The Locus Charter Announces Initial Supporting Organizations

 A group of organizations have signed on to support the Locus Charter by EthicalGEO and Benchmark Initiative.

 New York City, NY – July 20, 2021 — The Locus Charter is pleased to announce support from the following organizations: the American Geographical Society (AGS), Association for Geographical Information (AGI), Environmental Information Systems Africa (EIS - Africa), the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI - Mexico), Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), PLACE, Radiant Earth Foundation, the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (RGS-IBG), and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Locus Charter supporting organizations have pledged to promote responsible practice in the use of location data across all sectors including public, private, educational, and not-for-profit contexts. These organizations will seek to inform and improve location data practice across their portfolios, including individual projects and organizational mandates. The Locus Charter will continue to evolve as our supporting organizations provide input, apply case studies, and incorporate best practices to strengthen its Founding Principles.

“We are excited by the speed with which the Locus Charter has achieved worldwide interest and commitment by such an esteemed group of organizations. We hope every organization considers the transformational role of location and geospatial technologies in their business or mission, and raises their voice around the importance of their responsible and ethical use by joining in support of the Locus Charter,” said Dr. Christopher Tucker, Chairman of the American Geographical Society and Locus Charter Collaborating Author.

All organizations working to advance the responsible and ethical use of location data are welcome to sign on to support the Locus Charter. To become a signatory supporting organization, please contact the Locus Charter Executive Secretariat at the American Geographical Society at locuscharter@americangeo.org to request a Letter of Engagement.

The Locus Charter was publicly launched in March 2021 after a multi-year strategic partnership between the American Geographical Society’s EthicalGEO and the Benchmark Initiative, hosted at Ordnance Survey’s Geovation. The charter was developed in collaboration with location data and data ethics experts from across the globe and has received support from Omidyar Network, Henry Luce Foundation, and Ordnance Survey.

The American Geographical Society’s EthicalGEO serves as the executive secretariat of the Locus Charter and supports coordination, organization, and development of the initiative. The vision of AGS is to be the foremost champion of geography for the benefit of society. Through its EthicalGEO Initiative, AGS continues to serve as a home for ethical scholarship and practice in geography and geospatial science, and advances the responsible use of geospatial and location-based among its diverse memberbase and the public.