While serving in the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's services Abbott worked with UBCM to pass the Community Charter. He was later awarded a lifetime membership in UBCM for his work on the file. During his term in the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, Abbott worked with industry, environmental, and First Nations groups to complete the Great Bear Rainforest agreement which included a move to ecosystem-based management. As a result of his work on this file, Abbott was the only BC Liberal Candidate endorsed by the Conservation Voters of BC in 2005.