Skip navigation.

Planning your campaign

3 June 2007: Around 400 people from all over New South Wales gathered at Anvil Hill in the NSW Hunter Valley to form a huge human sign reading "Save Anvil Hill". Anvil Hill, site of a proposed coal mine, will produce an extra 27 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide each year - equal to four million more cars on New South Wales roads.

In 2007, around 500 people from all over New South Wales gathered at Anvil Hill in the NSW Hunter Valley to stop a proposed coal mine.

Enlarge image

Sometimes the problems we face seem too big for us to solve. But planning can empower you and make all the difference.

By planning a campaign, you can work out what you can change and how. It helps you set and take small steps on the way to your bigger goals.

At Greenpeace we treat campaigns as a journey. Plans are our guide to the route ahead in a dynamic and changing world. They also set out some of the obstacles we might face and how to overcome them.

Why plan?


  • Knowing exactly what you want makes it easier to get it.
  • Planning reduces the chances of a nasty surprise as the campaign develops.
  • You'll avoid the disappointment of working on something you can't win.
  • If you don't plan you can waste time or money on the wrong things.
  • You can be sure you are trying to influence the right people in the right way at the right time.

Planning stages


  1. Research your campaign. Identify the problem and map the context for your campaign.
  2. Find solutions to the problem. Set goals and objectives so you can create winnable targets throughout the campaign journey.
  3. Choose the right strategy.
  4. Raise finance for your campaign
  5. Did it work? Evaluate your campaign.

More information

Anyone Can

A Queensland Conservation Council publication describing basic steps to starting an environmental group and running a campaign.
AddThis Feed Button