Compelled to Coordinate: Understanding Local Inter- and Intragovernmental Coordination on Environmental Sustainability Issues

Integrating multidisciplinary and cross-sector inputs is essential to addressing environmental sustainability issues. Coordination, both within and across public organizations, is necessary in preparing for and responding to environmental threats. However, the local governments responsible for addressing sustainability dilemmas are ill-equipped to coordinate when resource limitations and transaction costs limit their ability to engage across organizational lines. We investigate the tension between organizational limitations and the critical need for inter- and intragovernmental coordination on environmental issues. We reveal that coordination remains lowest for environmental issues, especially climate change, raising concerns about siloization in local government sustainability initiatives. Furthermore, we identify key factors associated with coordination among subnational entities, focusing on the importance of government capacity and experience. The findings improve our understanding of organizational coordination on environmental sustainability issues and can provide insights for practitioners on how organizational characteristics relate to sustainability policy action.