Manual on the Development of Cleaner Production Policies ... - Unido

DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY
MODULE 2: BASICS OF CP POLICY
SLIDE: What is a policy?
The term “policy” has various definitions:
1. Everything that a Government decides to do or not to do;
2. A set of interrelated decisions, including the identification of objectives
and the tools to achieve them taken by a political actor(s) to address a
certain issue;
3. A set of principles and directives that guide the decisions of an
organization.
This slide clarifies what is a “policy”, and how a “policy” relates to “politics”.
Background
A precise definition of the term ‘policy’ is a somewhat elusive task. There are a range of definitions,
but most imply a “set of principles and directives that guide the decisions of an organization”. An
organization can mean a business, an association, a university, a political party, or even a group of
private individuals. Some common definitions of a “policy” include:
(a) Everything that a Government decides to do, or not do, as the case may be;
(b) A set of interrelated decisions, including identifying the objectives and tools to achieve them,
taken by political actors to address a specific issue;
(c) A plan or course of action, of a Government, political party, or a business, intended to determine
and influence decisions and actions;
(d) A set of principles and directives that guide the decisions of an organization.
Actions taken by government officials in response to problems and issues raised through the political
system are known as “public policy”.
EXAMPLE
“Policy” versus “Politics”
One important thing to note, depending on the language of instruction, is the distinction between
“policy” and “politics”. In Spanish, to cite one example, the word “políticas” refers both to policy and
to politics. In English, the term “politics” refers to the overall political process in a system of
governance. Some common definitions of politics include “the activities engaged in by a Government,
politician, or a political party”, the “methods or tactics involved in managing a State or a
Government”, and “the art of governing, especially governing a political entity such as a nation, and
the administration of its internal and external affairs”. The two concepts are different and should not
be confused.
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