Japan for Sustainability New Indicators Release

This is absolutely amazing. I love the initial interface, how peaceful and welcoming the site is. I'm not as enamored by the data sets or the lack of metadata information, but the look and feel of the site is really, really good.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2008
CONTACT: Kazuko Kojima indicator@japanfs.org

JFS Indicators Made Visible with the "see-it" Sustainability Communication Tool

Japan for Sustainability is an NGO that provides an open platform for communication on environmental issues. Its "JFS Sustainability Indicators" can now be viewed through the medium of the "see-it" sustainability communication tool offered by a Canadian company, Visible Strategies (Vancouver, Canada; President, Colin Grant). We hope to evoke discussion about how to build a sustainable society by visually presenting where Japan should be by 2050 and possible routes to that future as well as our present situation.

JFS Indicators with see-it http://japan.visiblestrategies.com/

Making the Process of Achieving Objectives Visible
JFS has been measuring and publishing quantitative evaluations of Japan's level of sustainability using the JFS Sustainability Indicators: now, by using "see-it" to present the 20 indicators based on over 200 data sets, future objectives, possible pathways to achieving those objectives and evaluations of related present factors can be seen clearly at a glance.

This tool helps simplify the processes of setting a course towards objectives and periodically monitoring actual achievement, enabling speedy and flexible reactions. Not merely a one-way presentation of progress so far, this new communication tool offers broader possibilities for use in discussions of how we should proceed from here on. JFS will continue to measure and publish information on its sustainability indicators so that they can be utilized as fundamental data by the national government, local governments and corporations as they think about their visions for a sustainable society.


* About "see-it"
"See-it" is a next-generation sustainability reporting tool developed by the Canadian company, Visible Strategies. It integrates CSR, management strategies and plans in a simple manner, enabling two-way communication in real time. It is being used by Al Gore's Live Earth and more than a dozen relevant organizations, mainly in Canada and the US. EcoNetworks Co., the corporate partner of JFS, will be providing the "see-it"
service in Japan.

Visible Strategies http://visiblestrategies.com/

* About JFS Sustainability Indicators
JFS has chosen 20 headline indicators as ways to measure Japan's level of sustainability. The JFS project was the first attempt in Japan to quantitatively evaluate the country's overall sustainability. A sustainable Japan in 2050 is the target, awarded a value of 100%. Trial calculations yielded a score of 33.5% in 2005, and a score or 41.3% for 1990, meaning that sustainability has eroded in Japan by about 19% since 1990.

Please view the JFS Sustainability Indicator page at:
http://www.japanfs.org/en/view/index.html


For further information please contact Kazuko Kojima at Japan for
Sustainability:
E-mail: indicator@japanfs.org
URL: http://www.japanfs.org/