Each community is different. The natural and human resources, the needs and aspirations of citizens, and the social and political systems of every community create unique challenges that require unique solutions. The Earth Charter Action Tool (EarthCAT) is designed to provide communities with a framework that permits them to identify their own priorities and approaches as they work towards a sustainable future.

EarthCAT was developed by the Earth Charter Partnership for Sustainable Communities (ECPSC). ECPSC is a partnership consisting of the Earth Charter Secretariat, Global Community Initiatives, the World Resources Institute and communities and organizations around the world. ECPSC has developed two complementary resources for communities to use when developing sustainability programs: EarthCAT and Taking Action: A Workbook for Sustainable Communities.

EarthCAT is a software tool developed for use by communities interested in developing sustainability programs. and is available for use free of charge. We believe EarthCAT will provide value to communities in three major ways:

• Provide a clear methodology that provides clear steps to take in defining goals and targets, developing strategies, and measuring progress.
• Shares experiences-EarthCAT presents the best material submitted by other communities and make it available.
• Is an easy-to-use tool that provides practical instruction and theoretical background for every step. EarthCAT facilitates the overall process of developing a community's plan to storing every year's data to track progress using indicators.

EarthCAT Authors:
Christian Layke
Abigail Moy
Jonathan St. Jon
Gwendolyn Hallsmith
Daniel Tunstall

 Graphic Design
Abigail Moy

 Programmers:
Richard Bragg - Green Mountain Network
Jonathan St. Jon
Tracy Clarke
Merouan Abderrahim

 Advisory Committee

The Earth Charter Partnership for Sustainable Communities has benefited greatly from the invaluable advice and support of its advisory committee. The members of the committee are listed below.

Johannah Bernstein; Environmental Law and Policy Consulting
Gwendolyn Hallsmith; Global Community Initiatives
Karen Krchnak; The Access Initiative and Partnership for Principle 10, World Resources Institute
Dean Kubani; Sustainable Santa Monica
Eman Nimri; Director, The Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for Development
Christophe Nuttall; United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Paul Raskin; Stockholm Environment Institute and The Tellus Institute
Nicholas A. Robinson; Pace University School of Law
Holger Robrecht; ICLEI European Secretariat
Steven C. Rockefeller; Earth Charter Commission
Sean Southey; Equator Initiative, United Nations Development Programme
Betty Lourdes F. Tabanda; Vice Mayor, Baguio City
Daniel Tunstall; Information Program; World Resources Institute
Mirian Vilela; Executive Director; The Earth Charter International Secretariat
Kaveh Zahedi; Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA); United Nations Environment Programme
Hans-Wolf Zirkwitz; Office of Environmental Protection, Energy and Health Promotion; City of Heidelberg