GreenFacts
Encyclopedia
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It produces short summaries of technical scientific reports for the public. It states that its mission is "to bring complex scientific consensus reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-specialists."
Aims
GreenFacts' primary function is to provide summaries of scientific consensus reports on environment and health issues (such as climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
). 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. The peer review process is overseen by GreenFacts' Scientific Board composed of independent scientists. After peer-review, the summaries are published in English on the organization's website. Most summaries are translated into French and Spanish, and a growing number into German and/or Dutch. GreenFacts also publishes and widely distributes paper versions of some of its shorter summaries. Some of these paper summaries were also translated into Chinese, Russian or Arabic.
GreenFacts states that one of its missions is to foster dialogue between environmentalists, industry and others by providing accessible and neutral information.
An article published by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
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'."
Funding
GreenFacts was founded in December 2001 with seed money from the Belgian chemical company SolvaySolvay
Solvay may refer to* Solvay , an international chemicals and plastics company* the Solvay process* Ernest Solvay, its inventor* Solvay Conference* the Solvay Business School* Solvay, New York* Solvay Hut, on the Matterhorn...
. Until 2004, it remained primarily funded by industrial companies such as Solvay
Solvay
Solvay may refer to* Solvay , an international chemicals and plastics company* the Solvay process* Ernest Solvay, its inventor* Solvay Conference* the Solvay Business School* Solvay, New York* Solvay Hut, on the Matterhorn...
, Carrefour
Carrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
, Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
. Since 2005, over 50% of its funding has come from other sources, such as individuals, foundations, UN organization, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, and national governments and agencies such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is an office-level agency in the federal administration of Switzerland, and a part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs...
(SDC). In 2006, GreenFacts' total income was €510,000.
Partnerships
GreenFacts has partnership agreements with several commercial companies, industry associations, NGOs, governmental organizations, UN institutions, and media organization.It is a member of the IUCN and is an observer organization of the IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
.
In December 2007, GreenFacts joined the COM+ Alliance
COM+ Alliance
The COM+ Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development is a partnership of international organizations and communications professionals from diverse sectors committed to using communications to advance a vision of sustainable development that integrates its three pillars: economic, social...
of Communicators for Sustainable Development as associate partner. In this context GreenFacts has produced the official summary of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development is an international effort initiated by the World Bank that evaluated the relevance, quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology , and the effectiveness of public and...
(IAASTD), which is available on the IAASTD website.
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 WatsonRobert Watson
Robert Watson may refer to:* Robert Watson * Robert Watson * Robert Watson , computer scientist* Robert Watson , Canadian parliamentarian...
. GreenFacts summaries are linked to from tens of thousands of websites, including many NGOs and UN organization websites.
GreenFacts works under contract for the European Commission to produce summaries of scientific reports of the Scientific Committees of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection, which are published both on the European Commission's website and on GreenFacts "Co-publications" website.
Criticisms
GreenFacts is accused of being a "front groupFront organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
" on two websites of the Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Media and Democracy
The Center for Media and Democracy is a non-profit investigative reporting group. The CMD gives analysis and opinion on policies such as the economy, environment and national security...
.