The Online Global Poll on the Environment and Sustainable Development was launched in conjunction with the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development being held in Johannesburg South Africa from August 23 to September 4, 2002.

First Ever Poll Online Global Poll - Five Unique Elements

This poll is the first such online global poll of its type ever developed that is devoted to global political and public affairs issues relevant to the environment and sustainable development. This poll is unique in that for the first time five key public opinion research elements are combined in one poll:

1. Any person with access to the Internet was eligible to take the poll and the respondent pool was not limited to a limited set of countries as has traditionally been the case with traditional off line telephone or personal face to face interview international polls.
2. For the first time, three of the largest global media companies, the BBC, AOL-CNN-Time Warner and MSM/Microsoft, jointly were sponsors of the poll and thus ensured the widest possible global distribution as opposed to other limited and restricted online polls.
3. The poll was designed and focused exclusively on political and public affairs issues as compared to other international polls that were primarily commercial product oriented in purpose and may have included a few political or public affairs issue questions.
4. The results of the poll will be scientifically analyzed so that key indexes such as respondents' sex, age, region of the world, etc will be demographically balanced and weighted to reflect an accurate demographic and geographic sample of the world at large.
5. This poll was developed and conducted with the highest professional standards and in conformity with the general guidelines and procedures established by the Code of Ethics of the World Association of Public Opinion Research.

Overall Design and Development - PoliticsOnline.com

The poll was developed and implemented by NetPulse Global Poll, a new division of PoliticsOnline, Inc of Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Founded in 1996, PoliticsOnline is the oldest political Internet company in the world and is the premier company providing fundraising and internet tools for politics and public affairs worldwide. The tools, products and services of the company are in use today in over 50 countries worldwide. The principals of this firm have over 25 years experience with the development and use of traditional pubic opinion polling and research techniques in over 300 political and public affairs projects in 35 countries.

Technical Capacity and Software Design - UTS

The technical support for this poll was provided by Universal Technical Systems based in Rockford, Illinois; Olney, England and Pune, India. UTS is a leading supplier of high-productivity problem-solving software to engineers, scientists, financial analysts and other professionals in quantitative fields. The poll was operated by TK Solver, one of the longest-lived product names in PC software. The mathematical modeling and knowledge management Tool Kit was first released in 1983 by the developers of the first spreadsheet. TK Solver 4 advances distributed applications, deployment of knowledge bases on the World Wide Web and intranets, and enterprise computing. TK was and is a rule-based declarative environment for creating mathematical models and solving them multi-directionally.

Data Analysis - Fredricks Polls

Fredericks Polls has over 23 years' experience in professional public opinion researcher. The firm's principals have been involved in over 3,000 public opinion poll, focus groups and other opinion research project. The firm is known for using cutting edge research techniques and solid analytical methodology. Frederick Polls was founded in 2000 following four years as a part of Frederick Schneiders Research, a subsidiary of the Cassidy Companies/Weber Shandwick Worldwide based in Washington, DC.

The Poll Sponsor - The Andreas Papandreou Foundation

The Andreas Papandreou Foundation (APF) was established in 1996 in commemoration of former Prime Minister of Greece, Andreas Papandreou. APF is an independent, non-profit organization, with the intention to contribute to the fields of social research, political analysis and peace building both nationally and internationally. The guiding principles dictating the philosophy of the Foundation are the importance paid to individual freedom, social accountability, and technological advancement for the benefit of the citizen. APF focuses on the need for a responsible and accountable government that will ensure continuous social advancement and qualitative improvement of life. Another important objective of the Foundation is to support and encourage the participation of each citizen in the decision making process and to ensure the increased importance of public dialogue within the context of a civil society both in Greece and internationally.