The Sustainable Sitemap Initiative is home to the "Sustainable Sitemap" which is a transparent, clear and accessible framework by which organizations of all sizes can deliver information regarding internal and external sustainable strategies, initiatives and commitments.  The Sustainable Sitemap also addresses the issue of an "apples to oranges" comparison of any two company environmental efforts.

Any two corporate websites may be aesthetically different however essentially deliver similar information to consumers, clients, employees and stakeholders thus creating a challenge in evaluation. Organizations rely on plain language "sitemaps" that deliver an index of all top level web pages within a given site therefore providing the clearest identity of the site.  These sitemaps may provide links to pages including; about, news, services, search, etc. and essentially can be used as a comparison between the structure of two websites.  The value of this is that users with different browsers, computing speeds, mobile devices and technical capabilities may use the sitemap as an overall roadmap.

The Green Challenges Sustainable Sitemap provides a similar communication strategy in that it provides top level sustainability strategies, partnerships and commitments in a simple, straight forward framework very similar to a basic web sitemap.  The Sustainable Sitemap consists of information across ten categories ranging from company profile to climate goals and carbon footprint.  All information is presented with accompanied links, report pages and/or direct communication from a company representative.  For example, if an organization has a multi-media video segment on their website regarding a C-Level commitment to the environment, that video may be embedded into the Sustainable Sitemap and/or the Sitemap would reference a specific link indicating that a video existed.  Where the value of the Sustainable Sitemap is amplified is in steps that do not command an entire web section or page, such as a commitment to recycled paper and double-sided printing -- this information is picked up in the Sustainable Sitemap.

SUSTAINABLE SITEMAP LINK | http://bit.ly/26CA4d
JOIN THE GREEN CHALLENGES | http://bit.ly/omgBB

Excerpt from TED (Link to this video)

"At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional "take / make / waste" industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce."

At The Green Challenges, our efforts are to make readily available the information, resources and tools so that businesses can better strategize and communicate their sustainability efforts.  This fifteen minute talk is a great peek inside the mind of a forward-thinking CEO, Ray Anderson.  The talk discusses some of the thinking that goes into sustainable decisions as well as Mr. Anderson's personal thinking on sustainability.

About InterfaceFLOR
InterfaceFLOR has always been about the future. When Ray Anderson staked his career on the idea of modular carpet tile in the ’70s, it was a square idea in a broadloom world but even he didn’t realize how dramatically we would shape the future of the industry.

Over the years we’ve evolved our approach to design and developed innovative manufacturing processes to reduce waste and eliminate toxins from our products and facilities. And we’ve pioneered new ways to reuse valuable resources. We see the infinite design possibilities of carpet tile and they’re inherently tied to our Mission Zero™ promise – to completely eliminate any negative impact we may have on the environment by 2020.

About TED
TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize. 

Websites are the frontline marketing for any business; often the first impression of your company. I have written about this a few times over the years; in a report entitled “What’s Your Website Done for you Lately” and in the NY Enterprise Report article entitled “Is It Time for a Website Upgrade?”

For sustainable organizations, the website is even more critical to your business; it holds the key to your reputation.

Take for example the company running an advertising campaign that touts their green product line. In an effort to get more information about the company and products you visit their website. There is little or no information to support their ad campaign. Your conclusion could easily be that the company is greenwashing. This may not in fact be the case, but the perception of greenwash or even just a suspicion, can be as damaging to your reputation as the act of intentionally misleading the public.  Take the "Good Green Website Survey" and let us know if this has happened to you.

The good green website has to do better than most companies are doing. Even those businesses with firm environmental or 3BL commitments, policies and products fail to provide appropriate supporting information online. Or if it is online, it is not easy to find. I think of it as the great green scavenger hunt. Most visitors are going to leave your site before finding the information they are seeking, never to return.

Here are the keys to a "good green website":

• Easy to find information
• Multiple ways to find the information [home page, about us, product pages….]
• Varying degrees of detail – appropriate for specific audience [architects and consumers may need different levels of information]
• Data supporting claims
• Contact information for further details [human answered is best]
• 3rd party verification wherever possible

The Green Challenges concurs that companies are falling short on their websites and need to do better stating: “There is a breakdown in communication of sustainability programs and policies from leadership to employees, stakeholders and consumers.”

A large part of the success of sustainability programs is in the corporate communications both internally and externally. The website, therefore is the perfect and necessary tool to be the epicenter of company’s sustainability programs and success.

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Jane Tabachnick is a marketer focusing on sustainable business. She is the creator of the Stand For Green™ marketing tool, www.standforgreen.com. Her firm Jane Tabachnick Marketing www.janetabachnick.com offers consulting, training and marketing. Jane blogs at myrepurposedlife.com.

As social media has continued to explode in the way information is communicated, we outline the top social media sites, their environmental sections and how to interact with them. In order to best leverage the power of the social sites listed, this post provides not only web and Wikipedia links but specific links for three keywords; environment, sustainability and green.  

Twitter

Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

WeFollow

Find Twitter celebrities, actors, TV personalities, or new Twitter friends in your area. WeFollow is a directory of Twitter users organized by interests.
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

Digg

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users.
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

Delicious

Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon helps you discover and share great websites. As you click Stumble!, we deliver high-quality pages matched to your personal preferences.
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

Technorati

As the leading blog search engine and most comprehensive source of information on the blogosphere, we index more than 1.5 million new blog posts in real time and introduce millions of readers to blog and social media content.
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to work with to accomplish your goals. See Top Down Ground Up's post on"The Top 15 'Sustainability' Networking Groups on LinkedIn".
WEB | WIKIPEDIA | ENVIRONMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN

In addition to these sites, we are members of countless local and/or specialized social networks.  To connect with The Green Challenges on any of the above platforms find us by searching for "Green Challenges" or by clicking the "Social Links" on the right toolbar. If you have a site or network that we should include in this list, comment and we will add it.  

Greenbiz.com | Business Operations
http://www.greenbiz.com/browse/business-operations
"The process of greening business operations is becoming more important in today’s sustainability-conscious marketplace. This section examines the latest news on companies that are integrating sustainable principles into their business and office operations."

CSRwire.com
http://www.csrwire.com/
"CSRwire is the leading source of corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports, events and information. Members are interested in communicating their corporate citizenship, sustainability, and socially responsible initiatives to a global audience."

Alltop.com | Corporate Resoponsibilty
http://corporate-responsibility.alltop.com/
"Alltop is an “online magazine rack” of popular topics. We update the stories every hour." We use Alltop as a resource for providing headlines of the top stories across several key blogs and news outlets at once.

We also rely on social networks such as Digg, Twitter, LinkedIn, Delicious and Technorati to assist us in locating specific issues and/or articles. The key to keeping informed is identify what type of information is critical to you on a daily basis and dedicate a percentage of your time to reading and digesting that information. We recommend keeping it to three to five critical sites to ensure that you can process, comment and react to the information without spending an entire day.If you have a site that we should look at, feel free to add it in the comments section of this post.

Take our survey here: KEY SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLE SURVEY

Those who take the survey will be rewarded by automatic submission into our Green Challenge Open Source Project*.  Our goal is to reach 1,000 respondents in the following weeks closing the survey on August 5th, 2009.  We will publish the results of the survey as part of our TRANSPARENCY series on this blog.  All user participation will be kept anonymous.  Any contact information will be used solely for the GCOSP and will not be used in any portion of the report on this survey and its results.

*To be entered into the GCOSP, survey participants must provide contact information.  

1. Greenbiz.com -- Green Business Professionals
   http://bit.ly/16Q2DF
   14,448 Members
   The group for green-minded professionals interested in aligning environmental responsibility with business success. Discuss key issues and get answers to pressing questions from thousands of colleagues.
2. Justmeans - Green, CSR, Good Work, Sustainability and Social Enterprise News and Updates
   http://bit.ly/6SZJQ
   1,463 Members
   This group is for executives and thought leaders interested in good work, social responsibility, sustainability, social enterprise, clean technology, and all things green. It features news, jobs, videos, and other updates from the growing Justmeans community.
3. Green
   http://bit.ly/owUOE
   53,890 Members
   Green is for those who want to share ideas on environment, climate change, renewable energy, clean tech, sustainability, CSR and Green issues.
4. Think Green
   http://bit.ly/jlhjx
   4,878 Members
   Please join THiNK GREEN and show your support for the environment and a sustainable future. Making informed decisions can lead to change.
5. Sustainability Working Group
   http://bit.ly/14BwSq
   3,226 Members
   Opening doors globally to discussion about, networking around, business development in, and promoting investment into, sustainable and sustainability featured business.
6. Sustainable Brands
   http://bit.ly/WeQRg
   1,377 Members
   Join brand leaders, product designers, and sustainability experts. Discuss market trends and proven case studies from innovative companies creating profitable change and brand value with sustainability initiatives.
7. Sustainability Professionals
   http://bit.ly/4OJmQ
   13,108 Members
   This is a group of environmental sustainability professionals (energy, water, waste, recycling, green building, etc.) to help us network and communicate.
8. Corporate Social Responsibility
   http://bit.ly/2jTeu
   2,965 Members
   This is a group to exchange Corporate Social Responsibility practices and visions.
9. Green & Sustainability Innovators & Innovation Network
   http://bit.ly/Wp4t1
   8,811 Members
   Our innovative group includes innovation leaders who help develop sustainable green products, services, meetings, events and experiences.
10. The-Green-Group.com
    http://bit.ly/14zxr9
    7,313 Members
    The-Green-Group.com serves as a resource portal for green professionals. Green Group members are involved with companies and/or organizations that promote recycling, healthy living, renewable energy, energy conservation, industrial hemp, organic products, and other green initiatives.
11. LEED Accredited Professional
    http://bit.ly/bi4a0
    7,575 Members
    (LEED APs) have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building techniques, the LEED Green Building Rating System, and the certification process.
12. United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
    http://bit.ly/1TQF3m
    5,010 Members
    Current members of the United States Green Building Council.
13. CSRwire, The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire
    http://bit.ly/545jI
    611 Members
    CSRwire is the world’s number one resource for corporate social responsibility news as well as the hub for an influential community that has realized the value and necessity of Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability.
14. Konstructr
    http://bit.ly/kbbv0
    71 Members
    The Konstructr Group on LinkedIn aims to help bring transparency in the world of construction.

As a result of this increased dialogue, The Green Challenges team created a networking group, "The Green Challenges Network" (#15) found here, http://bit.ly/yRO9Y and encourage anyone interested in corporate sustainability and/or communication of sustainability to join our discussion.

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Not a LinkedIn member? To join LinkedIn, visit http://www.linkedin.com/

Connect with Chris Davis, our Chief Sustainability Officer on LinkedIn here; http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismdavis

We have been approached by numerous organizations seeking to add their company to our growing database and provide positive examples of their sustainability programs and corporate websites as part of the challenge.  With great pleasure we are announcing The Green Challenges Open Source Project (GCOSP) permitting all GC Members and GC Leadership Members to add upto five (5) organizations to our database.  This unique opportunity permits all businesses to become part of The Green Challenges regardless of industry and revenue.  

With the open source project we can accomplish two goals.  First, the project permits our network to grow organically through businesses that we would not normally have an opportunity to index as part of our internal efforts.  Second, organizations that have strong sustainability initiatives and websites have the opportunity to earn a GC Grade "A" designation and join the ranks of nearly 400 companies we have already surveyed.

As we continue to evolve the open source project we will alert everyone to updates, changes and announcements about the initiative.  For questions, contact Chris Davis at chris@thegreenchallenges.com.

Agencies and Organizations:
This section lists over 20 key "green" organizations and agencies including their respective web, Wikipedia and Twitter links.

Abbreviations and Acronyms:
The basic foundation to any industry is understanding its terms and acronyms, this section includes 20+ terms and Wikipedia links.

Calculators and Tools:
Whether conducting an internal waste audit or establishing a paper consumption baseline, this section features the 'best' green calculators and tools available on the web and provides the links and organization information.

Guides and Frameworks:
There are numerous guides for 'being green' depending on objectives. This section features information on ten premier frameworks including; LEED, EPEAT, EnergyStar and more.

Recommended Books:
For further research and analysis this section provides information and easy access for purchase the leading books in the sustainability industry. Each book has been reviewed by The Green Challenges prior to submission into the library.

News, Blogs and Feeds:
With so much information on the web today discerning the quality resources from others is as difficult as ever. This section highlights over ten news, blogs and feeds that deliver quality content on a regular basis. Each source includes a description as well as web and twitter links.

Social Media:
As social media has continued to explode in the way information is communicated, this section outlines the top social media sites, their environmental sections and how to interact with them. The resource library is only available to basic and leadership members at this time.

To become a member visit http://bit.ly/gcmembership and select the "GC Membership and Access" for $9.99 and confirm your purchase. Shortly thereafter a login/password and follow-up instructions will be emailed to your inbox.

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About Green Challenge Membership (http://bit.ly/gcmembership)

Become a Green Challenges Member today and get unlimited access to the challenge datasets including the Green Challenge 1000, Green Accounting Challenge and Green Law Challenge. As a GC Member you will also have acces to new datasets including the Green Corporate Challenge, Green Metro Challenge and others as they become avaiaible. Currently our datasets total over 1,200 entries and is growing at the rate of 35 plus new entries weekly.

Each challenge database includes a corporate name, headquarter location, sector, industry, 2008 revenue, GC Grade, website link and sustainability link. As the challenge grows additional information will be added for every organization which will be immediately available to GC Members.

• Dedicated GC Members-only homepage.
• Unlimited access to all current and future challenge datasets.
• Data is available in three formats including; Excel, PDF and Online as well as RSS.
• Access to the Insiders Blog for GC Members only featuring discounts, events and previews of new information.
• Access to GC Members-only resources.

PROFILE:

Company: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Challenge: GC1000
08 Rank: 1
Sector: Retail
Industry: Discount, Variety Stores
HQ Location: Wal-mart Inc, AR
08 Revenue (Mil.): $378,799.00
Website: www.walmartstores.com
Sustainability Link: www.walmartstores.com/sustainability
Green Giant Score: 12 of 15

Education [0-5]: 5

• Website is easy to find on corporate website: http://bit.ly/wltsustainability
• Provides tools and resources: Yes, specific to Sustainable Value Networks (SVN)
• Provides links to standards, organizations and affiliations: Yes, specific to Sustainable Value Networks (SVN)
• Provides case studies of internal initiatives/projects: http://bit.ly/wltsvn (SVN)
• Provides downloads to press releases, reports and programs: http://bit.ly/wltreports

Transparency [0-5]: 4

• Clearly defined message and/or policy statement: Yes, Specific to Sustainable Value Networks (SVN)
• Provides program/initiative details: Yes, Specific to Sustainable Value Networks (SVN)
• Easy to navigate: Yes
• Appears on first page in Google search: http://bit.ly/wltgoogle
• Includes basic contact information: No

Outreach [0-5]: 3

• Includes multi-media including audio and/or video: http://bit.ly/wltmultimedia
• Engages in social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.): No
• Provides a blog or other regularly updated forum for discussion: http://bit.ly/wltmyaccount
• Provides a form for community participation and commenting: No
• Provides up-to-date press releases and/or news: http://bit.ly/wltnews

COMMENTS:

Wal-Mart is our second Green Giant due to the scope of its sustainability efforts and the lengths at which the company has gone to provide pertinent information on the web. Wal-Mart’s sustainability section includes a wealth of general information as well as specific details of its ‘three-pronged’ approach to organizational sustainability; energy and climate, zero waste and products. Their website does a great job of permitting end-users to email, print and share ‘socially’ on the web which many other sites do not provide for. Additionally Wal-Mart is one of the few companies that features an in-depth multi-media and video section including webcasts, interviews and video reports including the ability to share and embed said videos. Although Wal-Mart does not provide a method to directly communicating with the sustainability effort, it does provide a “My Content” function allowing users to interact with the site directly including bookmark, comment and download high resolution videos. For more information on Wal-Mart’s Sustainable Value Networks visit http://bit.ly/wltsvn.

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NOTE:
The Green Giant designation is based upon the corporate website of the associated Giant and does not purport to include all information about a corporation or its environmental initiatives. For more information contact data@thegreenchallenges.com.