About Greenpeace
Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace by:
Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing our planet: climate change.
Defending our oceans by challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, and creating a global network of marine reserves.
Protecting the world’s ancient forests and the animal, plants and people that depend on them.
Working for disarmament and peace by tackling the causes of conflict and calling for the elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Creating a toxic free future with safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals in today's products and manufacturing.
Campaining for sustainable agriculture by rejecting genetically engineered organisms, protecting biodiversity and encouraging socially responsible farming.
Greenpeace is present in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants.
Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 when a small boat of volunteers and journalists sailed into Amchitka, an area north of Alaska where the US Government was conducting underground nuclear tests. This tradition of 'bearing witness' in a non-violent manner continues today, and our ships are an important part of all our campaign work.
We exist to expose environmental criminals, and to challenge government and corporations when they fail to live up to their mandate to safeguard our environment and our future.
In pursuing our mission, we have no permanent allies or enemies. We promote open, informed debate about society's environmental choices. We use research, lobbying, and quiet diplomacy to pursue our goals, as well as high-profile, non-violent conflict to raise the level and quality of public debate.
And we believe that the struggle to preserve the future of our planet is not about us. It's about you. Greenpeace speaks for 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and encourages many millions more than that to take action every day.
We take the name of our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, from a North American Cree Indian legend. It described a time when humanity's greed has made the Earth sick. At that time, a tribe of people known as the Warriors of the Rainbow would rise up to defend her.
As one of the longest banners we've ever made summed things up, "When the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last fish dead, we will
The history of Greenpeace
In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace, believed a few individuals could make a difference.
Their mission was to "bear witness" to US underground nuclear testing at Amchitka, a tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, which is one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions.
Amchitka was the last refuge for 3000 endangered sea otters, and home to bald eagles, peregrine falcons and other wildlife.
Even though their old boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was intercepted before it got to Amchitka, the journey sparked a flurry of public interest.
The US still detonated the bomb, but the voice of reason had been heard. Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary.
Today, Greenpeace is an international organisation that prioritises global environmental campaigns.
Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national as well as regional offices in 41 countries.
The Founders of Greenpeace
There's an old joke that in any bar in Vancouver Canada you can sit down next to someone who founded Greenpeace. In fact, there was no single founder, and the name, idea, spirit, tactics, and internationalism of the organisation all can be said to have separate lineages. Here's a few facts.
In 1970, the Don't Make A Wave Committee was established; its sole objective was to stop a second nuclear weapons test at Amchitka Island in the Aleutians.
The committee's founders were Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe, and Bob Hunter.
Canadian ecologist Bill Darnell came up with the dynamic combination of words to bind together the group's concern for the planet and opposition to nuclear arms. In the words of Bob Hunter, "Somebody flashed two fingers as we were leaving the church basement and said "Peace!" Bill said "Let's make it a Green Peace. And we all went Ommmmmmmm." Jim Bohlen's son Paul, having trouble making the two words fit on a button, linked them together into the committee's new name: Greenpeace.
Marie Bohlen was the first to suggest taking a ship up to Amchtka to oppose the US plans. The group organised a boat, the Phyllis Cormack, and set sail to Amchitka to "bear witness" (a Quaker tradition of silent protest) to the nuclear test. On board were: • Captain John Cormack, the boat's owner
• Jim Bohlen, Greenpeace
• Bill Darnell, Greenpeace
• Patrick Moore, Greenpeace
• Dr Lyle Thurston, medical practitioner
• Dave Birmingham, engineer
• Terry Simmons, cultural geographer
• Richard Fineberg, political science teacher
• Robert Hunter, journalist
• Ben Metcalfe, journalist
• Bob Cummings, journalist
• Bob Keziere, photographer
Stowe, who suffered from sea-sickness, stayed on shore to coordinate political pressure. Cote stayed behind too, because he was about to represent Canada in an Olympic sailing race.
Bob Hunter would take the lessons of that first voyage forward and improvise upon them to the point that he, more than anyone else, invented Greenpeace's brand of individual activism.
The Amchitka voyage established the group's name in Canada. Greenpeace's next journey spread their reputation across the world.
In 1972, David McTaggart answered an ad placed in a New Zealand newspaper by Ben Metcalfe, calling for a ship to go to Morouroa Atoll to protest nuclear weapons testing there. McTaggart chose the following crew: • Nigel Ingram, ex-Royal Navy
• Roger Haddleton, ex-Royal Navy
• Grant Davidson, a good cook
Their ship was rammed, and on his return the next year McTaggart was beaten by French commandos to the point where he lost vision in one eye. An epic battle played out in media around the world as a tiny ship challenged one of the greatest military forces on Earth.
For the next two decades, McTaggart would vie with the French government over nuclear weapons testing at sea and in the courts, and rise to the leadership of Greenpeace worldwide.
At a point when separatist Greenpeace national and regional entities were taking legal action against one another, the successful businessman and athlete stepped in and settled the arguments by founding Greenpeace International.
How is Greenpeace structured?
“Greenpeace” is a global environmental organisation, consisting of Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council) in Amsterdam, and 27 national and regional offices around the world, providing a presence in 41 countries. These national/regional offices are largely autonomous in carrying out jointly agreed global campaign strategies within the local context they operate within, and in seeking the necessary financial support from donors to fund this work.
The development and coordination of these global strategies is the task of Greenpeace International. Supported by a consultative international decision making process in which the National/Regional Offices are the main stakeholders, Greenpeace International co-ordinates worldwide campaigns and monitors the development and performance of national and regional Greenpeace offices.
The Greenpeace National / Regional offices are firmly rooted within the local environmental communities around the globe in the countries where Greenpeace operates. They maintain our direct contact with the public: all Greenpeace offices can be directly contacted by phone or email.
Greenpeace International is the entity that maintains contacts with supporters and donors in countries where we do not have offices. It also provides a range of services to the national/regional offices such as maintenance of the Greenpeace ships, setting up new Greenpeace offices, drawing up combined financial forecasts and strategies for the worldwide organisation, providing fundraising support to national/regional offices, providing cost-efficient global IT services and Internet tools, and protecting the Greenpeace trademark.
Greenpeace National and Regional Offices
Licensed to use the name "Greenpeace" by Stichting Greenpeace Council, National and Regional offices contribute financially to Greenpeace International, campaign locally, participate in international campaigns, and help shape the international campaign programme.
Greenpeace Argentina
Greenpeace Australia-Pacific
Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe
Greenpeace Belgium
Greenpeace Brazil
Greenpeace Canada
Greenpeace Chile
Greenpeace China
Greenpeace Czech Republic
Greenpeace France
Greenpeace Germany
Greenpeace Greece
Greenpeace India
Greenpeace Italy
Greenpeace Japan
Greenpeace Luxembourg
Greenpeace Mediterranean
Greenpeace Mexico
Greenpeace Netherlands
Greenpeace New Zealand
Greenpeace Nordic
Greenpeace Russia
Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Greenpeace Spain
Greenpeace Switzerland
Greenpeace United Kingdom
Greenpeace USA
Governance Structure
Greenpeace's global governance structure reflects our fundamental respect for global democratic principles and our need to maintain a high level of internationalism and coordination. The governance structure is laid out in clear procedures and policies, which are jointly agreed by representatives of the National / Regional Greenpeace offices, and provides the mechanism by which organisational policy is decided and adopted.
Greenpeace International (formal registered entity name: Stichting Greenpeace Council), the body that coordinates global Greenpeace policy and strategy, is an organisation of about 175 staff, largely based in Amsterdam. Its role within the global Greenpeace network is the following:
Facilitating the overall decision making processes as laid out in the Governance procedures
Facilitating the international planning and decision making processes on global Greenpeace campaigns
Coordinating and carrying out global Greenpeace campaigns
Monitoring Greenpeace's global strategic and financial performance
Developing Greenpeace presences in priority regions for the organisation
Providing fundraising support and protecting the Greenpeace trademark
Providing cost-effective IT/web support to national and regional offices.
Greenpeace International Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council) consists of seven members. Its role is to approve the annual budget of Greenpeace International and the audited accounts, and to appoint and supervise the Greenpeace International Executive Director.
The International Board is also responsible for monitoring the operations and activities of the wider organisation; deciding organisational policy; approving the start of new campaigns and new national offices; ratifying the Greenpeace International Annual General Meeting (AGM) decisions; granting the right to use the Greenpeace trademark; and for determining the voting status of national and regional offices in the AGM.
International Board members are elected for a three-year period by representatives from the National / Regional Offices at the AGM, and may be re-elected for a subsequent term. The International Board reports annually to the Greenpeace International AGM.
Greenpeace International Annual General Meeting
Each National / Regional Office is also governed by a board of directors. These are usually elected by a voting membership of volunteers and activists, who are firmly rooted within the local environmental communities and are well positioned to represent the wider public in influencing Greenpeace decisions and policy.
Each National / Regional Office Board appoints a representative to the Greenpeace International Annual General Meeting, called a Trustee. In this way, the AGM is effectively the supervisory body for the organisation as a whole. The Trustees elect the International Board, the legally responsible entity.
Key responsibilities of the AGM include:
To establish and uphold the core principles of the organisation
To elect or remove the International Board
To approve the opening of new Greenpeace offices
To approve the annual Greenpeace International budget ceiling
To identify issues of strategic significance to be addressed by the organisation
These issues are annually debated and voted on by the International Board and the National/Regional Office Trustees at the AGM. The Greenpeace International Board determines the voting status of National / Regional offices at the AGM based upon offices meeting a set of detailed criteria on financial solvency and independence, and adherence to internationally accepted good governance and financial management standards.
International Meetings
In addition to the Greenpeace International AGM the following annual international meetings are convened to decide on international operational and campaign management issues:
Executive Directors Meeting
This is the forum that takes decisions on global Greenpeace operational management directions. The Executive Directors of each National/Regional office meet twice every year with the Greenpeace International Executive Director and Senior Management team. At these meetings, they decide on issues to do with Greenpeace's role in society; campaign priorities, framework and planning process; the International Executive Director's annual objectives; the organisational development plan; and organisational policies and procedures regarding the practical operating relationship between Greenpeace International and the national offices.
Programme Meeting
The Campaigns Directors of all national/regional offices meet annually with the Greenpeace International Programme and Issue Directors. In this meeting they identify priorities within issue areas; determine the campaign calendar for the coming year; refine strategy, determine "critical paths" and set policies for the campaign programme; as well as set indicative budgets for each issue area for the coming year.
Other Meetings
At the direction of the Board or the Executive Directors Meeting, international working groups made up of representatives from national offices, Greenpeace International and external experts may convene throughout the year to work on specific issues such as developing new campaigning and fundraising strategies and policies, or opening new offices. There are also permanent advisory groups on Programme, Finance and Fundraising that advise the international Senior Management Team (SMT) on an ongoing basis. Programme units convene meetings during the year to decide detailed campaign plans and strategy.
Management structure
The International Executive Director is responsible for day-to-day management of Greenpeace International, and line manages the Senior Management Team.