2014
December 2014: Lidl, the world's second largest discount supermarket, made a commitment to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from its textile production by 1 January, 2020. More
November 2014: The world's largest electronics retailer, Best Buy, announced major improvements to its paper supply chain to better protect Canada's Boreal Forest, one of the lungs of our planet and a vital buffer against climate change. During the busiest shopping time of the year Best Buy committed to stronger purchasing standards, paying particular attention to endangered forests and human rights. The move comes less than two weeks into a Greenpeace campaign that mobilized over 52,000 supporters across North America. More
October 2014: Just 48 hours after we revealed the toxic-truth behind their products, German retailer Tchibo has joined the ranks of companies committed to Detox. Tchibo has promised to make sure its products are toxic-free, beginning with clothes and shoes, but eventually extending to cover everything from frying pans to electronics! What's more, alongside committing to transform itself into a toxic-free champion, Tchibo has agreed to start developing 'closed-loop' production - tackling the very way its products are made. More
October 2014: After more than one million people respond to Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign LEGO ends its 50 year link with Shell. On it's website, LEGO published a statement committing to 'not renew the co-promotion contract with Shell'.
During Greenpeace's three month campaign, over a million people signed a petition calling on LEGO to stop promoting Shell's brand because of its plans to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic. In stark contrast to Shell, LEGO's policies include a commitment to produce more renewable energy than they use, phase out oil in their products and, in cooperation with its partners, leave a better world for future generations. And that's kind of a big deal. More
February 2014: Budget giant Primark becomes the 20th major clothing company to commit to Detox - agreeing to eliminate hazardous chemicals from its supply chain by 1 January 2020. From luxury houses like Burberry and Valentino to retailers like Primark, this latest victory shows how big brands are listening to the global calls for fashion without pollution and taking steps to create a toxic-free future. More
January 2014: British luxury brand Burberry made a commitment to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals from its supply chain by 1 January 2020. Burberry's move comes after just two weeks of people-powered campaigning on the brand's social media channels, reaching an audience of millions, while Greenpeace volunteers held protests at stores from Beijing to Mexico City. Burberry joins 18 big brands like Zara, Valentino and H&M who have committed to Detox their clothes and manufacturing processes. More
2013
May 2013: Greenpeace applauds a decision from New Zealand fishing brand Sealord to remove a destructing fishing method from its supply chain of canned skipjack tuna by early 2014 and urges the wider industry to follow suit. Sealord's announcement is of great significance to the international Greenpeace campaign for sustainable tuna fishing and means all the big Australasian tuna brands have committed to phase out FAD-caught tuna. More
March 2013: The Supreme Court in Scotland denied Cairn Energy a permanent injunction against Greenpeace International following a Greenpeace UK protest at Cairn's headquarters in July 2011. More
March 2013: VW have caved in to pressure from across the globe and announced they will meet and support climate targets. VW has now publicly agreed to live up to its promises to be the world's greenest car company, setting an example for the rest of the industry. More
January 2013: The biggest global fashion brand based in Asia, Uniqlo, and its parent company Fast Retailing Group, today committed to eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals throughout its entire global supply chain and products by 2020, in response to Greenpeace’s global Detox campaign. More
2012
December 2012: The world’s largest denim brand, Levi’s, committed to eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals throughout its entire supply chain and products by 2020, following public pressure in response to Greenpeace’s global Detox campaign. More
December 2012: One of Australia’s leading canned fish manufacturer, John West (Simplot) has pledged to stop using destructive fishing methods that needlessly kill sharks, rays, baby tuna and turtles. The commitment means that John West will phase out the use of highly destructive and wasteful Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) used with purse seine nets by 2015. More
December 2012: The government of South Korea has abandoned its plans to begin a ‘scientific’ whaling operation, a significant step forward in global efforts to protect whale populations. The proposed hunt would have caught minke whales for commercial purposes under the thin veil of scientific research. More than 100,000 people from around the world sent messages in the last month to the South Korean prime minister, asking him to call off the hunt. More
December 2012: Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has abandoned its plans for deep sea oil drilling off the coast of New Zealand. The world's third largest oil company has decided to return its exploration licenses for deep sea oil and gas prospects to the government, effectively abandoning its plans for deep sea drilling in New Zealand. More
November 2012: The world’s largest fashion retailer Zara – and parent company Inditex – today committed to eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals throughout its entire supply chain and products by 2020, following public pressure in response to Greenpeace’s Detox campaign. Zara becomes the eighth brand to commit to eliminate releases of all hazardous chemicals throughout its supply chains and products since Greenpeace launched its Detox campaign in 2011. As a part of the commitment Zara is reinforcing the ban on APEOs, and pledges to set further short-term elimination timelines for other priority hazardous chemicals, including PFCs. Most notably, Zara will now require at least 20 suppliers to start releasing pollution discharge data by the end of March 2013, and at least 100 suppliers by the end of 2013. More
October 2012: M&S becomes the seventh brand to make a credible commitment to clean up its supply chain and products and eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals, joining Puma, Nike, Adidas, H&M, C&A and Li-Ning. More brands need to respond to the urgency of the situation and take ambitious action to rid the fashion world and our precious water supplies of toxic chemicals. More
September 2012: Australian Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has announced a ban on the Margiris super trawler for up to two years and further scientific investigations before boats like this are approved. Burke acknowledged overwhelming public concern in reaching this significant decision. Congratulations to the thousands of passionate Australians, community and environmental groups and fishing groups who stopped the Margiris from destroying Australia‘s oceans. More
Greenpeace also congratulated the Gillard government for showing the courage to prevent the Abel Tasman super trawler fishing in Australia's waters. Greenpeace hailed it as a victory for the Australian community which has united to reject this monster ship. The decision also sends a message to the global super-sized fishing fleets that world community opposition is growing to their unsustainable business model. More
August 2012: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has denied the complaint by Neste Oil over Greenpeace spoof site. The WIPO panel declared that Greenpeace may use the domains www.nestespoil.com and www.nestespoilreturns.com to criticize Neste Oil’s use of palm oil as biofuel. The WIPO panel confirmed that non commercial criticism is part of the freedom of expression. According to the panel Greenpeace did not use the sites to unnecessarily tarnish Neste Oil. In similar cases even harsh criticism has not been considered as tarnishing. The Panel concluded that Greenpeace had been using the sites to raise legitimate environmental concerns for non-commercial purpose. More
July 2012: You may remember earlier this year we bought 18 tea products at random from nine tea companies in China, and after sending the samples to be tested discovered that a whopping 12 of the 18 samples contained at least one pesticide banned for use on tea. Well guess what? Two of the outed tea companies, Tenfu (天福茗茶) and Anxi Tieguanyin Group (安溪铁观音集团ATG), have agreed to your demands for pesticide use reduction and setting up traceability systems for their supply chain. More
July 2012: KFC bosses in Kentucky remain silent on whether it will cut forest destruction out of its supply chain globally, it looks like one country has gotten tired of waiting for headquarters to respond to our campaign. Following a first meeting between KFC Indonesia and Greenpeace, KFC Indonesia has issued a statement to address the issues of deforestation in its supply chain and declared its decision to suspend purchases from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) at this time. More
July 2012: Greenpeace has reacted with delight at the cancellation of $100 million in public funds to a proposed HRL dirty coal-fired power station and is calling on the owners of the project to withdraw their proposal altogether. Last year, Greenpeace activists placed a 200-metre long banner across the site of the proposed HRL power station, calling on the Prime Minister to live up to her word that “no more dirty coal-fired power stations would be built in Australia”. Greenpeace also partnered with Environment Victoria, Quit Coal and other environment groups to build a petition of over 12,000 people calling for HRL’s Commonwealth funding to be withdrawn and given to renewable energy. More
May 2012: For over a year, Greenpeace campaigned intensively for the cancellation of Senegalese fishing authorizations. These licenses constituted a serious threat to the livelihoods of millions of Senegalese who depend on the ocean’s resources for their jobs and food security. Organizing a travelling caravan called "My voice, my future," that engaged artisanal fishermen across the country, launching an online petition, meeting with politicians, and organizing an ship tour to expose and document overfishing in Senegalese waters, were some of the actions Greenpeace took to achieve this result. So it was with joy that we learned of the Senegalese government's decision to cancel the fishing authorizations issued to 29 foreign pelagic trawlers in West African waters. More
April 2012: Danone has released a statement confirming its plans to phase out supplies of paper and packaging products from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). The statement also confirms that the company intends to develop a zero deforestation policy, which will cover all of the commodities it buys that could be linked to deforestation. Danone joins the likes of Nestle, Kraft, Unilever, Adidas and many more who have already dropped APP. More
March 2012: Thanks to campaigning by Greenpeace and our supporters, leading Italian tuna brand Mareblu has decided to abandon destructive fishing methods in favour of sustainable practices by agreeing to source tuna only from pole and line and FAD free purse seining operations by the end of 2016. The move is a huge victory for our Tonno in trappolacampaign and is a significant first shift in the Italian tinned tuna market. Mareblu has shown that when a company really wants to commit to taking action to save our oceans, it can do it. Now that the standard has been set, there can be no more excuses - all other major brands and retailers must follow. More
February 2012: Edison International announced that they would shut down the Fisk and Crawford coal plants. After ten years of gritty and determined grassroots work, communities in Chicago triumphed over the corporate polluter in their back yard. On the same day, citizens in Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania celebrated the announcement that Houston-based GenOn would shut an additional 7 plants, including the Portland Generating Station where Greenpeace worked with NJ and PA residents to demand clean air for their community. More
February 2012: The countless hours spent scouring legal documents, appearing in court and enduring what must have been trying exchanges with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) by our awesome lawyers at Ecojustice has all paid off. The longtime legal case came to a close in a precedent setting victory for B.C.'s threatened and endangered resident killer whales. After years of facing threat after threat, and population declines, these iconic creatures certainly needed a win. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the 2010 ruling that guaranteed the protection of killer whale habitat by law under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). The Appeal Court’s ruling was an uncommonly strong judgment, and a controversial one for DFO after the court awarded Greenpeace costs noting that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans' behaviour had been "worthy of rebuke." More
2011
December 2011: Facebook 'friends' renewable energy, sending a message to energy producers to move away from coal. Facebook now has a siting policy that states a preference for access to clean, renewable energy supply for its future data centres – the places where its computers live. Coal power is still a feature of Facebook for now, but as they say in the IT sector – it's been deprecated. See the campaign timeline.
October 2011: Mattel recognized that toy packaging shouldn’t come at the costs of rainforests and tiger habitat. As part of its new commitments, Mattel has instructed its suppliers to avoid wood fiber from controversial sources, including companies “that are known to be involved in deforestation”. Their policy also aims to increase the amount of recycled paper used in their business, as well as to boost the use of wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). More
September 2011: It took seven years, teams of young campaigners and hordes of devoted supporters, but the Chinese government finally said it was suspending the commercialisation of genetically-engineered (GE) rice. More
September 2011: H&M, Adidas, Nike and Puma have committed to eliminate discharges of hazardous chemicals from across their entire supply chains, and their entire product life-cycle by 2020. The Detox campaign launched in July 2011 with the release of the Dirty Laundry report, which documented the results of a year long investigation that uncovered links between major fashion brands and two textile facilities in China found to be discharging hazardous chemicals into the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas. Further investigations by Greenpeace revealed that shoppers around the world are buying contaminated clothing and unwittingly spreading water pollution when they wash their new garments. The landmark commitments from the 4 brands are an important first step in the journey towards a toxic-free future, and Greenpeace will continue to monitor and work with the brands as they prepare their Detox Action Plans. More
March 2011: Princes, a leading tinned tuna brand, finally got your message that canning ocean destruction is unacceptable. Thanks to your efforts - the company has just announced a plan to change the way it gets its tuna. After receiving over 80,000 emails from Greenpeace supporters, Princes said it will no longer rely on indiscriminate and destructive fishing methods that kill all kinds of marine creatures like sharks and rays. More
2010
December 2010: After two and a half years of hard work in Japan to expose corruption at the heart of the whaling industry the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) admitted that their officials received free whale meat from the company contracted to perform the whaling. They conceded that this “kickback” was against their ethics code, apologised to the Japanese public and announced plans to take disciplinary action against five officials. More
December 2010: 80,000 hectares of pine forest in northern Finland are declared off-limits to industrial logging following an eight-year campaign by Greenpeace and Finland’s indigenous Saami reindeer herders. More
November 2010: Greenpeace’s 20-year campaign against climate-killing chemical HFC catalyzes a groundbreaking committment when the 400 companies of the Consumer Goods Forum of the US agree to climate-friendly refrigeration beginning in 2015. More
September 2010: Over one million signatures calling for a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops were delivered by Avaaz and Greenpeace to John Dalli, Commissioner of Health and Consumer Policy, at the EU Commission in Brussels. The signatures were printed on the world's largest piece of art made by one man - a 3D hand painted scene of an organic farm with agricultural biodiversity that is GM-free. It represents the way most Europeans want their food and fields. More
July 2010: Following a ten-year Greenpeace campaign, Europe bans the trade in illegal timber - a great leap forward in the struggle to protect the world's forests and climate. More
July 2010: New Zealand's government announced a complete u-turn on plans to mine New Zealand's best conservation land. There will be no mining in Schedule 4 land or any of New Zealand's national parks now or in the future. More
May 2010: Over 25 years of Greenpeace efforts to expose and oppose nuclear waste shipments from France to Russia end in victory when Russia puts an end to the practice. The illegality of the shipments was confirmed when French officials admitted that the stated intention to reprocess and return the fuel was false. Attention to the shipments was sparked in 1984 when Greenpeace revealed that the shipping vessel Mont Louis, which sank in the North Sea, was carrying Uranium Hexaflouride. More
May 2010: A new policy commits Nestlé to identify and exclude companies from its supply chain that own or manage 'high risk plantations or farms linked to deforestation'. This would apply to Sinar Mas, a palm oil and paper supplier and Cargill, one of Nestlé's palm oil suppliers, which purchases from Sinar Mas. Nestle's announcement sends a strong message to the palm oil and paper industry that rainforest destruction is not an acceptable practice in today's global marketplace. More
May 2010: The biggest, most ambitious forest conservation deal ever is announced: The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. After more than seven years of hard-fought campaigning to end the on-going destruction of Canada's Boreal Forest, Greenpeace and eight other non-governmental organisations have agreed to a truce with the logging industry. More
May 2010: Nestlé agrees to stop purchasing palm-oil from sources which destroy Indonesian rainforests. The decision caps eight weeks of massive pressure from consumers via social media and non-violent direct action by Greenpeace activists as the company concedes to the demands of a global campaign against its Kit Kat brand. More
May 2010: Plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport are axed by the UK government. Greenpeace opposed the plan because it ran contrary to efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the UK, and co-purchased, with 91,000 supporters, a plot of land that would have made the runway impossible to build. More
February 2010: Indian computer manufacturer Wipro announces the launch of a new PVC and BFR-free computer, after several years of pressure by Greenpeace on tech companies to provide toxics-free electronics. More
2009
November 2009: Household chemical giant Clorox announces a phase out of the use and transport of dangerous chlorine gas in the US, bowing to years of pressure on the industry from Greenpeace. More
October 2009: Apple clears the last hurdle to removing toxic PVC plastic in its new Macbook and iMac, capping the "Green my Apple" campaign with a win and making Apple products safer, easier to recycle and causing less pollution at the end of their life. More
October 2009: Plans to build the Kingsnorth coal power plant are shelved, following a three-year campaign by Greenpeace to stop the first new coal-plant build in 20 years in the UK. A landmark courtcase in 2008 acquitted six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage on the grounds that their actions against the plant were justified to stop greater damage from climate change. More
See the full movie of our Kingsnorth 6 victory.
August 2009: In a tremendous victory for ancient forests, Kimberly-Clark, the company known for its popular brands like Kleenex, Scott, and Cottonelle announces a policy that places it among the industry leaders in sustainability. The announcement brings the five-year Greenpeace Kleercut campaign to a successful completion. More
August 2009: After seven years of Greenpeace pressure, Finnish government-owned logging company Metsähallitus agrees to leave the tall trees of the old-growth forests of northern Lapland standing, and with them, the livelihood of the Sámi people. More
April 2009: Germany announces that it will become the sixth EU country to ban the cultivation of Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) maize MON810 - the only GE crop that can be commercially grown in the region. More
March 2009: The construction of an open-pit coal mine in Poland, where Greenpeace set up a Climate Rescue Station in December 2008, is suspended, stopping around 50 million tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. More
March 2009: The Great Bear Rainforest protection agreement comes into force in Canada, capping one of Greenpeace's longest running campaigns by protecting an area half the size of Switzerland from logging. The campaign was won with direct non-violent action on the ground, consumer pressure, stockholder actions, and thousands of online activists worldwide. More
February 2009: Following a six-month long Quit Coal campaign by Greenpeace, the Greek Minister of Development states that the government is not considering coal or nuclear power as part of Greece's energy future. Instead the Greek government will be rewriting its Long-Term Energy Plan to exclude coal and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. More
February 2009: Electronics giant Philips bows to pressure from Greenpeace and consumers and becomes a leader in environmentally friendly take-back policies for electronic waste. An ambitious policy of global take-back exceeds legal requirements in many countries. More
2008
September 2008: Six Greenpeace UK volunteers are acquitted of criminal damage by a Crown Court jury in a case that centred on the contribution made to climate change by burning coal. The charges arose after the six attempted to shut down the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent in 2007 by scaling the chimney and painting the Prime Minister's name down the side. The defendants pleaded 'not guilty' and relied in court on the defence of 'lawful excuse' - claiming they shut the power station in order to defend property of a greater value from the global impact of climate change. The landmark case marks the first victory of the 'lawful excuse' defense in a climate-change case in Britain. More
August 2008: After our campaign in the 1990's against toxic PVC the US Congress somewhat belatedly follows Europe's lead of outlawing toxic PVC in children's toys. More
July 2008: Ferrero (famous for its Nutella brand) becomes the latest large palm oil user to changes its position to support a moratorium on cutting down trees in Indonesia for palm oil plantations. More
May 2008: After just three weeks of actions, a hugely popular spoof advert and 115,000 online signatures Unilever changes its position to support a moratorium on cutting down trees in Indonesia for palm oil plantations. More
March 2008: After a campaign in Argentina, the Government announces a ban on energy wasting incandescent light bulbs. More
2007
December 2007: The World Bank's private lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) decides to sell its equity stake in Olam International Limited. Olam's involvement in illegal timber trade was first detailed in our Carving up the Congo report published earlier this year. The report illustrated how Olam was holding forest land in the Congo granted in breach of a moratorium on the granting of new logging titles, which the World Bank itself had helped to establish. It also described how Olam was sourcing timber from destructive and illegal operations through de-facto subcontracting agreements with third-party suppliers involved in illegal logging. More.
December 2007: The Irish Government announces what will be the EU's first ban on energy-wasting incandescent light bulbs, by as early as January 2009. This simple but historic step came as governments met in Bali to discuss next steps on tackling the global climate emergency. Over the past year, a number of EU countries have talked about similar bans, but Ireland is the first to act. More.
November 2007: Together with other environmental groups, Greenpeace gets 1.5 million signatures of support and pushes through Argentina's first federal forest protection law. The new law includes a nationwide one-year moratorium on clearing of native forests while forest management regulations are put in place. After a year, any jurisdiction still lacking regulations will continue to be prohibited from issuing new logging and land clearing permits. The Forest Law also establishes environmental impact studies and public hearings - measures that will help protect forests where indigenous people live and small scale farmers. More.
May 2007: After four years of Greenpeace campaigning to bring an end to deep-sea bottom trawling, representatives from countries around the world gathered in Chile to carve out a fisheries agreement for the South Pacific region, protecting it from this incredibly destructive fishing method. From September 2007, bottom trawling vessels in the region will not be able to fish in areas that have, or are even likely to have, vulnerable marine ecosystems unless they complete an assessment showing that no damage will be caused. More.
May 2, 2007: Apple announces a phase-out of the most dangerous chemicals in its product line in response to a Webby-award winning online campaign by Greenpeace and Apple fans worldwide. The campaign challenged Apple to become a green leader in addressing the electronic waste problem. More.
March 7, 2007: The New Zealand government announces cancellation of proposed coal-burning power plant Marsden B. Greenpeace and local activists had mounted a four-year struggle which involved a nine-day occupation, highcourt challenges, protest marches, a record numbers of public submissions, Surfers Against Sulphur, public meetings, and a pirate radio station. More.
February 15, 2007: In a major blow to the UK government's plans to reinvigorate nuclear power, the High Court rules their decision to back a programme of new nuclear power stations was unlawful on the basis that they had failed to adequately consult citizens and groups who oppose nuclear power as a dangerous distraction from real solutions to climate change. More.
2006
September 27, 2006: Estonia launches an investigation into the Probo Koala following three days of blockade by the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise. It is the first official action against the ship, which poisoned thousands and killed eight in the Ivory Coast when it dumped a cargo of toxic waste that had been refused by the Netherlands. After dumping its deadly cargo, the ship simply sailed to Estonia unhindered until Greenpeace took action. More.
July 25, 2006: McDonald's agrees to stop selling chicken fed on soya grown in newly deforested areas of the Amazon rainforest, then becomes instrumental in getting other food companies and supermarkets, such as Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, ASDA and Waitrose, to sign up to a zero deforestation policy as well. But it goes even further than that, and pressure from all these companies forces their suppliers, the big multinational soya companies such as Cargill, to agree a two-year moratorium on buying soya from newly deforested areas. More
June 26, 2006: Dell becomes the latest company to promise to remove the worst toxic chemicals from it products, closely following the move of its rival HP. Both companies have been pressured by us to make their products greener and help tackle the growing mountain of toxic e-waste. More
May 31, 2006: Despite heavy lobbying by the nuclear power industry, Spain has confirmed that the country's 8 operating plants will be phased out in favour of clean, renewable energy. Spain joins Sweden, Germany, Italy and Belgium as the fifth European country to abandon nuclear power. More.
April 3, 2006: After months of pressure, consumer actions, online activism and more than 100,000 emails from Ocean Defenders everywhere, seafood suppliers Gorton's, Sealord and parent company Nissui withdraw their active support for Japanese whaling. Whalers announce that the 32 percent share in whaling operations owned by these commercial corporations will be transferred to a "public interest entity." The retreat isolates whaling economically and probably scuppers plans to find new markets for whale products. More
March 9, 2006: Electronics giant Hewlett Packard commits to a phase out plan for a range of hazardous chemicals in its products. More
February 16, 2006: French President Chirac announced the dramatic recall of the asbestos-laden warship Clemenceau -- it will be turning around and going back to France. Our actions, emails to Chirac and an embarrassing international scandal left France with little choice but to abandon the misguided attempt to dump its own toxic mess on India. More
February 14, 2006: An area twice the size of Belgium has been given greater protection in the Amazon after a Presidential decree. The decree by President Lula of Brazil to create the 6.4 million hectare (around 16 million acres) conservation area is a great victory for the people of the Amazon battling land grabbers, cattle ranchers and loggers. The decree calls for around 1.6 million hectares to be permanently protected and totally off limits to logging and deforestation. More
February 7, 2006: Take ten years of difficult, dangerous, and at times, heartbreaking work. Add thousands of activists from around the world -- some who sent emails, some who stood on the blockades, some who voted against destruction with their wallets. Some who were beaten, some who were sued, some who were arrested. But eventually common sense has prevailed and one of the world's treasures, the Great Bear Rainforest, is saved from destruction. More
January 13, 2006: Our Argentine Ocean Defenders hit Nissui in their pockets. Nissui own about one third of Kyodo Senpaku -- the people who run the Japanese whaling fleet. Our cyberactivists convinced a major Nissui client in Argentina not to buy from a corporation involved in the killing of whales. More
2005
November 28, 2005: Swiss voters vote no in a referendum to determine whether genetically engineered (GE) crops and animal scan be grown in the alpine nation during the next five years. Their verdict in each and every one of the three main languages was the same; nein, non, no, to GE. More
November 24, 2005: The city of Buenos Aires announces plans to implement a zero waste policy after a campaign by Greenpeace in Argentina. The plan aims to reduce dramatically the 4-5000 tonnes of waste the city dumps every day. Buenos Aires is the largest city so far to announce a zero waste plan. More
27 October, 2005: The intervention of some home-grown celebrities finally tips the balance in favour of protecting the forests of northern Argentina after a long fight by Greenpeace and the indigenous Wichi people. More
October 4, 2005: Electronics giant Motorola and health and body care companies L'Occitane, Melvitacosm and Alqvimia are the latest companies to drop the most toxic chemicals from their products. More
August 17, 2005: Electronics giant LG announces that it is committing to eliminating toxic chemicals from their entire consumer electronics range. More
July 5, 2005: Bad Barbies, toxic Teletubbies and rotten rubber ducks could have been slowly poisoning small children. The very chemicals that made these toys so soft and tempting to teething toddlers have been shown damage organs in animals. But the European Parliament has banned manufacturers from using six of these toxic chemicals, freeing Europe from many toxic toys for good. More
April 29, 2005: Sony Ericsson announces that it will be phasing toxic chemicals out of its products. This is the result of the thousands of participants in our online action to pressure electronics companies to come clean. Sony Ericsson joins Samsung, Nokia and Sony as electronics companies who are phasing toxic chemicals out of all their products. More.
March 22, 2005: Photocopy giant Xerox agrees to stop buying timber pulp from StoraEnso, the Finnish national logging company which is cutting down one of Europe's last remaining ancient forests. Following pressure by Greenpeace cyberactivists, the company agrees a new procurement policy, ensuring that suppliers do not source timber from 'old-growth forests, conservation areas or other areas designated for protection.' More
2004
November 11, 2004: Following years of campaigning in the Amazon by Greenpeace and other environmental organisations the Brazilian government stood up to the powerful forces of illegal loggers and greedy soya and beef barons by creating two massive protective reserves. The presidential decree has protected 2 million hectares of the Amazon forest by creating the Verde Para Sempre and Riozinho do Anfrisio extractive reserves. More
November 4, 2004: Bayer conceded to Greenpeace India that ALL its projects on genetically engineered (GE) crops have been "discontinued"in a letter sent by Aloke V. Pradhan, head of Bayer's Corporate Communications in India. This announcement followed earlier actions by Greenpeace outside Bayer's head office in Mumbai. More
October 29, 2004: MQ Publications (MQP) in the UK becomes the first UK publisher to publicly announce its collaboration with the Greenpeace Book Campaign. MQP has committed to phasing out paper that is not 'ancient forest friendly'. Their next five books, including 'The Armchair Environmentalist' will be printed on 100 percent recycled paper. They have also publicly challenged all UK publishers to follow suit. More
October 29, 2004: Greenpeace efforts to achieve tighter controls on the notorious shipbreaking industry result in an international agreement to treat obsolete ships as waste. Treaty commitments by 163 nations can be expected to increase demands for decontamination of ships prior to export to the principle shipbreaking countries of India, Bangladesh, and Turkey. It will also create new demand for the development of "green" ship recycling capacity in developed countries. More
October 22, 2004: A decade of lobbying, scientific research, and direct non-violent action by Greenpeace and environmental groups around the world comes to fruition as Russia ratifies the Kyoto Protocol, bringing to force the world's sole global effort to address the dangers of global warming. More
September 30, 2004: Cyberactivists in Japan halt introduction of recycling-unfriendly and unreturnable plastic bottles when beer manufacture Asahi bows to citizen pressure.
September 1, 2004: Ford Europe announce a reversal of the decision to scrap its fleet of fuel efficient electric Th!nK City cars, and instead investigate sending them to eager customers in Norway. Pressure applied by Greenpeace and web-based cyberactivists convinced Ford to Th!nk Again. When charged by electricity from renewable sources, these cars help fight the biggest threat to our planet: climate change. More
July 20, 2004: Queensland Energy Resources announce an end to the Stuart Shale Oil project in Australia. Greenpeace campaigned against the project, which would have produced oil with four times the greenhouse impact as oil from the ground, since 1998. The project cost millions of dollars in government subsidies which should have been spent on renewable energy. More
June 22, 2004: Unilever, Coca Cola and McDonald's promise to phase out climate-killing chemicals in their refrigeration equipment. In 1992 Greenpeace launched Greenfreeze with the help of two scientists who pointed out how to avoid HFC's altogether. We found an old fridge factory, appealed to our supporters to pre-order enough units to finance a refit, helped build the market and Greenfreeze was born. Today there are over 100 million Greenfreeze refrigerators in the world, produced by all the major European, Chinese, Japanese and Indian manufacturers. More
June 17, 2004: Consumer power scored a victory following the announcement from electronics giant Samsung that it plans to phase out hazardous chemicals in its products. Seeing its brand-name products graded red -as containing hazardous chemicals - on the Greenpeace database,prompted the company to do the right thing on dangerous chemicals. More
June 10, 2004: Publishers of 34 Canadian magazines pledged to shift away from paper containing tree fibre from Canada's ancient forests thanks to ongoing pressure from the Markets Initiative coalition, of which Greenpeace Canada has a key role. The coalition has similar commitments from 71 Canadian book publishers including the Canadian publisher of Harry Potter, which printed the Order of the Phoenix on AFF paper in June 2003. Greenpeace Canada's work to protect its forests also encouraged Cascades, as the second largest producer of tissue products in Canada to commit to an Ancient Forest-Friendly purchasing policy.
June 1, 2004: Iceland steps back from plans to kill 500 minke, sei, and fin whales over two years, announcing a quota of only 25 minkes for the year. Greenpeace web activists fueled domestic opposition by gathering 50,000 worldwide signatures to a pledge to visit Iceland if the government would stop whaling. With a potential value of more than US$ 60 million in tourist spend, against a whaling programme which generated 3-4 million in profits, the pledge dramatically illustrated that whales are worth more to Iceland alive than dead. More
May 11, 2004: Thanks to years of pressure from environmental groups, the consumers, our cyberactivists and Greenpeace, we can celebrate a victory for the environment following the announcement by Monsanto that it would suspend further development or open field trials of its genetically engineered Roundup Ready wheat. Monsanto stated that it was deferring all further efforts to introduce the crop and that it was discontinuing breeding and field-level research of the wheat. This follows a similar announcement in 2003 when the company announced its withdrawal from the development of pharmaceutical crops. More
April 2, 2004: The UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) designate the Baltic sea as a "Particularly Sensitive Sea Area," a decision which Greenpeace advocated for years. The IMO regulates shipping worldwide, and the new designation means tougher restrictions on oil tankers and other dangerous cargo vessels. The move was vehemently opposed by the shipping and oil industries. More
March 31, 2004: Following the controversial UK government approval of genetically engineered (GE) maize for commercial planting, the only company authorized to grow GE maize withdraws its application. In a victory for activists and consumers across Europe who lobbied for tougher legislation and boycotted GE products, Bayer Crop science, a German company authorised to plant an herbicide-resistant variety of maize known as Chardon LL, said regulations on how and where the crop could be planted would make it "economically non-viable." Chardon LL was the crop pulled up by Greenpeace UK activists in 1999. The activists were acquitted of charges of criminal damage when the court agreed they were acting in the interest of protecting the environment. More
February 18, 2004: The Stockholm Convention comes into force following years of lobbying by Greenpeace and other environmental organisations. A key feature of the Convention calls for the elimination of all Persistent Organic pollutants. They include intentionally produced chemicals, such as pesticides and PCBs, as well as by-products such as cancer-causing dioxins that are released from industries that use chlorine and from waste incinerators. More
February 4, 2004: Esso loses its court case against Greenpeace in France. As part of our "Don't buy Esso, Don't buy Exxon/Mobil" campaign, we developed a parody of Esso's logo with a double dollar sign: E$$O, which the oil giant (which trades under the name Exxon/Mobil in other parts of the world) attempted to censor. In a victory for freedom of expression on the web and for our campaign against the world's #1 environmental criminal, the French court defended the logo as an exercise in free speech. More
2003
November 2003: Thanks to intensive lobbying by cyberactivists around the world, Greenpeace prevails against and attempt by Flag of Convenience States to remove the organisation from the International Maritime Organisation, the UN body charged with regulating shipping worldwide. Greenpeace action against unsafe oil tankers, such as the Prestige, had led to the ouster attempt on purported "safety" grounds. More
August 2003: The Deni, indigenous peoples of the Amazon, celebrate the end of an 18-year campaign to mark their land as protected from logging. 13 Greenpeace volunteers, including a member of the cyberactivist community, used GPS technology and a helicopter for a month to create an "eco-corridor" around 3.6 million hectares of land. More
May 2003: Intense lobbying efforts by Greenpeace and Global Witness results in UN Sanctions on Liberia for illegal logging. More
February 26, 2003: A French court agrees to lift an injunction against Greenpeace for creating a parody version of the Esso logo. In July Greenpeace was ordered to remove the logo from its website. On appeal, the court agreed the depiction on a website branding the oil giant Environmental Enemy Number One was protected speech. More
February 15, 2003: 30 million people worldwide create the largest anti-war protest in the history of humankind. More
February 7, 2003: McDonalds in Denmark bows to pressure and takes a leadership position in opening its first restaurants that use no climate-killing chemicals for refrigeration. A campaign by Greenpeace cyberactivists three years ago had led to a similar decision by Coca Cola to phase out HFC/HCFCs and adopt Greenpeace's innovative "Greenfreeze" technology. More
2002
2002: Brazil declares a moratorium on export of Mahogany following revelations of the extent of illegal logging and timber trade.Greenpeace actions around the world help enforce the ban. More
2002: The European Union, followed by Japan, ratifies the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Intensive Greenpeace lobbying must continue because, for the protocol to enter into force, 55 parties to the convention must ratify it.
2002: Greenpeace helps defeat a major drive by pro-whaling nation Japan and its supporters to re-introduce commercial whaling through the International Whaling Commission. The re-introduction would have been disastrous for whales, which are now protected under the 1982 commercial whaling ban.
2001
2001: Greenpeace turns 30 years old in September. The environmental group has grown from a small band of inspired volunteers to an international environmental organisation with offices in 30 countries. As always, Greenpeace thrives on committed activism and widespread, growing public support.
2001: After years of negotiations and pressure from Greenpeace, a global agreement for the elimination of a group of highly toxic and persistent man-made chemicals (Persistent Organic Pollutants or POPs), became a reality in May 2001 when a UN Treaty banning them is adopted.
2001: A historic agreement with logging companies is reached on the conservation of Canada's remaining coastal rainforest and approved by the government of British Columbia. This follows years of campaigning by Greenpeace, most recently targeting the trade and investments of companies involved in logging the endangered Great Bear Rainforest.
2001: Greenpeace lobbying, together with earlier expeditions to the Southern and Atlantic Oceans exposing flag of convenience (FOC or "pirate") vessels, are instrumental in the adoption of an "international plan of action" to combat illegal fishing in international waters.
2000-2001: An ever increasing and significant number of European retailers, food producers, and subsidiaries of multinational companies guaranteed to keep genetically engineered ingredients out of their products due to consumer pressure. Thanks to its consumer networks in 15 countries, Greenpeace tests products, collects information about food products and policies and exposes contamination cases.
2000: Further to Greenpeace's April-May expedition exposing pirate fishing in the Atlantic, an import ban is adopted on all bigeye tuna caught by FOC vessels in the Atlantic.
2000: Turkey's plans to build its first nuclear reactors at Akkuyu as part of a larger project to construct 10 reactors by the year 2020, is finally cancelled in July after eight years of campaigning by Greenpeace and others. The only remaining market for all major western nuclear companies is China.
2000: The Biosafety Protocol is adopted in Montreal, Canada. It aims to protect the environment and human health from risks of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) by controlling international trade of GMOs. Greenpeace has campaigned to stop the irreversible release of GMOs into the environment and to protect biodiversity from genetic pollution since 1995. More
1999
1999: Nine countries ban the use of harmful phthalates in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) toys for children under three and the EU introduces an "emergency" ban on soft PVC teething toys.
1999: Japan is ordered to stop "experimental" fishing of Southern Bluefin Tuna by the International Law of the Sea Tribunal.
1998
1998: The Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty comes into force.
1998: A historic accord, the OSPAR Convention, bans the dumping of offshore installations at sea in the North-East Atlantic. The Convention also agrees on the phasing-out of radioactive and toxic discharges, as proposed by Greenpeace.
1998: The oil company Shell finally agrees to bring its infamous offshore installation, the Brent Spar, to land for recycling. Greenpeace campaigned since 1995 to persuade the oil company not to dump disused installations in the ocean. More
1998: After 15 years of campaigning by Greenpeace, the EU finally agrees to phaseout drift net fishing by its fleets in EU and international waters by the end of 2001. France, Italy, the UK and Ireland, continued driftnetting in the North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean after Japan,Taiwan and Korea stopped driftnet fishing on the high seas when the worldwide ban came into force at the end of 1992.
1998: Logging giant MacMillan Bloedel announces it will phase out clearcut logging activities in British Columbia, Canada.
1997
1997: After campaigning for urgent action to protect the climate since 1988 by Greenpeace and others, ministers from industrialized nations adopt the Kyoto Protocol agreeing to set legally-binding reduction targets on greenhouse gases.
1997: Greenpeace collects the UNEP Ozone Award for the development of Greenfreeze, a domestic refrigerator free of ozone depleting and significant global warming chemicals.
1996
1996: The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is adopted at the United Nations.
1995
1995: Following a high profile action by Greenpeace, and public pressure, Shell UK reverses its decision to dump the Brent Spar oil platform in the Atlantic Ocean. More
1995: Greenpeace actions to stop French nuclear testing receive wide international attention. Over seven million people sign petitions calling for a stop to testing. France, UK, US, Russia and China commit to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
1995: Following a submission made with Greenpeace support, UNESCO designates Russia's Komi Forest as a World Heritage Site.
1994
1994: After years of Greenpeace actions against whaling, the Antarctic whale sanctuary, proposed by France and supported by Greenpeace, is approved by the International Whaling Commission.
1994: Greenpeace actions exposing toxic waste trade from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to non-OECD countries culminate in government negotiation of the Basel Convention banning this practice.
1993
1993: The London Dumping Convention permanently bans the dumping at sea of radioactive and industrial waste world-wide. More
1992
1992: France cancels this year's nuclear tests at Moruroa Atoll, following the Rainbow Warrior visit to the test zone, and vows to halt altogether if other nuclear nations follow suit.
1992: Worldwide ban on high seas large-scale driftnets comes into force.
1991
1991: The 39 Antarctic Treaty signatories agree to a 50-year minimum prohibition of all mineral exploitation, in effect preserving the continent for peaceful, scientific purposes.
1991: Major German publishers go chlorine-free after Greenpeace produces chlorine-free edition of Der Spiegel as part of campaign against chlorine-bleaching.
1989
1989: A UN moratorium on high seas large-scale driftnets is passed, responding to public outrage at indiscriminate fishing practices exposed by Greenpeace.
1988
1988: Following at sea actions, and submissions by Greenpeace, a world-wide ban on incinerating organochlorine waste at sea is agreed by the London Dumping Convention.
1985
1985: French nuclear testing in the South Pacific again becomes the subject of international controversy, particularly following the sinking of Greenpeace's ship, the Rainbow Warrior, by the French Secret Services.
1983
1983: The Parties to the London Dumping Convention call for a moratorium on radioactive waste dumping at sea. As a result of Greenpeace's repeated actions against ocean dumping, this is the first year since the end of the second world war where officially no radioactive wastes are dumped at sea.
1982
1982: After at sea actions against whalers, a whaling moratorium is adopted by the International Whaling Commission.
1982: EC bans import of seal pup skins in response to public criticism triggered by Greenpeace actions in Canada.
1978
1978: Greenpeace actions halt the grey seal slaughter in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
1975
1975: France ends atmospheric tests in the South Pacific after Greenpeace protests at the test site.
1972
1972: After the first Greenpeace action in 1971, the US abandons nuclear testing grounds at Amchitka Island, Alaska.
See also: Greenpeace Annual Reports