The environmental movement is gathering more and more momentum both at the political and at the grassroots level. The global market for environmental goods and services is estimated to be worth US$ 400 Bn and, in the year 2009 alone, investments in this sector were estimated at 150 Bn US$. However, information on what individuals can do on a practical everyday life level to make a difference is scattered, contradictory and difficult to find. The key idea behind ecozense is to provide a platform on which individuals can find information on everything they can do to help the environment. The focus will be on practical advice and information that can help individuals in every aspect of their life and in all their purchasing decisions. The content on the site will be aggregated from existing reputable sources and also generated by users and partners. Users will be able to slice and dice it so that the platform delivers exactly the type of information they are seeking for a particular geography, technology, issue or sector - from advice on how to install solar panels on the roofs of a house to the amount of money someone is likely to save on road tax if purchasing a hybrid car. The dynamic platform will allow users to interact with each other, start conversations, review material, post their own content, initiate and take part in debates etc. The content posted on the platform will give rise to exchanges and conversations among the users that will enrich the content and provide the depth necessary to be able to extract from it actionable intelligence. The richness of interaction among the users will enable the sale of a number of B2B services to a wide range of end customers ranging from the automotive to the petrochemical to the electronic sectors focused on extracting intelligence from the information and exchanges that take place on the portal. Intelligence products will be sold under the name 6zense.com to private customers in the form of business intelligence as well as to governments in the form of Policy intelligence.
Ecozense is an online platform for the exchange of information on reducing the environmental impact of our lives.
Information on the portal is primarily focused on practical steps that can be taken to lead a more environmentally friendly life and it is either:
1. Gathered from dispersed sources, including news feeds, blogs and other dedicated websites.
2. Generated by users in the form of narratives.
3. Contributed by external partners like experts, academics etc.
The platform will enable the provision of services/products both on the B2C and the B2B level.
- On the B2C side
The platform will present users with content that is aggregated from multiple sources and user generated.
Filters will allow users to navigate to the content of their interest on the basis of subject matter, geographic location, source etc.
The platform will also act as a channel for promotion and sale of new and emerging environmental products/services targeting the consumer market.
- On the B2B side
Services on the B2B side will be focused on extracting intelligence and insights from the interactions contributions and conversations that take place on the platform.
In particular 2 categories of B2B services are envisaged:
1. passive services (large client base) - Basic analytics services based on extracting statistics from the wealth of data generated by the platform. These services will be for approximately EUR 200 to 2000 depending on the sophistication and amount of information.
They will be made available on a subscription basis
2. Active services (small client base) - These services will offer customers the opportunity to run specific investigations on the community set up through the portal. This could take the form of surveys, polls and investigations on specific issues such as new product launches, brand reputation investigations etc.