Mission/Vision

A Sustainability Information Commons is a network of contributors creating a common-pool resource of sustainability- focused information and tools. The commons is a "control-free zone" in which members agree to cooperate in the co-creation of Public Goods to be used by all members of society.

The common-pool resources are maintained through Cooperation Agreements, which establish (1) clear and simple rules for the contribution to and use of these public goods, (2) a community-regulated monitoring system, and (3) a set of Core Principles shared by all Commons members: transparency and integrity of the shared content, accountability of all contributors, and non- proprietary accessibility of sustainability information to the greater community.

The Public Goods created by the Commons encompasses the pooled resources of members as well as a common framework for organizing and sharing information across public, private and civil society sectors. Such information could include, but is not limited to, case studies, best practices, government information, scientific data sets, directories, links to libraries of related information, and other subject specific content.

Through the Commons, competition and cooperation merge together to form a strategic interdependence between organizations and networks of organizations. By pooling our sustainability related information, all organizations will have access to a larger body of knowledge allowing them to more effectively fulfill the goals of their organization and to deliver greater value to their constituency.

WiserBusiness, a project of the Natural Capital Institute, and The Interra Project, launched an exploration of the Commons concept at a workshop attended by representatives of over 20 organizations on September 27, 2006. This initial group has continued to expand and the discussion has begun to take shape around the Commons and the shared assets, i.e. Public Goods we are co-creating.

Initiating Organizations

Wiser, the world index for social and environmental responsibility, is an open source platform that creates the space for the private sector, civil society, and government to collaboratively address and solve social and environmental problems. This powerful tool for social change, that combines the accurate and efficient search capabilities of a relational database with real-time community editing features, is at the core of the sister sites WiserEarth — connecting social and environmentally focused non-profits worldwide, and WiserBusiness — guiding companies of all sizes toward responsible business practices. Interra OS is an open source platform of user and member-centric social commerce services that connect social neworks with financial networks. "Restorative commerce" re-circulates proceeds from purchases within a community to benefit all of its stakeholders: citizens, nonprofits, businesses, and natural ecosystems. Interra and the Wiser community are partnering to co-create the Sustainability Commons to cohesively tie together the community in a way that makes conscious consumerism and responsible business easily accessible and a systemic part of everyday life.

Participating Organizations

Aspiration
Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI)
Business Alliance for Local Living Economics BALLE
B-Lab
Center for Ecoliteracy
Craigslist Foundation
Earth Aid
EarthSite
Evo
E-Waste Insights
Grass Commons
Green Century Institute (GCI)
Green Home
Imaginify
Interra Project
Institute for the Future
Inspiring Green Leadership
Local Exchange
Natural Capital Institute NCI
ONE/Northwest
ooTao
Roots of Change Fund ROC
SiteLine
Tools For Change Institute
Urban Alliance for Sustainability UAS
Urban Logic
Urth TV
Vibrant Planet
Women's Earth Alliance
WiserEarth and WiserBusiness