What an amazingly successful year 2012 was! See the video below to get a flavour of our achievements. This blog focuses on the National and some of the International campaigns that have given us a series of successful outcomes and hope for the future. Individually we can only do so much to make a difference, but together we have proved that we are an amazing force for change. Some 65 active groups in the UK involving over 8,500 supporters have worked together and gained a mass of public support for our campaigns - asking customers to consider their everyday consumer choices. This essential pump-priming of public opinion has been a key tool in persuading targeted companies and organisations to change and adapt their policies towards more sustainable methods. Of course, much of what has been promised offers their customers positive PR spin, and so always has to be backed up by constant monitoring to ensure they follow through!
Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International’s Executive Director has thanked Greenpeace financial supporters for all their help in 2012 in a recent video release. See it here. Although financing our activities is crucial, it goes without saying that our success is also down to those who volunteer their time, their passion and their energy on a regular basis to organise events, speak to the people on the street and to those who risk much to take part in actions to get the messages across to the world.
Save the Arctic is one of Greenpeace’s most ambitious campaigns ever. Since the Summer we have gain over 2.3 million signatures calling for the Arctic to be declared a global sanctuary – protected from exploitations from oil companies (like Shell) industrialised fishing and mineral extraction companies. Our aim is to reach 3 million signatures by 11th February 2013. These signatures (along with a symbolic Flag for the Future) will be used to show the UN that there is worldwide support for the Arctic to be a protected area. As Shell has been given permission to explore for oil in the Arctic, the company has been a major target since February when a direct action (involving actress Lucy Lawless) in New Zealand delayed one of Shell’s drill ships in travelling to the Arctic. In July 78 Shell garages in London and Edinburgh were shut down by a taskforce of activists (and watched by 15,000 people tuning into a live broadcast by Greenpeace TV!). Giving Shell a whole lotta hell on two nationwide Shell Days as well as many other peaceful protests at forecourts have mobilised many people to protest for the first time. With all this media attention Shell had to withdraw from the Arctic for the winter because it had major problems with its safety equipment as well as difficulties with encroaching sea ice. We know they will try again in 2013, but we will continue to keep campaigning until they leave permanently.
When Waitrose announced it was to enlarge its commercial relationship by opening up small stores on Shell forecourts, it took just 12 days of rigorous campaigning outside Waitrose stores and engaging in social media antics to get them to reconsider this strategy. Not only did they put plans on ice for the foreseeable future, but Waitrose supported Greenpeace’s call for the Arctic to be a global sanctuary.
Although our activities mainly centred around Shell, the Arctic there was so much more going on in 2012.
At the beginning of the year many local groups held a range of events to highlight Volkswagen’s Dark Side in promoting its new Blue Motion technology which is only fitted to a small proportion of their vehicles, yet at the same time the company was lobbying against targets to make the car industry more fuel efficient and less polluting. In October Greenpeace reminded Volkswagen about its responsibilities to its customers and the environment at the prestigious launch of the new Golf 7 at the Paris Motorshow.
The once in a decade chance to reform the wasteful and dated EU Common Fishing Policy started way back in March and was launched in May. Thousands of people signed up to Be a Fisherman’s Friend and signed ‘fish cards’ which were delivered to MEPs to show public support for this campaign. The alliance struck up between Greenpeace and the small scale fishermen via NUTFA was key in getting substantial reforms announced in December in increasing the fish stock levels in European waters. They also backed a measure to reduce (but not completely ban) discards, the wasteful practice of throwing unwanted dead or dying fish overboard. Hailed as a major victory, there still is much work to be done to ensure that a smaller and sustainable EU fishing fleet is encouraged.
In May after hundreds of thousands of Apple customers and Greenpeace supporters asked the company to use clean energy instead of dirty coal, it announced a significant investment in local renewable energy to power its data centre in North Carolina, US. It was also in May that activists shut down the HQ offices of the Centrica energy company. Centrica is one of the 'Big Six' energy companies in the UK and is the largest, supplying 40% of the countries gas and 25% of its total energy. However, like the others, it is making huge profits out of the sale of gas and not investing in renewables.
In September we lobbied Lib Dem MPs on the Energy Bill and at their party conference they reaffirmed their commitment to a greener economy. The Bill promises new money for renewables but no commitment on targets to decarbonise the electricity industry by 2030. So the battle to get targets included is on!
Many of us in the UK signed online petitions supporting the Detox campaign in Asia. This pressure has persuaded the likes of Zara, Marks and Spencer and Levi's to commit themselves to exclude toxic chemicals from their production processes. Likewise local action and social media campaigning has played a huge part in the UK and Ireland subsidiary of KFC announcing it will exclude paper suppliers (such as Asia Pulp and Paper) who are actively involved in rainforest destruction.
It is impossible in this blog to include all our achievements over the past year, but I hope it gives you an idea of what has been accomplished. Every group has had a part to play in many of the above events. As we move and shake into 2013 there are challenges to continue and new ones waiting to be confronted. Have a great year – it’s going to be another busy one!
Below is a video from GPUK that summarises the energy and effort volunteers offer in helping to make a difference. Well done all!
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