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The GLOBAL NEST - Constitution and Rules

Part A : Constitutionand Mission

A1 Name
A2 Mission
A3 Aims and Objectives
A4 Powers
A5 Limits to the Network’s Powers

Part B : Rules

B1 Membership
B2 Admission of Members
B3 Subscriptions
B4 Management of the Network and its Activities
B5 Duties and Responsibilities of the Officers, ExecutiveCommittee and the Advisory Council
B6 Elections
B7 Changes
B8 Termination

Part C : Executive Commitee

The GLOBAL NETWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


(An association for scientists, technologists,engineers and others
concerned with the study of environmental science and technology and of
the environment generally, and of the application of such
knowledge to the development of sustainable solutions)

PROPOSED CONSTITUTION AND RULES - SEPTEMBER 1997

Part A : Constitution and Mission

A1 Name [Top]

The name of the association is `The GlobalNetwork for Environmental Science and Technology’, (referred to from here on asthe Network) with the acronym G-NEST used as the common title.



A2 Mission [Top]


To support, assist and influence those who seek to conserve and improve thenatural and built environments and improve quality of life through thedevelopment and application of environmental science, technology and policy.


A3 Aims and Objectives [Top]

The Aims and Objectives of the Network are:

  • to advance the study of and research into environmental science technology and policy as they apply to or are relevant to all areas of human activity;
  • to secure the widest possible dissemination of knowledge in the fields of environmental science, technology and policy gained in such research or through Network Members acting in their own right;
  • to assist in the exchange of information between academics and between academia, business, industry, policy makers and the general public;
  • to bring together scientists, technologists, engineers and others interested in environmental science and technology for the exchange of information, discussion of areas of interest or concern, for co-operation in groups and to influence policy makers, business leaders and the general public;
  • to advance the education of scientists, technologists and engineers in appropriate disciplines;
  • to liaise, and co-operate when appropriate with other organisations world wide with similar and/or complementary Aims and Objectives.

A4 Powers [Top]

For the delivery of the above Aims andObjectives, the Network will have the following powers:

  • to prepare, edit, print, publish, issue acquire and circulate books, journals, individual papers, articles, magazines, newsletters, lectures and other works related to environmental science and technology (on paper or electronically).
  • to establish, conduct, sponsor or manage, either alone or in conjunction with others conferences, workshops, symposia, lectures, public meetings, visits, demonstrations and/or exhibitions of every possible description.
  • to encourage work which may result in and to investigate and make known the results of, scientific discoveries, inventions, improvements, processes, materials and designs which may seem capable of being used and exploited by Members of the Network and/or others;
  • to establish, maintain, control and manage Branches of the Network in any part of the world and to determine the constitution, rights, privileges, obligations and duties of such Branches and when thought fit, to modify or dissolve them;
  • to retain or employ appropriately skilled professional and/or technical advisors, managers and/or other workers in connection with the delivery of the Aims and Objectives of the Network and to pay therefore such fees of remuneration as may be appropriate;
  • to apply to international, regional, national and/or local agencies and/or governments, and to public bodies, corporations, companies or individuals for and to accept subscriptions, grants of money, donations, gifts and other assistance for promoting and supporting the Aims and Objectives of the Network;
  • to pay all expenses incurred in the formation of the Network;
  • to borrow or raise money for the purposes of the Network on such terms and on such security as may be determined;
  • to invest the funds of the Network not immediately required for its purposes in or upon such investments, securities or property as may be determined from time to time, subject to any conditions and consents as may be imposed by law;
  • to purchase, take on lease or exchange, hire or otherwise acquire, any property, rights or privileges which the Network may think necessary for the promotion of its Aims and Objectives;
  • to construct, maintain and/or alter any buildings or other works necessary for the activities of the Network;
  • to sell, let, mortgage or dispose of any or all of the property or assets of the Network as may be determined to be appropriate in the promotion of its Aims and Objectives;
  • to establish and support, or aid in the establishment and support of, any charitable associations or institutions, and to subscribe or guarantee money for charitable purposes in any way connected with the Aims and Objectives of the Network or calculated to advance its Aims and Objectives;
  • to endow, present, sponsor or maintain prizes, scholarships and courses of instruction in environmental science and technology as shall be considered appropriate in advancing the Aims and Objectives of the Network;
  • to do any other lawful things as may be incidental to or conducive to the attainment of the Network’s Aims and Objectives.


A5 Limits to the Network’s Powers [Top]

The Network will not
have thefollowing powers:

  • to regulation relations between workers and employers, or organisations of workers and organisations of employers;
  • to use the income and property of the Network for purposes other than furthering, promoting and delivering the Aims and Objectives of the Network.


The income and property of the Network shall therefore be solely applied tofurthering, promoting and delivering the Aims and Objectives of the Network.The Members of the Network shall not have any personal claim on any of itsproperty and no part of the income or property of the Network shall be paid
or transferred in any way whatsoever by way of profit to persons who are orhave been Members of the Network.


However, nothing in this Constitution or the Rules below shall prevent thepayment to any persons who are or have been Members of the Network, underarrangements approved by the Executive Committee, of:

i) expenses incurred in any activity on behalf of theNetwork;
ii) remuneration for services actually rendered to the Network;
iii) interest on money lent to the Network at a rate agreed by the ExecutiveCommittee;
iv) of reasonable and proper rent for premises let to the Network.


Part B : Rules

B1 Membership [Top]

B1.1
Members of the Global Network for Environmental Science and Technology(referred to from here on as the Network) shall be:

i) individual members, Honorary Members, Members,Students
ii) corporate members Organisations of any type

B1.2
Subject to the conditions in these Rules, it shall be for theExecutive Committee to determine the terms and conditions on which Membersshall be admitted.

B1.3
Honorary Members shall be Members who may be elected by the AdvisoryCouncil as having given special service to the Network or having a specialposition in the field of environmental science and technology justifying suchmembership.

B1.4
A Register of Members shall be kept by or onbehalf of the Secretariat of the Network. Each member shall have the right toinspect and/or be sent a copy of details kept about him or her in the Registerwithin a period of four weeks of the request being received by the Secretariat.

B1.5
Although benefits of membership shall extend to all employees ofCorporate Members, each such member shall nominate an individual to act astheir representative in formal dealings with the Network. The name of suchrepresentative shall be notified to the secretariat on joining and when therepresentative is to be changed.

B2 Admission of Members [Top]

B2.1
All applications for membership shall be made to the Secretariat andinclude a commitment to pay the appropriate annual subscriptions in an acceptablemanner. No formal election of a new member is required.

B2.2
In principle, membership shall be open to any person, whetherindividual or corporate, in any part of the world, whohas an interest in environmental science and technology and in furthering theaims and
objectives of the Network. Any qualification requirements, or regulationsgoverning admission of members or regulations governing the rights, privileges,obligations and conditions of membership and the manner in which suchregulations may be suspended or terminated, shall be decided by the ExecutiveCommittee after consulting the Advisory Council.

B2.3
The Executive Committee therefore has absolute discretion in decidingwhether any person or organisation may or may notbecome a member of the Network.

B2.4
The rights of any Member, whether individual or corporate, shall bepersonal and not transferable, and shall cease upon the Member failing to pay asubscription when it is due, when they cease to retain the qualifications onwhich grounds they were admitted.

B2.5
Nothing contained in these Rules shall prejudice the rights of theNetwork to claim payment of the subscriptions which a Member has undertaken topay, nor to prevent a member from again becoming eligible for Membership.

B2.6
Honorary Members may be nominated by the Advisory Council, theExecutive Committee or by any group of seven Members. Nominations received atany Advisory Council meeting shall be voted on at the subsequent meeting.

B2.7
A member may be expelled from the Network afterproper enquiry by the Executive Committee at which the Member shall be entitledto be heard, if he or she is judged by the Executive Committee to be such or tohave behaved in a manner such as to render him unfit for membership, at whichpoint he or she shall be removed from the register of members and cease to haveany rights of membership.


B3 Subscriptions [Top]

B3.1
All Members except Honorary Members shall be liable to pay asubscription in one of the following four categories:

  • an annual subscription for all individual Members other than the following two categories;
  • a reduced annual subscription for students in a course of study in environmental science and technology or related subjects;
  • an individual Life Membership subscription;
  • an annual Corporate Membership subscription.

B3.2
The actual amounts of individual annual, life and Corporate Membersubscriptions, and: acceptable methods and timings of payment,shall be agreed by the Executive Committee annually.

B3.3
Members whose subscriptions is more than three months overdue will bedeemed to have resigned and shall not be entitled to any of the benefits ofmembership nor any of the notices and publications of the Network. Such peoplemay only re-join in the same membership year on payment of the full overduesubscription for that year.

B4 Management of the Network and its Activities [Top]

B4.1
The management and activities of the Network shall be organised by the Executive Committee under the generaldirection of an Advisory Council of Members and Corporate Memberrepresentatives who shall hold these positions in an honorary capacity. TheAdvisory Council shall establish its own rules of business. The ExecutiveCommittee shall determine the timing of the Network’s business year.

B4.2
The composition of the Advisory Council shall be:

  • National Members -one member for each country in which there are Network members, elected by his or her compatriots or, if circumstances require, nominated by the Executive Committee;
  • a minimum of six (6) Officers

    a) Chairman
    b) Vice-Chairman responsible for Development of the Network
    c) Vice-Chairman responsible for the overall Programme of activities
    d) Vice-Chairman responsible for the Publications and Journal
    e) Secretary
    f) Treasurer;

    elected by the National Members
  • up to three co-opted Members or representatives of Corporate Members.

B4.3
The Executive Committee shall comprise the Officers, who may co-opt,as they see fit, other Members, whether members of Advisory Council or not, toassist them in running the activities of the Network.

B4.4
The Advisory Council, including the Officers, shall be elected everythree years in accordance with section B7 below.

B4.5
The Advisory Council shall ‘meet’ at least once peryear. The Advisory Council, the Executive Committee and the Officers shall befree to conduct their business in whatever manner - for example, real meeting,real mail or E-mail, video conferences - as they see fit.


B5 Duties and Responsibilities of the Officers,Executive Committee and the Advisory Council [Top]

B5.1
The Executive Committee shall be responsible to the membershipgenerally for the affairs and activities of the Network and may,if it thinks fit, devise and issue regulations governing particular aspects oractivities of the Network providing always that such regulations shall be fullyconsistent with the Constitution and these Rules.

B5.2
The Executive Committee of the Network, or the Secretary acting ontheir behalf, shall attend to the general business of the Network on aday-to-day basis and shall report on their actions and activities to eachmeeting of the Advisory Council.

B5.3
The Treasurer shall be responsible to the other Officers, the AdvisoryCouncil and the membership generally for the safe and prudent management of theNetwork’s finances. He shall keep, or supervise the keeping by others, of thefinancial accounts of the Network. He shall be responsible for the effectivereceipt of subscriptions and other monies payable to the Network and for thepayment of the Network’s bills and other monies due to others.

B5.4
The Executive Committee shall establish procedures for the effectiveand the prudent management and operation of the Network’s finances.

B5.5
The Publications/Journal Editor shall be responsibleto the appropriate Vice Chairman, to the other Officers, the Advisory Counciland the membership generally for the development, securing of articles, editingand publications of all the Network’s publications or for arranging andmanaging such publications by others.

B6 Elections [Top]

B6.1
The Officers shall be elected by the National Members of the AdvisoryCouncil for 3 years by ballot conducted by post, e-mail or other means to beagreed by Advisory Council

B6.2
Each candidate for one of the positions as an Officer of the Networkshall be nominated by the Advisory Council as a whole or by five Members actingtogether. Until the end of the year 2007 the Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen ofthe Executive Committee shall come from the founding or honorary members.

B6.3
Each candidate for the post of National Members of the AdvisoryCouncil shall be nominated by one Member in the country of residence other thanthe candidate and by at least one other Member. Procedures for conduct ofelections of National Members shall be established by the Executive Committee.

B6.4
Nominations for any Officer must be received by the Secretary sixweeks before ballot date and be circulated to all Members for a postal/E-mailballot no later than ten days before the ballot date. Votes must be received bythe Secretary no later than two working days after the ballot date.

A ballot is acceptable when at least 1/2 of the Advisory Committee members havevoted.

B6.5
There shall be no limit to the number of years of continuous serviceeach Advisory Council Member or Officer may serve unless otherwise agreed bythe Advisory Council.

B7 Changes [Top]

B7.1
This Constitution and Rules have been adopted by the founding Memberslisted below and are offered in good faith to new members to accept on joiningthe Network.

B7.2
The Constitution and Rules of the Network may only bechanged by a postal or E-mail ballot of all members, for which a simplemajority of Members voting in favour of the changewill suffice.

B8 Termination [Top]

B8.1
The Network may only be disbanded and its activities terminated by apostal or E-mail ballot of all members, for which a majority of two-thirds ofall Members voting in favour of the change isrequired.

Part C: Executive Commitee [Top]

We agree that the acting Executive Committee,which was elected in the inguratinal meeting in Molyvos, Lesvos on September 1-4, 1997 shall be:

Prof. Themistocles D. Lekkas Chairman
Dr. Roger Venables Vice-Chairman
Prof. Dionysis AssimacopoulosVice-Chairman
Prof. Kimon HadjibirosVice-Chairman


and will stay in office until formal election is effected.The first election of Executive Committee shall be conducted within two yearssince the first meeting in Molyvos.

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