What is UPonGREEN, can I see an example of an organization that is UP, and how much does it cost?

UPonGREEN (”UP”) is a "United Plan for ProgressTM"; a 'greening' and communications plan for all members of society, accommodating all levels of greenness.   UP has created a universal baseline consisting of 14 'green’ actions, also known as the criteria.  All individuals and organizations, regardless of location or industry are capable of meeting a minimum of nine, which is required.   The criteria helps many people and organizations who are trying to engage in 'green', have an attainable starting point. 

UP is also expandable to accommodate and appeal to the most progressive.

Equally important, UP is a communication tool to help the public know which organizations are operating with ‘green’ practices and what those specific practices are. Keep in mind, 85% of consumers are willing to switch their loyalty to support eco-minded organizations.  UPonGREEN is the only tool of its kind to help consumers identify those organizations and communicate their specific accomplishments in a public-friendly format.  (The word 'organization' is used throughout the website to represent all types of businesses, schools, corporations, associations, groups, clubs, public offices, faith-based organizations, etc) 

As an example, the nation's leading organic brand, Wild Harvest Organics, is UPonGREEN.  Click here to view their Criteria and Eco-Profile.  Click here to view their UP public-awareness identifier (eco-label) which is displayed in their offices and printed on their packaging.  Click here to use their UP'Link on their website.

Here is some basic information regarding UP for organizations and consumers:

What are the requirements for organizations and individuals to become UPonGREEN members?

Members are required to consistently practice a minimum of nine out of 14 requirements on the criteria application such as: recycling (plastic, glass, aluminum, paper, electronics) throughout the organization, using products made with post-consumer and recycled content, eliminating the use of petroleum-based plastic bottled water, buying/selling organic/sustainable/renewable products, conserving water and energy, etc.
View criteria.

Can individuals and families join UPonGREEN and if so, how much does it cost?

Absolutely, we welcome everyone to GET UPonGREEN and be part of this "United Plan for ProgressTM". Unlike organizations, individual and families can become members at no charge. The application criteria and decals are also slightly different.  We encourage individuals and families to sign up so we can tally how many households are meeting the requirements. Researchers can measure our membership figures against environmental studies to see how much progress we are making together. 

Rest assured, private information about members will be held in confidence and will not be released for trade or sale. Please read our privacy policy.

What is an UP'vite?

UP’vites are a communication tool to help encourage more organizations and households to be part of this measurable national eco-effort. Senders must supply the correct email address for the organization or individual they wish to UP’vite. You can choose to have it come from upvite@upongreen.com (which is the default sender address) or your can list your email address as the sender. When the recipient receives the stylized UP’vite they can read it and then click into www.upongreen.com to learn how ‘being UP’ can benefit their organization and personal lives. In the near future organizations can customize the UP’vite to include their logo to invite others (i.e. vendors, employees, customers, or shareholders) and individuals will be able to customize the UP’vite with a photo of themselves giving a thumbs UP and encouraging their friends to get UP! View the UP’vite for organizations and the UP’vite for individuals.

Is UPonGREEN a certification?

Individuals, families, businesses, schools and all other organizations who are UPonGREEN, voluntarily agree to achieve 9 or more actions on the UPonGREEN criteria and register themselves on this  public disclosure website for doing so.  If they have earned certifications such as USGBC LEED, ISO, Green Seal etc., they can indicate those certifications on their Eco-Profile on our website.  This way the viewer can learn about all of the certifications this member is earning and their meanings, in addition to the actions the participant is achieving to be UPonGREEN. 

An UP ID (identifier) can be displayed on their entrances, near cash registers or on packaging to communicate to the public that they are choosing to be more envirnomentally active, similar to a No Smoking sign in the front window of a business.  However, the UP IDs communicate that the business is participating in UPonGREEN's "United Plan for Progress" and specifically lists up to 14 of the actions they are achieving. 

What makes UP ON GREEN different from other environmental seals and certifications?

Most seals and certifications are intended for products, not necessarily the practices of organizations. UPonGREEN is a communication tool for businesses and individuals/families to display at a business and on its products stating what the company does environmentally, such as recycling, water conservation, use of high efficiency lighting (such as Energy Star rated), buying or selling organic products, eliminate the use of petroleum based plastic bottled water by using filtered drinking water or vegetable-based compostable plastic bottled water such as Primo bottled water, use of post-consumer waste products, etc.
View criteria.

Is UPonGREEN a regulatory or government agency?

UPonGREEN has created a method to help promote regulation by a company itself as well as by its employees, clients, vendors, suppliers, shareholders, and customers, through our online comment forum. UPonGREEN business members understand that the company’s detailed criteria application and Eco-Profile is available online at www.upongreen.com for the public to see at all times (Example: Mall of America's Criteria and Eco-Profile).

Participating consumers and employees can comment on a company‘s practices online, similar to various online rating systems. This helps ensure that the integrity of the company’s commitment is being well maintained. UP has put revolutionary measures in place to prevent abuse of the comment forum to protect members from internet flaming, maliciousness, and unfounded negative comments.

Does UP only focus on basic 'green' efforts or does it bring attention to more advanced 'green' accomplishments ?

UPonGREEN serves all levels of 'greenness' and allows each participant to communicate how much they are accomplishing.  A member's profile can communicate that they are simply meeting the minimum nine criteria, while another member's profile might communicate that they are not only meeting the criteria, but also earning environmental certifications within their industry and achieving progressive actions that far exceed the criteria.  UPonGREEN has created an optional addendum to the criteria application which is referred to as the Eco-Profile questionnaire.  This questionnaire allows members to share the exceptional environmental efforts they are making, beyond the 14 point criteria.

However for many ‘green’ is very confusing, therefore UPonGREEN's plan brings ‘green’ down to the most attainable and comprehensive basics. Currently there is a concern that many consumers are becoming desensitized to the words 'green' and 'environmental' because of the ambiguity and because there is so much terminology about high-tech solutions.  Our plan is to focus on the basics and put an infrastructure in place for everyone that is simple to follow. 

Currently less than 35% of US households recycle and a far lower percentage of businesses recycle. By providing a measurable plan that gets back to the basics, we can make real progress. Once we have mastered the basics, we can take ‘green’ to the next level in our criteria. 

What happens if a company is ‘green-washing’ or claims it is meeting the UPonREEN criteria when it isn’t?

UPonGREEN members pledge to operate their businesses in ways that promote ethical and environmental responsibility. When agreeing to the terms and conditions of the UPonGREEN membership, they are required to answer the criteria application truthfully. And they must adhere to the practices they have specified in order to maintain the membership and to continue to use the UPonGREEN brand. We tell members that their commitment is not only self-regulated, but also overseen by their customers, employees, shareholders, vendors, and suppliers. At any time, the business’ criteria application can be viewed online and comments can be left in our public forum. We encourage consumers to send positive feedback to companies that are UPonGREEN, but we also encourage people to question any company that is not meeting its criteria promises. For example, if an UPonGREEN member isn’t recycling, employees and/or customers will know it and will be able to post their observations online in our public forum. Each negative comment will be forwarded to UPonGREEN and to the company itself. If negative feedback continues, UPonGREEN will contact the company to analyze the situation and determine what action should be taken to correct the problem. If a company has multiple negative comments, is choosing not to correct the problem, and is not meeting the nine out of 14 requirements on its UPonGREEN criteria, UPonGREEN will instruct the business to remove its UP identifiers. Furthermore, UPonGREEN will delete the company’s name from the website directory, disconnect the UP icon link on the company’s website (if applicable), and suspend its membership until all problems are corrected.

How does UPonGREEN prevent malicious and unfounded complaints against a company?

In order for anyone to leave a comment regarding a company, they must be an UP ON GREEN member themselves. Membership is free to individuals and families. Non-members cannot leave comments on the message board. 

The UPonGREEN message board is designed to provide a forum for consumers to send encouraging comments to companies for choosing to operate environmentally responsibly — communicating positive feedback and kudos for the efforts being made. However our message board is also designed for instances where companies are not meeting their proclaimed criteria. Consumers can leave public messages stating what they have personally witnessed at the business. Like various online buyer/seller rating systems, UPonGREEN’s companies and commenters are rated for positives and negatives.  Any misuse of this feature by a commenter will result in suspension or termination of membership to UPonGREEN, in which case that commenter will not have access to leave comments thereafter.

  

Is UPonGREEN an environmental authority? Who has established the environmental recommendations for the criteria application?

UPonGREEN's criteria consists primarily of undisputed and meaningful U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended actions.  UPonGREEN has simply compiled this list of actions in a public-friendly format and used it as a 'greening'  baseline for all.  UPonGREEN has also worked directly with the Center for Energy and Environment to make certain that our criteria are sufficient to address the basics of ‘green’ practices and can be easily adopted by businesses and individual households. On the UP criteria application we ask for specific information when possible, to avoid auto-reflex ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. UPonGREEN’s criteria application is attainable and quantifiable for most, if not all, businesses and individuals and a meaningful foundation to begin building upon.

Does UPonGREEN compete against other ‘green’ initiatives and organizations?

Absolutely not. In fact, UPonGREEN is designed to bring greater awareness to other green programs and certifications because participants are encouraged to also indicate  on their eco-profile other certifications they are earning.  This helps eliminate the certification chaos by creating one destination  which catalogs all of an organization's certifications (with links) and all of their accomplishments in one public-friendly format, thereby allowing the public to learn about industry specific initiatives and certifications.  UPonGREEN is intended to complement other organizations and companies that are trying to solve environmental problems and bring greater public awareness to them. Our main objective is to deliver an actionable, measurable plan for progress. Independently and with others, UP will help eliminate the green chaos, empower the consumer with a simple plan, enhance the ability for businesses to succeed with ‘green2green’ solutions, and ultimately expedite progress.

 

Why does UPonGREEN have a patent application filed?

We are pursuing a patent to preempt duplication and adaptations that would create additional consumer confusion. Too many solutions solving the same problem is no longer a solution. To maintain the integrity of our environmental objectives, we have gone to great measures to protect our initiatives, the brands that we put forth, and all of our output. Please contact us if you notice any misuse or unauthorized use of the UPonGREEN solution. 

UPonGREEN is a nationally and internationally patent-pending solution that has been invited by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to participate in a first-of-its-kind initiative with the William Mitchell College of Law.   William Mitchell College of Law is one of only six law schools in the United States to be chosen to participate in this patent client initiative and has granted UPonGREEN the privledge of being their patent-client (gratis).  UPonGREEN, UP, UP'Vite, UP'Links and UP’Mail are registered trademarks.  2009 copyright protected, UPonGREEN, LLC.