1st Proposal (jonramer)

 

Vision: I think we can do this very simply and be guided by the core principles of WiserEarth.  The businesses and government agencies that we are interested in including are the ones that are "working toward a just and sustainable world created by community".  I know there are businesses and governments that are not doing that.  I hope they start but until they do they do not belong in WiserEarth.  

 

The ones that are are the ones we want to include. it seems like a missed opportunity to not include an organization such as google.org.  in fact the whole idea of businesses that are for-benefit and not just for-profit has led to a business certification resource called B Corp.

 

Implementation:

 

- Add two fields (type drop down) in the organization page of our organization directory

- Add a new field around certification that businesses may have

- Visual Differentiation: if one is to browse through our Community Directory, one should have a visual way to easily identify the type of organization (NGO, for profit, goverment) and also refine the search if that person only wants to search through a type of organization

 

2nd Proposal (melinda)

 

Another option is to go further with this idea and invite businesses to pay for their dedicated space on WiserEarth, which would in turn help sustain the site. The invitation could be to:

 

 

Grow your base and promote your business practices

• Create a customized community space with dedicated URL
• Benefit from an interactive marketing tool with your target consumer base
• Collect reviews and testimonials about your business
• Showcase the innovations your company is making in sustainability and socially-responsible business practices
• Receive direct feedback and suggestions from your consumer base

Implementation:

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JT: Technical implementation consistent to what Jon described above. = Melinda I agree 100% with your idea of having businesses pay ...  for certification/ and agree there is tremendous value for a business to have presence within the wiserearth network (for the reasons you mentioned and more). see below proposal 3.

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Comments/thoughts

(I suggest with use the comment section for back and forth discussion so it is easier to read, Peggy)

 

My concern about charging is that "money changes everything".  It opens the possibility of someone thinking that a business or government is in WE because they paid for it.  I do think there may be other ways to raise money for WE e.g. if for profit entities are using group functionality perhaps they pay a monthly fee for the functionaility and disk space.  There are a number of companies that charge for profits and give it away free to NGOs.  Its just anexample if another way to raise dollars and not make us vulnerable to someone thinking we were paid for including someone.

 

I respect you Melinda and I am open to further debate about this.  What do you think?

Jon

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MELINDA: Jon, my thought was that these customized community groups would be in addition to business and governmental profiles (that are free and editable).

I love the idea of adding the business and gov profiles right away. It is an obvious. I think there is an additional opportunity to engage businesses in a way that creates a funding stream for WiserEarth. By implementing the above plan, where businesses pay to create a dedicated community space (essentially a more customizable group), these businesses would be opening their doors to public scrutiny on their sustainable business practices. This would help attract businesses that are making a real effort to become more socially and environmentally responsible, as they would be welcoming the direct comments/questions/suggestions from their consumer base. It is one level deeper in the effort to find our alignment across sectors and raise the bar in terms of what it means to contribute towards a more sustainable and just world.

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JT: Melinda/Jon I strongly disagree with allowing For-Profits to have free profiles/ or to have any type of free access to WiserEarth.  See my Proposal

 

3rd Proposal: SOLUTION(JT)

 

 Vision/ Implementation: consistent to what Jon outlined above, in addition initiate:

 

 WiserBusiness Certification (for profits) wiki here:  http://www.wiserearth.org/article/7cec79f3cd0af11ff5b52bd5bc347839/group/suggestions

 

If a business becomes a Wiser Business (it is Certified)= it should be worth something.  My suggestion would be that we create an open WiserBusiness Group, interested for-profit organizations would have a member of their organization log into the website with a user profile and create a wiki in the WiserBusiness Group that includes some basic information that details why their for-profit organization should be included as a WiserBusiness (link to their website; if they are currently certified with B corp etc.).  A two week interval under the magnifiying glass (where they answer questions etc., the global community evaluates them, their business is under public scrutiny like you mentioned)... than we run their credit card and let them in.  See "Including For Profit" Disscusion in the suggestions group. 

 

I think this plan would offer much more than your idea in terms of financial gain for Wiser and efficiency/ transparency of information flow; we want to monitor which businesses get profiles right?  Why not take the time now to initiate a simple global responsible business certification process which would lay the foundation for a long term certification program which would make WE more sustainable financially.  What are your thoughts?  

 

I feel that this plan would address Jon's concerns with regard to "money changing everything" / the concerns others have expressed with regard to avoiding site commercialization/ the need for establishing an active vetting program/ group etc., ensure that the community is directly/ actively involved in the process and -- like Melinda mentioned -- engage responsible businesses in a way that will create a funding stream for wiserearth. 

 

My concern with the plan you (Melinda) outlined would be that we would be running the risk of creating an overwhelming reactive atmosphere/ faulty system where editors/ nci staff/ wiserearth users are wasting their time in figurative/virtual mop-up work; rechecking / removing supposed responsible businesses that were given profiles without first passing through the gauntlet of community-scrutiny.  The gauntlet of community-scrutiny of such a vast network as wiserearth is our strongest asset: I suggest we use it to create value with a unique Multi-Lingual Global WiserBusiness Certification Program.  A simple start would be to flesh out and immediately initiate the plan outlined in the wiki link I provided above/ in combination with the technical implementation guide Jon described under Proposal 1..  

 

The For-Profit world is much more murky than the NGO world...

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