Opinions on environmental policy are divided within the economy. Companies advocate high environmental standards to promote investments and technological innovations. Yet, many fear competitive disadvantages, bureaucratic costs, or prolonged approval procedures. The policy should aim for a balance between environmental goals and costs while encouraging companies to invest in environmental technology without obstructing innovation and growth.

In many areas of environmental law, regulations are enforced with varying strictness across the EU, while imports often fail to meet these standards altogether. Rather than focusing solely on introducing new regulations, the European environmental policy should prioritise the consistent application and enforcement of existing rules. German businesses should not face disadvantages compared to their European or international competitors. European directives should therefore not be exceeded in national implementation. The same environmental compliance obligations should apply to online trade as they do to brick-and-mortar businesses.

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The legal framework should be adapted so that commercial uses in densely populated areas, including near or adjacent to advancing residential developments, remain possible. Conflicts of interest should not be shifted to subsequent approval or monitoring procedures but should be adequately considered during the planning phase.

In terms of noise protection, the various requirements for industrial, traffic, and recreational noise should be as uniform as possible. To ensure businesses can continue operating in densely populated metropolitan areas, limits, assessment times and locations, as well as potential mitigation measures in the Technical Instruction Noise (TA Lärm)—for example, through passive noise protection measures—should be made more flexible.

Regarding disturbance law, the Federal Government should establish nationwide regulations to determine the appropriate safety distance between industrial facilities and protected areas and clarify vague legal terms. The frequency and effort for assessments should be reduced while maintaining the possibility of case-by-case consideration. Water protection should achieve its objectives in harmony with the needs of the energy, transport, and tourism industries, as well as manufacturing enterprises.

The vast majority of companies support legislative measures to strengthen water resilience. In cases of potential conflicts of intensive water use, priority should be given to securing public water supply. However, existing industrial uses should always be preserved. Protection against high or low water levels should be enhanced in light of increasing heavy rainfall events or drought periods. In this context, companies' possibilities for rainwater use should be particularly improved.

In nature conservation, the scope for businesses to intervene in nature should be made more flexible. Economic interests should be constructively considered early on in measures for the preservation or restoration of biodiversity as part of an overall assessment. This applies, for example, to the designation of additional protected areas on land and at sea. Businesses should also be allowed to use compensation and replacement measures in advance areas and eco-accounts in a user-friendly manner. For this purpose, a nationwide uniform evaluation procedure should be introduced.

The preservation of natural resources and thus the protection and restoration of biodiversity is an important goal for the economy. Achievements in species protection and biodiversity should also be legally reflected in facilitation for businesses. Adjustments to the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive could promote fast-track planning and approvals. To this end, a stronger focus on population protection instead of individual protection should be pursued. The intensity and extent of EU species protection should allow for regional differentiation, particularly where a population has a good conservation status.

Measures to improve air quality should provide a fair distribution of burdens among the various sources. Compliance with the limits should not rest solely on local or regional administrations and companies. In implementing the Air Quality Directive into national law, the Federal Government should make full use of the possible exemptions.