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Mission/Purpose

Excerpt from DGC official application submitted to ICANN on April 3, 2012.

Go to Question 18a: Mission/Purpose.
Go to Question 18b: Benefits.
Go to Question 18c: Operations.
Go to Question 22: Geographic Protections.

18(a). Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.

INTRO
DotGreen Community Inc. (DGC) recognizes the Internet as an incredible accomplishment. In its natural state, the Internet offers core communications capabilities and virtues of open access, global reach, accessibility, speed, and transparency, all of which influence positive change in the world. These same properties are also necessary for the green movement to progress to global relevance.

Green = Environmental + Humanitarian + Economic aspects of sustainability, in other words: “People and their Planet.”

18.1.1 MISSION

DGC’s mission is to provide and manage the .green address space in a responsible, global, inclusive and secure manner to positively enhance the impact Internet users can have in the world’s shift to a greener economy, renewable resource utilization, responsible business, and sustainable lifestyles. This will result in a collaboration known as a: Global Response to Environmental and Economic Necessities, or .green online.

This adoption will represent a global response as businesses, non-profit organizations, communities, individuals and governmental agencies across the world showcase their commitment to sustainable practices. The .green TLD will serve, represent, and drive the global green movement online. Connectivity, awareness, sharing, transparency, innovation, and collaboration the Internet affords, will enhance the green movement online. At the same time, .green domain name sales will be an automatic vehicle for philanthropy to support people and the planet in all regions of the world, giving all .green registrants and users the value of information, and community action around common issues of sustainability on a global scale.

18.1.2 PURPOSE

The purpose of the .green TLD is to utilize the Internet for good. This altruistic purpose behind the design of the .green TLD will provide benefits to Internet users, registrants, the green community and the world as a whole in a multitude of ways including but not limited to:

• Promoting Competition, Consumer Choice, and Consumer Trust
• Supporting the Green Movement
• Boosting the Economy
• Embedding Charity and Philanthropy
• Cultivating Community

Promoting Competition, Consumer Choice, and Consumer Trust
A primary purpose for the introduction of the .green TLD is to address demand for new TLDs that can enhance competition, consumer choice, and trust. The .green TLD addresses this demand by enhancing the meaning of domain extensions for registrants focused on sustainability. By contributing to the diversity of the TLD namespace, registrants and end users of the Internet in all regions of the world will have increased consumer choice, and will experience benefits built around values of transparency, authenticity, and accountability. Through the combination of Internet competencies, inclusivity, and the shared values of the green movement, the .green domain name will augment consumer trust. The .green TLD is a space in which all registrants around the world can confidently identify their online and “sustainable” presence. Technical security enhancements, detailed in Question 18c also contribute to consumer trust.

Supporting the Green Movement
It is the natural purpose of the .green TLD to promote the green movement online. DGC’s opportunity to meet demand relies on the intersection of dramatic growth in both the Internet and the green movement, and will help spur the transition to sustainable ways of life as all governments, businesses, peoples and cultures of the world engage. Value Created in the forms of social, environmental, and economic capital, which leverage the power and competencies of the Internet, will help weave the green movement into the navigational fabric of the Internet. The introduction of a .green TLD responds to the urgency of a needed shift to sustainable alternatives for all people. This purpose will raise awareness globally, creating a sense of inclusivity and the need to transition to sustainable alternatives, combined with increased demand for green products and services, information, and education. The .green TLD will provide registrants and end Internet users a tool to communicate efforts around sustainability, whether it is a first step in the direction of going green or part of a longstanding expression of core values, the concept of “green” grows by all and can be redefined by the collective actions, beliefs, and ideas of a global community of Internet registrants and users. The .green concept has also been formed with the purpose of enabling individuals and organizations to extend the reach and scope of their ideas, brands, and ability to influence the green movement. Awareness created is the important framework for a shift to global green consciousness among the world’s citizens, promoting a cycle of good in the forward movement towards our future.

Boosting the Economy
Another primary purpose for the creation of the .green TLD is to facilitate green economic growth across industries, and around the world. The green economy has come to represent the pinnacle of economic innovation, and the potential for further economic growth and job creation. The .green TLD in relation to the green economy will provide ease and clarity for Internet users and registrants who wish to:

1. Enable a Global Response to Environmental and Economic Necessities (.GREEN) through unity around Green action.
2. Identify contributors of the green movement online
3. Disseminate green information
4. Promote all available green products and services
5. Demonstrate registrant participation in the green economy
6. Create opportunities for further innovation in the green economy
7. Respond to increased consumer demand for green economic growth
8. Provide opportunities for the largest users of environmental and social capital to address reputational issues surrounding policy development and implementation; and,
9. Showcase the importance of governments and their green policies and initiatives in the greater global picture.

The .green TLD seeks to symbolize the new online green economy, and to collectively galvanize growth across all industry sectors.

Embedding Charity and Philanthropy
An obvious and essential purpose for the .green TLD is DGC’s integration of public benefit charity ideals, aspirational approaches to stakeholder engagement, and grant giving to green projects and programs aimed at sustainability in every region of the world including initiatives around Internet penetration and adoption which are directly connected to the green movement. DGC includes automatic philanthropy with domain registration by contributing to the DotGreenFoundation.org, a Non-profit 501(c)3 For-Public Benefit Charity, and to EarthShare.org, the world’s leading federation of 400 environmental and conservation organizations.

Cultivating Community
It is also a central tenet of the .green TLD to facilitate community engagement within the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)and the global green movement. The DotGreen Community, Inc. embraces participation in the multi-stakeholder process at ICANN where open access and transparency for Internet policy development occurs. Global organizations, such as the Internet SOCiety (ISOC) and the Government Advisory Committee to ICANN (GAC) and many others, ensure Internet benefits are fully realized by fostering consumer trust through increased consumer awareness, robust discussion, freedom of expression, and transparency.

DGC seeks broad participation in the .green namespace. Standards and policies are designed to favor inclusivity in the online green movement and encourage unrestrictive green participation through the same principals of increased consumer awareness, robust discussion, freedom of expression, and transparency in the .green TLD namespace

Benefits to Internet users and registrants are detailed in the answer to the following question, 18b.

18(b). How proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others.

18b

The .green TLD will be beneficial for registrants, Internet users, and the world through the commitment The DotGreen Community, Inc.,(DGC) has in its mission, purpose and management of this important address space. DGC is dedicated to providing an enhanced user experience, measures for protection of privacy and confidentiality, consumer choice, optionality, and inclusive and responsible registration policies. Communication will play a central role in achieving the benefits described. DGC will continueto raise awareness and educate registrants and Internet users regarding the benefits of new gTLDs, the .green TLD, and the green movement. The .green TLD will be recognized and understood across cultures, regions,and commerce, as a representation of the green movement, sustainability, and the values associated. DGC will also manage the .green string with a focus to maximize domain name recognition, inclusivity, rates of adoption, innovative application, consumer appeal, and visibility to invite the full spectrum of the green movement.

18.2.1 Overview of .green Benefits

Through the introduction of the .green TLD, multiple benefits will reach registrants, Internet users, and others in three primary forms including economic, environmental, and social, with Internet benefits related to each component. These benefits stem from the operating policies of DGC, the business approach described throughout the application, and the collective actions of the people engaged in the promotion of sustainable lifestyles and initiatives. Serving a mass market, the .green brand covers the full range of environmental and social disciplines, as well as practical considerations of sustainable economic stability, growth, policy through Internet use and implementation around the world.

Economic Benefits
The .green TLD will provide increased economic value for registrants, Internet users, and other broad stakeholder groups by adding visibility to individual organizations, brands, initiatives, and ideas relating to the economics of global sustainability. Representing a meaningful string of recognizable characters worldwide, the .green TLD will provide registrants the opportunity to extend their presence in the green space. With a truly global approach to TLD operations, DGC plans to launch the .green TLD in 16 Internationalized Domain Name languages at the second level in all regions of the world. In support of this global approach, DGC will implement marketing and communication campaigns to help alleviate any potential for consumer confusion and pave the way for individual registrants as they promote their .green domains. All of these functions serve to maximize economic value for registrants and Internet users, while establishing conditions for the growth of tangible economic value as the green movement grows.

The ultimate value of the .green TLD for the global society may be in the creation of an online movement of socially and environmentally responsible businesses, organizations, and individuals who wish to represent their leadership and participation in the green movement online. .green will utilize the broadest definition of sustainability commonly understood, spanning industries, regions, and ideologies, to facilitate the global exchange of green ideas, products, services, and information. People from around the world can showcase, share, and collaborate around sustainability online in a variety of ways to create the Global Response to Environmental and Economic Necessities (.GREEN).

Additionally, by embracing the worldwide grass roots green movement, the .green TLD will provide a powerful opportunity for companies, NGOs, and individuals to showcase their green initiatives and values. Those wishing to expand and develop an international presence in a green values-based community will benefit from the universal recognition of the .green TLD string.

As registrants participate in this exchange, opportunities will emerge related to new business models, new open source solutions to environmental and social issues (helping to mitigate costs to society), and the creation of partnerships that help connect global and local people and resources. Innovation in the green economy is already occurring, but with the creation of the .green TLD, this innovation will be expanded by higher levels of awareness, investment, and engagement around issues affecting each person on this planet. The availability of .green address space may attract a new generation of innovators to the green movement and give rise to innovation around sustainability issues.

Users of the .green TLD will benefit from the level of consumer trust that is associated with green products and services. The world’s conscientious consumers have increasingly gravitated toward green products and services, creating demand and fostering trust and brand loyalty. The DGC business model is consistent with this understanding of the broad market and behavior of green consumers, as well as the behavior of Internet users. The DGC will continue to promote the green movement, serve the needs of consumers, and market the .green brand, aligned with DotGreen Foundation philanthropic initiatives, through multiple communication channels.

DGC believes that the .green TLD represents the highest order of efficiency for supporting name recognition culturally, linguistically, and commercially. For this reason, the .green TLD will act as a relevant signal in the marketplace and will succinctly associate companies, organizations, individuals, and agencies, with the green qualities they wish to highlight. Value is also created for registrants as the adoption of the .green TLD increases in scale. These benefits stem from the fundamentals of network valuation and the compounding effect networks have to facilitate the free flow of global ideas and capital. The more .green is used, the more valuable it becomes to those who use it.

Registrants will benefit from the creation of new opportunities for dialogue with customers and stakeholders around their green efforts, initiatives, and policies, ultimately enhancing their reputation as global citizens. This focus on reputational capital will fuel increased consumer loyalty and ultimately brand value.

Common economic benefits will cycle to end users of green content as overall economic activity flourishes, increasing the efficiency of information flows, lowering coordination costs, and increasing overall demand for content. Since green content is associated with environmental and social health, and all things sustainable, these increased deliverables should also benefit the end users.

DGC has constructed domain name operating policies that will allow for a truly open platform, yielding optimal and inclusive participation around the world. In full acknowledgement that every person, business, non-profit, and governmental agency will approach sustainability with different perspectives, contexts, sets of constraints, and levels of expertise, the .green TLD and its users will take registrants where they are and encourage them to take the next step toward a full integration of green values and actions. To this end, DGC will promote efforts made by institutions, companies, and scientific and academic groups who create meaningful certification programs.

Third party green certification is welcome on the .green TLD and may be showcased on websites to encourage raised awareness of key issues, metrics, industry standards, and any other information that Internet users require.

Certification efforts are an important part of the green movement. They help to guide consumers and simplify product and service research. They also act as symbols of progress. For one mark, the voluntary Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a highly respected certification program in which many multi-national corporations participate. It is DGC’s position that the virtues of the Internet – transparency, accountability, and democracy – will serve as the basis of evaluation and motivation for .green website content, and that the authenticity and value of individual registrant claims may be openly assessed by the collective global community as is currently happening in the green movement. For this reason, registrant activity including certification in the .green space will be communicatively valuable to all.

Environmental Benefits
Internet users, registrants, and the world as a whole will experience environmental benefits relating to increased transparency and reporting around sustainability by leading members of the green movement and the .green TLD. One example of this behavior is related to voluntary sustainability reporting. This process undertaken by corporations and NGOs worldwide has led to increased demand for information regarding sustainability performance and has led consumers to expect continual improvement. As awareness grows regarding these practices, demand among organizations for the new communication opportunities will increase. The .green TLD will provide the framework and platform for further evolution of this dialogue between creators of global reporting data and consumers of this green data. Real world environmental benefits will result in further steps taken to improve efficient energy usage, raw materials consumption, packaging, transportation, etc.

Through a campaign by DGC, the .green brand will encourage the voluntary use of green servers behind .green domain names, in order to improve carbon usage effectiveness (CUE), and to minimize the atmospheric impacts of increased Internet activity. The environmental concerns of Internet technology and data storage will be supported by specific environmental initiatives around the world that help to protect the natural systems on which all life and commerce depend. The use of key metrics and the promotion of leading solutions will play a large role supporting environmental sustainability and responsibility within the industry. The promotion of environmentally responsible alternatives will also drive economic benefits and demand for green solutions as well as the economic benefits of consumer loyalty.

Social Benefits
The creation of social value will result from the introduction of the .green TLD through targeted social initiatives and collective philanthropy. The .green TLD encourages socially-minded people, global companies, NGOs, and governments to express and demonstrate their care for the health of the planet and its people, and to drive the spread of information and awareness of crucial environmental, social, and economic solutions. In this way, social benefits will be experienced both online and on the ground in local and global communities. Certain economic benefits, such as increased green online commerce stemming from use of the .green TLD, will carry direct social benefits in the forms of increased employment and higher standards of living for people around the world exercising new green economic alternatives. These alternatives also hold the potential to yield improved health for people and the planet.

The generation of online traffic worldwide on .green sites may aid in the tracking of new social metrics, enhancing the collective ability to measure positive social change. As the .green TLD reaches widespread adoption, the benefits stemming from collective green actions are scaled, creating powerful incentives for the inclusion and maximization of participants. This global response is a direct social benefit for the green movement, Internet economy, and for people and their planet.

Through .green TLD registrant philanthropy and DGC funding for social projects supported by the DotGreen Foundation(DGF)and EarthShare, value will be brought to registrants, Internet users, and society as a whole. One of the primary social goals of DGC is to aid in the adoption and penetration of the Internet globally, with key interest in emerging markets. The Internet has widely demonstrated its unique ability to promote green ideals, such as education, career development, and job creation to provide economic alternatives to people and markets around the world. In this way, DGC and DGF intend to bring measurable social benefits to all regions of the world. As economic alternatives become available, many requiring Internet access, environmental benefits can be realized relating to greener economic activities and the growing awareness of the true social, environmental, and economic costs can be understood and acted upon. The greater society and Internet ecosystem will benefit in multiple ways, from direct support for initiatives funded with revenue generated by the .green TLD as well as the aggregated benefits and contributions of all stakeholders of the .green platform.

The .green TLD has been closely connected to DGF, a Non-profit 501(c)3 For-Public Benefit Charity, and EarthShare, the worldʹs leading federation of 400 Non-profit environmental organizations. These partnerships serve to assure registrants of the .green TLD that philanthropic funds raised through domain names sales will be distributed responsibly for the betterment of all regions of the world. DGC and DGF will work closely and collaboratively with EarthShare, a twenty-three year old federation of the world’s leading Non-profit environmental and humanitarian organizations to accomplish this mission. Transparency and regular reporting will reinforce the project selection process as well as the impact of initiatives supported by the .green TLD stakeholders. This philanthropy will naturally also offer social benefits to its recipients, while the reporting, awareness, and collaboration offers further social benefit to the stakeholders. This translates into a powerful message of authenticity and collaboration by and for Registrants of the .green brand.

18.2.2 Value Add

The existence of the .green TLD will promote healthy competition and provide the necessary conditions for innovation by connecting leading organizations, individuals, and government agencies in the green sector to new processes, products, services, and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration around sustainability. DGC will participate in this space by differentiating itself from other TLDs through built in philanthropy and the enhanced level of meaning that is associated with the .green string, stemming from the wide variety of shared values that green represents globally. As the .green TLD grows in usage, so do the benefits experienced by registrants, Internet users, and the world at large.

It is a priority for DGC to continue to participate in the ICANN multi-stakeholder model of governance. Members of the DGC team have a long history of contributing and volunteering for the benefit of Internet users through the ICANN model, and will continue to participate actively on behalf of its .green registrants and all Internet users. DGC’s values and social meaning embedded in the .green TLD support and act in concert with the global multi-stakeholder model of governance and the core values of ICANN.

18.2.3 User Experience

DGC will provide a unique user experience in the form of .green domains by bringing a new level of attention to the top-level, enhanced meaning with the second-level, while implementing standard industry operating rules designed to protect registrants and users. DGC will advocate for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the .green TLD to ensure that adequate preference is given to the string in search engines and email recognition systems. SEO for the .green TLD will deliver maximum benefit for Internet users and registrants and allow the flow of social and environmental benefits to the public through increased visibility and awareness of the .green TLD. Users will experience benefits through traffic, clicks, green servers, philanthropy, and new innovations in and around the green theme of the TLD.

18.2.4 Registration Policies

DGC has developed a thorough set of policies and mechanisms to protect trademark owners, and to support the launch and ongoing operation of the .green address space. It is a central requirement of DGC that all developed operating policies are implemented in a fair and equitable manner. Industry policies are established to correspond to standard guidelines for TLD management, as described in the ICANN Operator’s Agreement.
Prior to registering a domain name in .green, prospective registrants will be required to affirm their belief in certain core environmental and humanitarian principles. DGC believes in free speech and expansive expression of diverse ideas and it will not seek to limit or censor free expression within the .green TLD. DGC will, however, reserve for itself, by its terms of service, the right to un-publish or delete a domain name where the registrant registered a domain name and published content in knowing or harmful disregard of the DGC affirmation of environmental and humanitarian principles presented at the point of registration.

It is DGC’s goal for the .green TLD to be aspirational, fully acknowledging that every person, business, non-profit, jurisdictional entity, and group are at vastly different places in the process of becoming more sustainable. It will not be the policy of DGC that registrants fully demonstrate a type of green certification, as this would create unnecessary barriers to participation, and would stifle innovation and the flow of information for all global citizens. This philosophy of inclusion for the .green TLD delivers an impact that is scalable and measured by the growth of the namespace, multiplied by its benefits for all registrants and Internet users.

DGC will run a global registration program for governmental agencies to acquire and reserve their respective environmental protection acts, agencies, departments and initiatives’ names in the .green TLD. Also included are domain names for environmental and humanitarian academic, scientific, and non-profit organizations and institutions interested in providing news and information about sustainability to the .green Internet space.

18.2.5 Measures Imposed for Protecting Privacy⁄Confidential Information of Registrants or Users

See Question 18c for a full description

18.2.6 Conclusion

Through policies of transparency, a brand and trademark sunrise, governmental academic, scientific and non-profit sustainability programs, and a comprehensive global launch, the .green TLD will result in social, economic, and environmental benefits created at the Internet industry level for registrants, as well as for the greater global society.
DGC takes the .green value proposition very seriously and expects the .green TLD to be a brand that represents benefits beyond its function as a TLD by delivering environmental, economic, social, and uncompromised Internet benefits to all its registrants.
DGC recognizes the importance of running a state of the art technical operation, contributing to a stable and secure global Internet, and participating responsibly in the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance. As an active stakeholder of the Internet, DGC will prioritize the protection of registrant rights and the creation of a strong value proposition for all stakeholders in and around Internet operability and Global sustainability.

18(c).

Describe operating rules to eliminate or minimize social costs or financial resource costs, various types of consumer vulnerabilities.
Prior to discussing the operating rules for .green, provided below is important information about .green that puts into context the specific launch and business approach the .green TLD will operate.

An Environmental TLD
The first ever environmental TLD to be proposed to the world through both the Internet and Environmental communities is .green. In 2007, the .green TLD was recognized by the founder of DotGreen for its international appeal as an actual word that has already been adopted by many people in their own languages around the world. “Green” represents Environmental + Humanitarian + Economic issues addressed in tandem, in other words “People and their Planet.”

Philosophy
Community is an important component to the Green Movement, to ICANN, and to The DotGreen Community, Inc. (DGC). When it comes to the nature of human beings, community plays an important role. The multi-stakeholder community is inclusive of all Internet users. The green movement thrives on community collaboration of information, discussion, and resources. DGC also seeks broad participation in the .green namespace and has set policies that are designed to favor inclusiveness into the online .green movement, and is not exclusionary or restrictive of green participation. The open access, transparent nature of how the Internet works is embraced by DotGreen and is in-line with the valued and protected properties of ICANN, the Internet, and the green movement fostering consumer trust by increased consumer awareness, freedom of expression and transparency.

The creation of an online movement encouraged by and built around a TLD has never been done before. The .green opportunity is now possible and its success will be created by the people of the world who choose to utilize it. Community and Inclusivity is an important component to GREEN and therefore to .green as well. The time is now for a Global Response to Environmental and Economic Necessities (.GREEN).

Important Facts About DotGreen and the .green TLD Initiative

• The .green TLD is launching in 16 IDN languages to the left of the dot for inclusion of the world’s people and a rich online global .green movement
• DotGreen has attended fifteen consecutive ICANN meetings, and some members have been dedicated stakeholders even longer.
• DotGreen is among very few new gTLD applicants who have an established office with staff and fully executable new TLD business and marketing plans in place. Drawing early for industry talent, a developed and competitive in house team of professionals, a strong Board of Directors, and Advisors are ready to launch .green.
• DotGreen maintains the resources needed to continue serving the green community beyond the operations of the TLD, through its newsletter, events, green conference sponsorships, marketing plans, and speaking appearances.
• DotGreen has already promoted the green movement on several continents through social networking, personal appearances, sponsorships, as well as donating to other non-profits in support of their work towards sustainability.
• The technical registry functions of the .green TLD will be operated by Neustar, an experienced registry service provider and DNS services provider for multiple countries and corporate brands. In its local region, Neustar is an award-winning recipient for its corporate sustainability programs and Leed certified building.
• DotGreen has established a very thoughtful set of policies, and with practical and protective trademark owner measures in place, DotGreen is ready to launch and run the new .green address space in a fair and equitable manner. .green becomes a part of the Internet that is designed for the health of people, the green economy, the environment, and the planet. The DotGreen team is ready and excited to begin Early Adopter, a Government’s Environmental Agency and Scientific and Academic program, IP Trademark Sunrise, and public launch and prove ICANN’s new gTLD program a success.
• The DotGreen Foundation (DGF) will work with EarthShare, a 23-year federation of 400 global Non-profit environmental and humanitarian organizations, for the responsible administration of the funds to serve and protect people and planet through programs aimed at sustainability.
• Academic direction: Dominican University’s Green MBA program, the first in the USA, contributed its leading team of Master’s of Business in Sustainable Enterprise students for research and development of the .green TLD business plan. The Dean of the College of Natural Resources of the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Keith Gilles, is a Board Director of the DotGreen Foundation.
• Senior Environmentalist: Marty Rosen, with 50+ years of dedication to the environment, celebrated founding member of The Nature Conservancy, The Trust For Public Land, EarthShare, and more offers valuable direction as DotGreen’s Environmental Advisor since the beginning.
• Marketing Leaders: DotGreen’s Marketing Strategist Team includes executives respected in the marketing Industry who have achieved successes specifically in philanthropic campaigns such as The Red Campaign, a social project for aids relief and many significant land acquisitions for public use and environmental conservation.

Overview of Business Rules
DotGreen Community Inc. (DGC) is applying for the domain name .green as an open TLD. The purpose of DotGreen is to promote and maintain the integrity and growth of the current green movement online, therefore it is essential that the .green TLD be internationally available and inclusive. The green movement is global and growing steadily amongst world citizens and corporations, NGOs, scientists and families. Without a single leader, compulsory certification or even a worldwide governmental overseer, the green movement is succeeding. It’s existence and purpose is about information and action, about reaching, inspiring, sharing, collaborating and activating all the world’s citizens in the common goal to protect our planet’s natural resources, people’s lifestyles, economies and life. The .green TLD, as a part of the Internet, will provide the green movement with a top level domain name to encourage awareness, growth, innovation and open access to expand for the benefit of people and planet using the same core values of the free and open Internet. .green is the model of choice to best assist in the development of green innovation, online green technologies, greener lifestyles, social health, green economies, and responsible business. .green will be host to green communities of individuals, large corporations, small and medium enterprises and non-profits ⁄ NGO’s, governments, scientists, civil societies, green hosting, green energy, green technology and more. .Green must be open and available to internet users in all regions of the world and therefore will launch as an open global TLD in at least 16 IDN languages at Sunrise and public launch.

(DGC) has been very public in itʹs pursuit of the .green TLD since 2008 and has been active in the domain name industry, Internet community, as well as the green industry, and environmental community. DGC’s interaction with industry experts has produced very favorable reaction to the potential of the .green TLD. Green stands for corporate social responsibility, people, health, social justice, fair trade, planet, sustainability and ultimately our future. It has been a very relevant topic, it continues to be very relevant today and takes on even more importance as we head into the future.

DGC views the .green TLD as an important resource that can play a instrumental roll in mankind’s race to save the planet. DGC finds that it is imperative and responsible to adopt very standard industry business rules with .green in order to make the launch, operation and registration of .green names simple to both the channel (registrars) and end-user registrants, therefore providing fair and equal access to all Internet users and world citizens who are willing to take part in the online green movement of the 21st century. In addition, DGC plans to launch and operate .green in a secure, consumer friendly and corporation friendly manner via a series of standard but rigid processes.

Business Rules
DGC plans to adopt, launch and operate .green with industry standard business rules. This will ensure an operationally efficient TLD because the registrar channel will be easily able to adopt .green due to the fact that 300+ registrars around the world are already connected to Neustar, DGC’s technical registry services provider, and therefore will require very little if any incremental engineering work to test and prepare for the .green TLD. This will save costs and ultimately should benefit the end user registrant, and the environment. Some of the standard business rules and operating procedures include but are not limited to:
- Registration term length from 1 to 10 years that will be made available to the registrars
- Implementation of standard registration grace periods (new, renew, etc.)
- Implementation of all contractually required ICANN domain name policies, i.e. domain name “tasting”
- Auto-renew
- Standard domain name transfer policies between registrars

Business Practices ⁄ Launch
With the launch and operation of .green, DGC plans to adhere to industry standards and readily-accepted procedures during all launch phases and continued operations. These include but are not limited to:
- A Sunrise and IP Claims phase that will last 30 days at minimum and will adhere to the standard process identified by ICANN in the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook using the Trademark Clearinghouse. It is DGC’s intent to price the domain names registered during the Sunrise phase in a manner that limits the expenditure required by a Trademark owner with a minor “processing fee” markup to strictly cover its costs on top of a “per year” fee reflective of the higher value of the trademark protected names.
- All Sunrise applicants will have the option to also contribute to the DotGreen Foundation, a California Non-profit 501 (c)3 For Public Benefit Charity Organization established to advance green causes around the world.
- Multiple valid applications for the same domain name during the Sunrise phase will be resolved via an auction process with an established and experienced domain name auction provider.
- Monies from Sunrise auctions will also provide funding to the DotGreen Foundation, a US based Non-profit 501c(3) For Public Charity Organization.
- During the Landrush phase which will allow registrants to apply for higher value names via a premium pricing structure, multiple applications for the same domain name will be resolved via an auction process with an established and experienced domain name auction provider.
- Monies from Landrush auctions will also provide funding to the DotGreen Foundation, a US based Non-profit 501c(3) For Public Charity Organization.
- The General Availability launch, as with all phases, will be operated in a fair and equitable manner as it relates to registrar connectivity and equal access to the SRS registration system.
- In all launch phases, DGC will offer a minimum of 16 IDN languages using standard policies and language tables.
- DGC plans to price .green names in a range reflective of the expected higher value of the brand. This pricing also allows for an income stream to be provided to the The DotGreen Foundation, a California Non-profit 501(c)3 For Public Benefit Charity Organization. Although wholesale price increases to the channel in the future are assumed at this point to be unlikely, if they occur, communication will be provided with a minimum of 6 months notice.
- DGC does plan to work closely with the channel to provide .green’s value proposition via marketing materials, collateral, logos, taglines, etc. in order to properly position the .green TLD with its target market and increase the likelihood of success. Various marketing and promotional incentives including volume discounts will be provided to ensure maximum reach to the community of .green registrants and enable market driven pricing reflective of the .green brand value.
- DGC also plans to launch an “early adopter” type program for corporations interested in using the .green name in a visible way as well as registrants interested in proposing a positive and high profile use of a valuable “green focused” domain name.
- DGC also plans to offer non-profit organizations in all regions of the world who are specifically aimed at sustainability and who meet a list of DotGreen criteria to receive specially discounted domain names of their organization’s name or derivative of.
- As mentioned in Question 22, DGC also plans to work closely and collaboratively with governments around the world to acquire and use country, government or “green” agency names in a positive manner via use or redirection of the appropriate .green domain name.

Operating Practices to Protect the Integrity of the .green Space

DGC plans to operate .green in a very clean and responsible manner, which is consistent and reflective of the purpose of .green to promote green initiatives and sustainability around the world. This will be accomplished via the following principles and processes:

- Ensure all aspects of technology and security (DNS, DNSSEC, IPv6, etc.) are operated in a safe and stable manner via Neustar, a very experienced and capable registry services provider. A user of a .green domain name should never experience any down time and that is DGC’s plan and approach (see question 35).
- Aggressive monitoring of malicious activity as well as swift and aggressive action via Neustar, the channel and DGC (see question 28)
- Implementation of a .green Acceptable Use Policy that gives the Registry the ability to quickly lock, cancel, transfer or take ownership of any .green domain name, either temporarily or permanently, if the domain name is being used in a manner that appears to threaten the stability, integrity or security of the registry, or any of its registrar partners – and⁄or that may put the safety and security of any registrant or user at risk. (see question 28)
- WHOIS accuracy – in addition to the number of mechanisms developed by ICANN, DCG will offer a mechanism whereby 3rd parties can submit complaints directly to DGC about inaccurate or incomplete WHOIS data. DCG will also conduct twice per year audits of a random sampling to test accuracy of WHOIS data as well as have a set of graduated penalties in place as part of the .green Registry ⁄ Registrar Agreement. (see question 28)
- Rights Protection – working in close partnership with Neustar, .green is implementing the following rights protection mechanisms in accordance with the ICANN Applicant Guidebook (see question 29):
1. Trademark Clearinghouse
2. Sunrise and Trademark Claims processes
3. Implementation of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
4. Uniform Rapid Suspension Policy (URS)
5. Implementation of a Thick WHOIS

Summary

In summary, as described throughout our application, .green is an international domain name reflective of very responsible and fair business practices and operations. As outlined above, this is DGC’s intent and plan, ensuring that the registrants of .green can expect an operationally sound, secure and clean domain name space.

22. Describe proposed measures for protection of geographic names at the second and other levels in the applied-for gTLD. This should include any applicable rules and procedures for reservation and/or release of such names.

DotGreen Community, Inc.(DGC) plans to launch and operate the .green TLD in an international and inclusive manner, working very closely with all regions of the world in a collaborative fashion.

In accord with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement, DGC will reserve the country and territory names contained in the following internationally recognized lists (ʺReserved Geographic Namesʺ) at the second level (which is the only level within the .green TLD at which registrations will be provided by DGC):

• The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 list, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union

• The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and,

• The list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

To the extent that additional reserved geographic names are incorporated into the Registry Agreement or sent to DGC by the ICANN Board, such names will be added to the list of Reserved Geographic Names for protection at the second level.

In addition to reserving all required geographic names around the world, DGC is very interested in ensuring the global reach and positive influence of .green exists in all regions.  DGC plans to work very closely and collaboratively with specific countries and regions to find approved uses of these reserved names that ensures the specific second level name is used in a manner that respects the specific country or regions’ desires while at the same time highlighting very positive examples of green, sustainability, people and planet.  The details of these projects will be coordinated by DGC directly with the respective countries or regions, gaining their advance approval prior to release of any names and by also engaging all appropriate ICANN entities including the ccNSO and the GAC.

In addition, if any country or region desires to use 3rd level names (i.e. parks.de.green, rainforest.cr.green), DGC will assist in those efforts.

An additional area where DGC desires to work with individual countries relates to the active use of “green oriented” domain names for government agencies.  DGC would desire to see these domain names in active use or re-directed to main government websites.  Examples would be the respective Environmental Protection Agencies in each country.  DGC will work collaboratively with all countries and will hold back these names from open registration to ensure the appropriate use by the proper entity ensuring the priority of green worldwide.