The precautionary principle is presently one of the main philosophies of environmental regulation in the world. It is inserted in national law in many countries and also in most environmental international treaties and conventions (on climate change, chemicals, mobile phones, food security, etc.). Besides the conventional legal focus on formulation and definition matters, the role of the precautionary principle in the implementation of science-based decision processes in contexts of scientific uncertainty and conflicting value interests is a recurrent theme in recent literature. Yet, despite its potential role in improving environmental decision-making economics and management is not being thoroughly used in current precautionary practice. In order to highlight the possible contribution of this area of study, we briefly present a critical survey of the main theoretical approaches (namely result-oriented rationality and procedural rationality) and models that have been proposed for the economic interpretation and application of the precautionary principle. We also present the results of a survey of judicial cases analysis on the application of the principle in Portugal and other countries, where the need to clarify decision rules and improve economic decision-making devices in public as well as corporate decision processes is illustrated. Based on our survey of judicial cases analysis we argue that an inclusive perspective, that recognizes the multidimensional nature of environmental risks should be envisaged. This would contribute to help decision-makers in the determination of environmental values, management of value conflicts, evaluation of social relevance of impacts and in improving planning, transparency and participation in decision-making.

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