In every Nordic country there are different portals providing information about sustainable lifestyle. These portals are organised by governmental or municipal organisations, registered NGOs, informal groups, or private companies. One such network is the Icelandic Nature.is portal.

Nature.is is an eco-conscious information portal about sustainable lifestyle. It pro-vides information and maps to help find items, services, and places that are all related to nature or the environment in some way. It is a limited company and has both companies and organizations as the stakeholders.

The initiative for Nature.is came from visual artist Guðrún Arndís Tryggvadóttir in 2002. The idea is to “use the World Wide Web as a tool for those who want to learn about the wonders of nature and to make all kinds of environmentally sound solutions visible and more accessible”.

Developing Nature.is has been a long process involving cooperation between many parties throughout its existence. The prototype of the web-site Grasagudda.is (Nature-Nanny) was launched in the autumn of 2005.

On the Nature-Nanny website the main focus was to assemble information about environmental issues from various sources. Since then the focus has been on establishing a network of contacts and to get cooperat-ing partners and sponsors in order to develop the various components of the website.

Nature.is ltd. was founded in 2006 by 12 shareholders, both individuals and companies wanting to increase environmental awareness and see environmental goals established and met in the business envi-ronment as well as in common households. The Nature-Nanny website merged with Nature.is on 2007. The English version of Nature.is was launched in 2008 and it also serves tourists.
Nature.is provides all-round services for the consumers.

The main structure is that it provides short articles on issues like kitchen gardening and nourishment, community and mobility, environmental education and cultural events, ecological companies and products, and ecological hous-ing and recycling. The service also provides maps offering geographic information: “Recycle map” about places where used items are collected and “Green map” providing geographic information on green companies, products and services along with natural and cultural sites.

A Green Map is a locally-made internet-based map that uses the uni-versal Green Map® Icons to highlight the social, cultural, and sustainable resources of a particular geographic area. By viewing the map it is possi-ble to get an overview on different sustainable hotspots in Iceland. Green Map® is a registered trademark and service mark of Green Map System, Inc. and is used with permission.

Green Map System is a not-for-profit organisation and its mission is to promote sustainability and community participation in the local natural and built environments. Green Map Sys-tem has been developed collaboratively since 1995, and the movement has spread to over 600 cities, towns and villages in 55 countries.

Nature.is portal also includes Nature’s Market, an online store dealing in fair trade, eco-labelled and other “green” products. Nature.is is funded and sponsored by many governmental, national, and international organisations as well as by companies and advertisement selling. Instead of having several portals concentrating on different sustainable lifestyle issues this all-round internet portal provides practical information about a variety of environmental issues, products and services. With one well organised and resourced portal it is easier to keep the links working and content up-dated than having several portals on specific issues.

More information:

Nature is –portal www.nature.is/frettir

Green maps www.greenmap.org/