Technetium‐99 to sea but these discharges were beginning to be detected at very low levels around the Norwegian coast. During the early part of dialogue it was accepted that there were no known health or environmental impact from these discharges. However, the Norwegians were concerned that perceptions could impact adversely on their fishery industries and associated communities.</jats:p> </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:p>As a result, Sellafield increasingly became the focus of protests from Norway that on occasions resulted in lawful direct action by Norwegian stakeholders. The Norwegian “Stop Sellafield” campaign was established. In response, BNFL's company's relationship management programme set out to transform a confrontational relationship to a consensus‐building one involving Government Ministers, politicians, local communities and regulators from both the UK and Norway. Some three years of intense dialogue, which is still ongoing, facilitated the implementation of a technical solution that resolved the discharges issue‐a true win‐win scenario.</jats:p> </jats:list-item> </jats:list>Copyright © 2009 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</jats:p>