The .eco domain name will be controlled by the environmental community following a decision by internet regulators.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) this week granted control of the domain name to a coalition of about 50 environmental groups, assembled by a Canadian company. Green NGOs have fought to control the domain because they feared it would be hijacked by corporations to give their commercial activities an unwarranted environmental tinge.

Jacob Malthouse, co-founder of Big Room Inc, the Canadian company that led the effort, said Icann’s decision was a victory against greenwashing.

“This means the environmental groups will always be in control of dot eco domain names,” he said.

“It means that the dot eco domain is going to be run by and for environmentalists. When people see a dot eco domain name they can be sure that is actually going to be meaningful.”

The Canadian firm assembled a coalition of more than 50 environmental groups from around the world, including WWF, 350.org, and tcktcktck.

They won out over three other groups competing for .eco: two from the domain industry and Planet Dot Eco LLC, which also claimed environmental credentials.

Had the community bid failed, .eco would have been sold by auction. The other groups are expected to appeal against Icann’s ruling.

And the real work may only just be beginning. Malthouse said environmental groups would now work to determine the criteria for approving .eco status – and that could prove contentious as groups fight it out over whether the nuclear industry, or groups in favour of GMOs or geo-engineering, make the grade.

In the domain name world, the decision to award .eco to a community was seen as a coup – as such efforts are ordinarily seen as a long shot.

The regulator rejected a similar bid from the gay community this week as “not gay enough”, according to Domain Incite.