SINE Foundation, December 2022
Our planet is a global Commons to be shared and cared for by all. We empower people and organizations to maintain our planet within safe limits: Our purpose is to enable a more collaborative and sustainable economy.
Our mission is to build the operating system for a more collaborative and sustainable economy.
The systemwide transition is possible by working at the level of interconnections and relationships steered by data, information, and information flows. For example, an MIT study predicts a 23% reduction in CO2 emissions if firms within a supply chain collaborate and exchange basic information with each other.
Like a lego box, our operating system works at the inter-stakeholder level and provides basic components for the governance of Commons, as well as technology for the interactions between its stakeholders. By applying novel cryptography, we allow for completely new ways of data collaboration while protecting the data sovereignty of every stakeholder. An interdisciplinary approach is fundamental for systems transformation. We connect the technology with research results from economics, especially game theory, information design, and governance frameworks by Elinor Ostrom. Technology is the safety net - it ensures that data do not need to be exchanged in clear text, eliminating the possibility of data abuse. By reducing its flaws, governance lets technology flourish and enhances the prosperity of data collaboration.
The components of our Operating System can be assembled and fully customized to various specific use cases. The various use cases are documented and inspire others to think about their own applications and cooperation models.
Timing & Positioning: As the window of opportunity is rapidly closing, a sense of urgency pervades in societies and the economy. Companies face pressure from policy, financial markets, and consumers to decarbonise their value chains. Due to our work in the Partnership for Carbon Transparency, we have already built connections to the decision makers of the largest global corporations. We leverage this increasing sense of urgency and our unique positioning to acquire and realize use cases that show the benefits of systemic collaboration and optimisation.
A Commons Mindset: Instead of conceiving our economy as a mere collection of atomized individuals, we focus on value creation deeply embedded in complex systems, the relationships and transactions between individual actors. Our non-profit nature enables us to take the role of a systemic orchestrator. We follow a bottom-up approach including all affected stakeholders in the definition and realization of use cases. Only if we create reciprocal relationships between sovereign actors, we can initiate the necessary shift of our economies.
Standardization & Security: The bottom-up approach allows for a lean and fast standardization process. Given our non-profit nature, our standard does not need to win. We benefit from the work of other standard setting bodies like the WBCSD, the co-convenor of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. We focus on the standardization of interactions between different actors. This requires the combination of governance frameworks and the latest encryption technologies (e.g., Secure Multi-Party Computation), to ensure the data sovereignty of all stakeholders. Only if data are secure, even after they have been shared, we unlock so far unused primary data that can be applied in systemic optimization.
Interdisciplinarity: We promote interdisciplinary research in cryptography and economics. We do this through the active research of our members and by supporting researchers through grants. We have an active membership base who proactively submit projects and support with their network. The constant exchange of knowledge gives rise to new ideas for use cases and applications for our open-source tool box.
So, in short, this is how we will realize our mission: