There are many efforts to create standards in various categories of sustainable business. Standards and certification are important given the prevalence of “green washing” (i.e., false or vague claims around the eco friendliness of a product or service.) The LEED standard, for example, is well established in the building world. Various definitions of “organic” are emerging as well.
Big Room, Inc. (based in Vancouver, BC) is applying for a new top level domain (TLD) to enable “individuals, businesses, and organizations to make informed environmental choices.” The TLD will be .eco and, presumably, Big Room will serve as the registrar doling out the new .eco web addresses.
Big Room’s website quotes Martin Atkin with the WWF:
‘.eco is a unique global resource which must be stewarded effectively and responsibly to promote sustainability around the world,’ said Martin Atkin, Director of External & Media Relations for WWF International. ‘Big Room’s vision for .eco will create a new, credible and trustworthy internet extension that will make a real difference for individuals and for the environment.’
This is an interesting idea. We will be contacting Big Room for more information regarding how this will work. For example, what would a ExxonMobile.eco website look like? Could any Internet entrepreneur acquire a general name like “food.eco” to create a website focused on organic food? Instead, will Big Room retain and manage general URLs?
Can we call dibs on Oregon.eco?
There is competition for .eco. See this NYT article discussing the ICANN application process and competition.
