Environmental organisations Greenrock and BEST have concluded that a formal merger of the two entities is not necessary to advance their goals.

The two organisations have been in talks facilitated by the Centre on Philanthropy’s Collaboration Initiative which aims to help cash strapped groups pool their resources during difficult economic times.

A range of options were considered to allow them to work together on environmental sustainability issues of vital interest to both parties.

But they concluded that both charities had “strong and committed boards who support their own strategic mandates”.

In a press release, the organisation said that cost effective operating structures are maintained by both parties which “would limit any material benefit from the cost savings and efficiencies that would typically be a key driver of a merger.”

However, the discussions helped to identify areas for enhanced collaboration as “independent agents”.

Greenrock chair Nick Campbell said: “Greenrock and BEST have a long history of working together productively and we would like to thank The Centre on Philanthropy for the opportunity to explore formal options for closer collaboration.

“Charitable funding is both less available and under greater demand than in the past and we are keen to explore every avenue to ensure that Greenrock’s work on environmental sustainability is itself sustainable and is delivered to the island in the most effective way possible. Our discussions with BEST have been productive and as they continue we are hopeful the outcome will be beneficial for the island community as a whole and will highlight further opportunities for us to collaborate on specific projects.”

BEST chair Gail Miller added: “BEST is committed to collaboration on environmental issues for the benefit of Bermuda and appreciated the opportunity presented by The Centre on Philanthropy to explore more focused discussions with Greenrock. We found that both of our organisations are committed to achieving our operating goals which are complementary to each other and as a result we look forward to continuing to work with Greenrock and other environmental groups in the months and years to come.”

Graham Pewter, chair of the COP Collaboration Task Force, said: “Collaboration in the non-profit sector is essential to allow critical services to continue to be provided to the community in an environment where funding is increasingly challenging. We welcome enquiries from our members in this regard.”