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Directly below you will find the main pages which together constitute the virtual conference's Website. As an orientation aid, they are presented here in the order that there are intended to be consulted, in the hope that this will be of use to you. In addition, you will find 'navigation bars' at the beginning and end of most of these pages, which are also laid out in the order in which new entrants may wish to consult them.
The current letter of invitation for the conference (sent out on 1 September when the decision was made to continue for a second month. Invitation
This Welcome Page is intended to provide a first overview of the meeting for first time visitors to the virtual conference. Welcome
Here is where you go to register for the meeting and let us know of your interests and requirements for participation. The conference is free of course. Registration Desk
The conference site is, as you will shortly see, quite extensive and it is all too easy to get lost or to miss portions of it that may be of interest and use to you. With this in mind we provide the following quick overview, a basic road map to help you position the content of the conference which we hope will make it easier and more agreeable to participate in the meeting. Conference Map
'The Virtual Conference in Brief: The Zero Emissions Theme Introduced'. This is the place for new visitors to start. Introduction
The conference is in large part a function of the energies and contributions of you, the participants. A brief outline of this role will be found in this page. Participant Role
Each week of the conference has different objectives, themes Agenda
The first place to turn each day when you enter the conference. Also a good place for new entrants to start in order to understand the cumulative development of the conference in the weeks preceding their arrival. There is a lot there, and it is helpful to review it if you are to fully benefit from what has gone ahead. What's New
This will be the place in which participants will have an opportunity to hear from a variety of leading thinkers/actors and points of view. Each day a provocative and instructive new thinkpiece will be presented here and the floor will be opened for comment and discussion. It is hoped that each will be subjected to critical comment, and that this process will be one of the main knowledge building blocks developed interactively by the conference. It is intended that the critical discussions in each case will continue over the full period of the conference. All papers and discussions are archived, so that the results are available at all times throughout the conference. Have a proposal or topic suggestion? Contact us! The Podium
This is one of the primary concerns of the Forum Moderator, Robert Ayres. Not so much completed industrial or other cases studies, per se, thought they are more than welcome, as IDEAS, candidates for 'third generation' eco-efficiency deployments. Case Study Showcase
See what the others are talking about. Join in! Discussion Forum
This page still under construction. The Zero Emissions Pub
This page still under construction. Proposals & Offers
All too often meetings do not make adequate provision for sharing with or learning from young people, students, and non-'experts'. This section offers an opportunity for students and others to present their ideas and work in progress for public consideration, comment and discussion. All work here treats the mix of issues of technology, economy and society which are the concern of this forum, including the idea that such matters need to be treated in the very broadest terms if they are to lead to properly informed decisions. Present your ideas. Share your comments and guiding remarks. Thesis Corner
This page still under construction. Press Room
This page still under construction. Interim/Final Reports

These are the tools with which the virtual conference is working.
First Organization and Communications Guidelines for Participants: This introduces the main lines of organization and communications of the conference Operations Guidelines
This provides useful background on the key technologies that are making the conference work Technology Checkout
The Virtual Conference FastTrack: Organisation and Uses FastTrack Bar
World Wide Web Navigation Hints: An attempt to provide handy guidance for those who have questions about getting around on the Website. Navigation Aids
Search tools for getting around the conference and for the World Wide Web Search Tools
Web Links and Search Results (Examples)This page provides both links and leads for successful Net searches. Web Links
The electronic library is one of the main building blocks of the conference. The Electronic Library
Here is where some of you can help us!!! This section is intended to give those interested a convenient place to get together to discuss technical matters relating to electronic media, and in particular the various conferencing tools at the heart of this exercise. Geeks Corner

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If you are at all uncertain as to your Web skills, this is the place to begin.
Some BIG! help to learn the net. Tyros, we plead with you to start here. (It offers first rate help and guidance in five languages.) Learn the Net
World Wide Web - Frequently Asked Questions (With Answers, of Course!) Web Answers
This is an example of a 'day in the life of..' page of a net savvy person who also has to organize his life and get some work done. Drop in; you'll find it sensible, digestible, and, we think, quite reassuring. Paul's Web Day
For people who want to learn how to access the World Wide Web and how to get the most from the resources available on the Internet. No prior experience with the World Wide Web or the Internet is assumed. Learning the Web
The Technology/Education index is a first rate site with good didactics and interesting technology content. Not a bad place to get your feet wet and gain some confidence in the process Technology/Education

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Sponsors and others Contributing Actively to support the Conference.
In addition to their substantive contributions, Eric Britton and other EcoPlan associates are responsible for all aspects of the virtual conference. Until additional support is obtained, EcoPlan is deficit financing most of the expenses involved in this trial. EcoPlan
THE UNU/IAS provided a first round of start up funding for the August pilot project, with the objective of using the conference as a source of expert feedback to make decisions of its own about continuing their path-breaking Zero Emissions work. UNU/IAS
The Programme, Preparation and Monitoring Unit, Advanced Communications Technologies and Services, of the European Commission (Directorate XIII/B/1) has provided some flexible assistance for the first pilot run through their European Telework Development (ETD) program. European Commission
The European Telework Development Initiative is a flexible collaborative program sponsored by DG XIII of the EC which has provided encouragement and support for this project over the first half of 1997. ETD
The French Ministry of the Environment provided some support for the project under their Green Challenges (Virtual University) program, as well as being a long term (if occasional) supporter of EcoPlan's 'idées géniales' projects for cooperative environmental action. Min. d' Environnement
The Center@Hamline of Hamline University in St. Paul, MN has joined the project in September and is collaborating by making available their interactive conferencing capability for the Discussion Panels within our conference. The Center@Hamline
Teles is providing the telecoms and technical support for the two planned multi-point video conferences Teles
The OECD Environment Directorate has provided some early support through their Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) programme. OECD

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These are sites and sources that relate to the Z/E theme in various ways, and should be of direct interest and use to the participants Sustainable Development: From Concept to Practice: UNU-IAS Project Website: The electronic forum will discuss the UNU's response to Agenda 21, the progress with sustainable development made since Rio and how to effectively implement Agenda 21 UNU/IAS S/D Website
A good place to begin to get an understanding of the state of play and progress in the UNU's initial work in this area, and the ZERI spin-off program in Geneva. ZERI HomePage
Index - World Wide Web Virtual Library: Sustainable Development - includes links to resources, organizations, events, projects, discussion groups, libraries, journals, databases, and documents. 3W S/D Library
The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development is a program of the U.S Department of Energy dedicated to promoting the use of sustainable technologies and practices. Center of S/D Excellence
The United Nations Environment Programme: Working Group on Sustainable Development: 'Our work involves looking at the environmental impact of products, services and systems that meet human needs. The objective is to make them more sustainable'. UNEP-WG-SPD
Homepage of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. A rich reference resource. IISD
Japan-US Public Policy Virtual Conference for researchers and faculty members at universities and research institutes in the US and Japan, aimed at promoting policy making process - environment panel. A Virtual Conference
The Corporate Conservation Council of the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Council
The Sustainability HyperForum of Caltech: Application needed for full access HyperForum
The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment - an educational and research foundation, established to support environmental goals based on individual liberty and responsibility and harmonized with economic prosperity. FREE Foundation
Center for Information and Communications Research (Sweden) CIC
WBSCD - The Sustainable Business Challenge (Norway) Sustainable Business
CSF - Communications for a sustainable future (Colorado) - hosts over a dozen mailing lists on topics related to a sustainable future. Environmental lists include Ecofeminism, The Environment and Latin America Network (ELAN), and Ecological Economics. Sustainable Future
HomePage to The Commons The Commons
The 1996 OECD Conference on Sustainable Transportation's virtual counterpart. Organized and run by EcoPlan under The Commons, it is today a bit of a museum piece. But still useful as a reference tool. Vancouver '96

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Unless you already know them, you should find it quite worthwhile simply to work your way down this list, look, learn and reflect. It's already a rich virtual world out there.
'The World's Largest Bookstore' - Worth a visit and a bit of reflection as well. DOes this mean that you will never go to the corner bookstore again? Amazon Books
Library of Congress home page (USA) Library of Congress
Uncover searches more than x thousand scientific and other periodicals for you. Be a bit patient and get to know this source. Once you do, you'll find yourself using it. Uncover Database
Research-It! your one-stop reference desk. Or at least that's what they say! Research-It!
Global Change Electronic edition Site Outline seeks to familiarize the public with the issues associated with climate change and ozone depletion. covers Global Change and the Global Climate Change Digest. Global Change
The Global Environment Information Centre (GEIC) is a specialized information centre of the United Nations University and the Environment Agency of Japan Environment Info Centre
The New York public library home page is action in progress. It is being regularly extended and improved so that there is more of their huge collection available to their distance visitors, and faster. New York Public Library
OECD statistics, with links to other OECD sites OECD Statistics

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Peripheral vision, it is often said, is the best way to navigate in situations of dubious lighting.
Albert Einstein Online Einstein Online
The Open University, the international pioneer in the field of supported open learning, has, over the past 27 years, gained an immeasurable wealth of knowledge in the effective delivery of open learning to students around the globe. Open University (UK)
CNAM technology museum (France). Drop in and then chase down some of those Gallic links. Technology Museum
The American Telecommuting Association: drop in, it may give you a few ideas. Telecommuting
The World Wildlife Fund HomePage - Worth a visit World Wildlife Fund
The HotWired Network. HotWired Network
Multi-media is progressing on the Web, but still needs work. Still... Alice Online
The shining hope for a revolution in human consciousness lies in the actions of everyday people Adbusters
Changing consumption patterns can allow the world's poorest people a fairer share of the earth's resources and the opportunity to achieve an adequate standard of living. American Dream
Real Audio daily briefing (but only if you have a fast modem and sound card. Uses Real Audio. Daily Briefing
Been to Mars recently? Mars Pathfinder
If not Mars, what about Dublin? Dublin Pathfinder
Global Lab, The Testbed for Telecollaboration, the Hub and the Regional Alliancefor Mathematics and Science Education Reform. (Now tell us that the Web is a waste of time.) Global Lab

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ZERO EMISSIONS STRATEGIES

[ welcome | site-map | what-new | intro | day-by-day | navigate | podium | library | cyber ]

Conference-on-a-Page

Summary Presentation of the Zero Emissions Virtual Conference

If you intend to look at only one page to judge what is going on in the conference, this is the one. Otherwise, please start at the beginning with the Conference Welcome, after which you may wish to register.

Page Contents

Welcome

A collaborative international undertaking in the form of an open, global ‘virtual conference’ organized over the months of August and September under the leadership of Eric Britton (EcoPlan), with the suppport and encouragement of Robert Ayres (INSEAD). The conference is co-sponsored in part by the United Nations University (UNU) and its Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), the Programme, Preparation and Monitoring Unit (Directorate XIII/B/1) of the European Commission , the European Telework Development Initiative, the OECD Environment Directorate, and the Ministère de l’Environnement (France). The Conference is also being supported by the Teles Group (Germany), and The Center@Hamline (USA). The main source of backing for the conference until now has been EcoPlan International, (A situation which we most sincerely hope will not persist eternally).

The first half of the conference's agenda in the pilot stage over teh month of August is aiming to use these new means to try to provide expert counsel to the UNU and the IAS concerning their eventual future activities in this important science policy area over the next several years. The second part is to use this experience as a trial to probe the potential for making innovative use of the "new media" (i.e., computer-mediated communications) to create an expanded shared knowledge base and a yet stronger community of interest on this and similar important technology and society policy issues. The ultimate objective is to group forces in order to guide government and the other major actors concerned toward more informed, more broadly supported, and more effective policies and actions. As is appropriate given its concerns, the conference is organized as a travel-free, no-fee, resource-sparing, low-emissions, and, we certainly hope, convivial, undertaking. For us all it should prove a real learning experience.

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Zero Emissions: Policy Target or Pipedream?

"Zero Emissions is an attractive slogan. It has been adopted, for instance, by the UN University. The question arises, inevitably: Is it a realistic target? If so, in what sense?

"Wastes and emissions are part of the product life cycle; indeed they are the final fate of most extractive raw materials. The law of conservation of mass holds. It implies that zero emissions is equivalent to zero extraction i.e. final closure of the materials cycle. Ecological sustainability at the global level is not consistent with continuously increasing extraction, processing, consumption and waste emissions by individual households or firms. This stark fact implies that economic growth must, in the long run, either be disconnected from material consumption or stop altogether. Since the latter outcome would be socially unacceptable, the former must become a major objective of environmental and economic policy at the government level. But it must also become a core strategy for firms. Is there a coherent "zero-emissions" strategy at the firm level that makes economic sense? What role must government play to encourage firms to adopt such a strategy? What must governments do to increase the scope of profitable zero-emissions strategies? This paper concludes that there is such a strategy: to sell services rather than products. Policy implications for firms and governments are considered."

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Getting Around in the Virtual Conference Hall

The second half of the conference's challenge has to do with the fact that this is an entirely virtual meeting. No jet fuel, no stratospheric emissions, no lost time in airports or expensive hotels... but plenty of substance and world-level access. For this to succeed we have had to deploy not one but a layered set of working tools which together take on the tough challenge of substituting for the usual conference hall and its familiar appurtenances: the familiar welcome desk and registration facility, the printed handouts, the plenary sessions, the question and answer periods, the workshops and flipchart sessions, and even the out-of-meeting encounters and exchanges. The main working tool of the conference is extensive and imaginative use of the World Wide Web. But there are also extensive complementary elements of electronic mail (of several sorts and uses), electronic libraries (ftp sites), multi-media, digital conferencing and videoconferencing, all of which are amply explained in the pages that follow.

As with any other large meeting (and we should not loose sight of just how very BIG this one is!), it is useful to look around a bit at first and get your bearings. To this end you will already see on this page, just over there to your left, a rather long vertical bar which we call the "FastTrack". Now the idea behind this device is to provide you, already on this first page, with an easy link to a rich constellation of Web sites and resources which constitute a veritable education in themselves. For those curious enough to engage it, there are hours of convivial consultation and discoveries. As you will note, the FastTrack is organized into seven main groups, each with its own explanatory heading. If you hold your cursor over the icon in each case, a few words of introductory explanation should pop up. Then, to access the site or page in question, all you need do is click (your left mouse button). That is all there is to it, so please go on over now and try a few of those which look most interesting to you. If you wish more details on how the FastTrack bar is organized, we invite you to click HERE.

For the conference overall, your help for orientation purposes will be The Site Map and Quick Access Guide. We recommend it strongly.

If you have not yet done it, it's time to...

And if you have already registered, you might...

__ Zero Emissions Considered: Introduction

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Page last updated on 2 September 1997.
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