GreenFacts

accessdate=2007-11-13 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4923220.stm] It states that its mission is "to bring complex scientific consensus reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-specialists." [cite web | title=GreenFacts' Mission Statement | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://about.greenfacts.org/organization/mission.htm]

Aims

GreenFacts' primary function is to provide summaries of scientific consensus reports on environment and health issues (such as climate change and tobacco). [cite web | title=GreenFacts' publications | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://www.greenfacts.org/en/digests/] GreenFacts' aim is to rewrite these highly technical, scientific publications into something more easily understood by lay readers. The summaries are subjected to a review by experts in that field for faithfulness to the original document [cite web | title=GreenFacts' publication process | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://about.greenfacts.org/publications/process.htm] . The peer review process is overseen by GreenFacts' Scientific Board composed of independent scientists [cite web | title=GreenFacts' Scientific Board | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://about.greenfacts.org/whos-who/scientific-board.htm] . These summaries are then published on the organization's website.

GreenFacts states that one of its missions is to foster dialogue between environmentalists, industry and others by providing accessible and neutral information. [cite web | title=A foundation for environmental debate | publisher=European Commission: European Research Headlines, 2003-06-20 | accessdate=2007-11-13 | url=http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_03_06_20_en.html]

An article published by the European Commission writes that GreenFacts "recognised that progress in health and the environment would need to come from 'dialogue and co-operation, rather than activism and confrontation'." [cite web | title=The Research Headlines | publisher=EUROPA Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_03_06_20_en.html]

Funding

GreenFacts was founded in December 2001 with seed money from the Belgian chemical company Solvay. Until 2004, it remained primarily funded by industrial companies such as Solvay, Carrefour, Suez. Since 2005, over 50% of its funding has come from other sources, such as individuals, foundations, UN organization, the European Commission, and national governments and agencies such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In 2006, GreenFacts' total income was €510,000 [cite web | title=GreenFacts' funding figures | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://about.greenfacts.org/funding/figures.htm] .

Partnerships

GreenFacts has partnership agreements with several commercial companies, industry associations, NGOs, governmental organizations, UN institutions, and media organization [cite web | title=GreenFacts' Partners | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://about.greenfacts.org/partners/] .

It is a member of the IUCN [cite web | title=IUCN MEMBERSHIP LIST – JUNE 2007 | publisher=IUCN | date=2007-06-01 | url=http://www.iucn.org/members/Documents/members_list_june2007.pdf] and is an observer organization of the IPCC [cite web | title=DRAFT REPORT OF THE 26TH SESSION OF THE IPCC | publisher=IPCC | date=2007-05-04 | url=http://www.ipcc.ch/meetings/session26/draft-report.pdf] .

In December 2007, GreenFacts joined the COM+ Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development as associate partner. [cite web | title=GreenFacts Joins the COM+ Alliance | publisher=COM+ Alliance | date=2007-12-21 | url=http://www.complusalliance.org/Modules/ENews/ENewsDetails.asp?id=MTE0OA&MenuId=2&BackLink=%2FTemplates%2FCOMPLUS%2FCOMPLUS5%2Flayout%2Easp%3FMenuID%3D2] In this context GreenFacts has produced the official summary of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which is available on the IAASTD website [cite web | title=Press Materials | publisher=IAASTD | date=2008-06-12 | url=http://www.agassessment.org/index.cfm?Page=Press_Materials&ItemID=11] .

GreenFacts regularly collaborates with the organizations publishing the scientific reports it summarizes (such as WHO, FAO, CBD, Millennium Assessment...).

Referrals

GreenFacts summaries have been praised by several eminent scientists, such as Robert Watson [cite web | title=GreenFacts' credentials in Science Communication | publisher=GreenFacts Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://about.greenfacts.org/pressroom/presskit/folder/credentials.doc] . GreenFacts summaries are linked to from tens of thousands of websites, including many NGOs and UN organization websites.

GreenFacts has worked under contract for the European Commission to produce summaries of 3 scientific reports of the Scientific Committees of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection [cite web | title= GreenFacts' Co-publications | publisher=GreenFacts' Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/] , which are published on the European Commission's website [cite web | title=Bringing the results of the Scientific Committees closer to the public | publisher=EUROPA Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/popularizing/popularizing_results_en.htm] .

Criticisms

GreenFacts' industry funding has led some to question the organizations' objectives. Its publications are criticized by the SourceWatch wiki as biased toward the concept of "sound science" [cite web | title=GreenFacts Foundation | publisher=SourceWatch Website | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=GreenFacts_Foundation] — which is viewed by many in the scientific community as a nebulous, essentially political term often used to justify a predetermined (generally opposing) worldview. Greenfacts is a foundation, and it is interesting to observe that its Annual general meeting of 2008 lasted exactly half an hour [http://about.greenfacts.org/organization/reports/ag/ag-080523-pv.doc] .

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.greenfacts.org GreenFacts Website]
* [http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/popularizing/popularizing_results_en.htm Summaries prepared by GreenFacts for the European Commission]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=GreenFacts_Foundation criticism of GreenFacts on SourceWatch wiki]
* [http://about.greenfacts.org/pressroom/press-book/sourcewatch.htm Response by GreenFacts to the SourceWatch criticism]