Greenpeace is an independent,campaigning organisation which uses nonviolent, creative confrontationto expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutionswhich are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace's goalis to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all itsdiversity.
How did Greenpeace get started?
In 1971, motivated bytheir vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activistsset sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat.
The founders of Greenpeace believed a few individuals could make adifference. Their mission was to "bear witness" to the USA'sunderground nuclear testing at Amchitka in one of the world's mostearthquake-prone regions.
A tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, Amchitka was the lastrefuge for 3000 endangered sea otters, and home to bald eagles,peregrine falcons and other wildlife.
Even though their old boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was interceptedbefore she got to Amchitka, the journey sparked a flurry of publicinterest. The US still detonated their bomb, but the voice of reasonhad been heard.
Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary.
Today, Greenpeace is a global organisation that gives priority tocampaigns that can be addressed on a global scale. Based in Amsterdam,Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national/regionaloffices in 41 countries.
You can find out more about our history, at our 30th Anniversary page.
If you want to read more, there areseveral good books about Greenpeace: "The Warriors of the Rainbow" byRobert Hunter, "Journey into the Bomb" by David McTaggart, and "TheGreenpeace Story" by John May and Michael Brown. They can often befound at used book and auction sites such as Ebay , Amazon and Powells.
Who founded Greenpeace?
There's an old joke around the organisation that in any bar inVancouver, Canada, you can find at least one person who claims to havefounded Greenpeace.
In truth, many talented folkscontributed to the creation of Greenpeace. Bill Darnell coined the namewhen someone flashed him a peace sign and he said "let's make that agreen peace!" Bob Hunter created the concept of the "Media Mind Bomb" -reaching the public consciousness through dramatic, camera-readyopposition to environmental crimes. Jim Bohlen, Paul Cote, and Irving Stowe were the founders of the "Don't Make a WaveCommittee," which organised the first Greenpeace action: a voyage to Amchitka Island in the Aleutians to try to stopa nuclear weapons test. David McTaggart convinced ahalf dozen loosely connected early groups to put aside theirdifferences and join in a single worldwide organisation, creatingGreenpeace International in 1979. Our main website contains lots more information about the founders of Greenpeace and our history and victories.
Where does the name Rainbow Warrior come from?
Bob Hunter, one of the founders of Greenpeace, tells a story in his book,Warriors of the Rainbow, about how this legend crossed his path.
On the first voyage of a Greenpeace ship, the Phyllis Cormack, Bobhad taken on board a small book of Indian myths and legends thatcontained some striking prophesies. The book itself had been given himby an old wandering native American who had told him the book would"change his life" -- something which prompted a bit of cynicism in theCanadian journalist, who tossed the book into a box and forgot aboutit. But he stocked the Phyllis Cormack with reading material for thevoyage, and one stormy evening he said the book literally jumped offthe shelf into his hands, and he read it.
A chapter that particularly inspired Hunter related a story an oldCree Indian woman, 'Eyes of Fire' told to her great grandson. Just asthey were being overthrown, The Cree Indian people foresaw a time whenthe white man's materialistic ways would strip the earth of itsresources, but just before it was too late the Great Spirit of theIndians would return to resurrect the braves and teach the white manreverence for the earth. They would become known as the Warriors of theRainbow.
The story circulated in Greenpeace formany years, and in 1978 our first ship, a rusting North Sea Trawlernamed the "Sir William Hardy" was rechristened "Rainbow Warrior."
How many supporters does Greenpeace have?
As of January,2007, 2.9 million had taken out or renewed their financial membershipwithin the last 18 months. Our financial supporters are the people whokeep our ships on the oceans and our campaigners in the field. Thereare also millions of people around the world who take action with usevery day as online activists or local groups, or as volunteers.
Where does Greenpeace get its funding from?
To maintain absolute independence Greenpeace does not accept money fromcompanies, governments or political parties. We're serious about that,and we screen for and actually send checks back when they're drawn on acorporate account. We depend on the donations of our supporters tocarry on our nonviolent campaigns to protect the environment.
Our books are audited every year, in every office around the world, and we publish our Annual Report on the web every year so you can see exactly how much money we're given and how it gets spent.
Where can I find the address of the Greenpeace office in my country?
There's a full list of countries where we have offices at our Worldwide Offices page. If there's no office in your country, you can write to supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org.
Why is there no Greenpeace office in my country?
It is just not possible for Greenpeace to have an office everywhere. Wereceive many requests every day to open offices all over the world.Like any other organisation Greenpeace has to work within a budget andwe have to make choices about what we do. Our campaign work is targetedagainst the greatest threats to the global environment.
You can help us in many ways even if there's no office in your country. Visit Get Involved! page to learn more about what you can do every day to help Greenpeace win campaigns for the environment.
I want to open a Greenpeace office. I want to represent Greenpeace in my country. What do I do?
Opening a new office, or appointing a representative in a country inwhich we do not have an office, is an organisation-wide decision whichhas to be agreed upon by our International Board and approved by ourinternational Annual General Meeting. Greenpeace does not adopt,incorporate or otherwise subsume existing organisations into itsstructure. Like every organisation, we have to work within our budget,and due to limited financial and human resources, we have to beselective in our decisions as to where to open new offices. Developmentor expansion is also subject to certain essential campaign criteria. Wewill only open a new office if this is in line with the strategicpriorities of the organisation. Greenpeace has recently established twooffices in Asia (in India and in Thailand). We are notplanning to open any further new offices in the near future.
The name "Greenpeace" is an internationally registered trademarkbelonging to Stichting Greenpeace Council in the Netherlands, andtherefore use of the name requires permission. Once a decision has beentaken to open a new office, Greenpeace International enters into alicensing agreement with the new office, allowing that office to usethe name Greenpeace. Use of this name is conditional upon fulfilling awhole range of obligations towards the international organisation.
We hope that you will not find thisdiscouraging, and that you and/or your organisation will continue inits aims to explore environmental issues further. You can helpGreenpeace in many ways - by volunteering your time or services to anexisting Greenpeace office, or by getting involved as an online activist or joining our forum. You'd be surprised how much help we can use, even when an office isn't nearby.
How is Greenpeace organised? Who runs Greenpeace?
The Greenpeace organisation consists of Greenpeace International(Stichting Greenpeace Council) in Amsterdam and Greenpeace officesaround the world. Greenpeace currently has a presence in 41 countries.Greenpeace national or regional offices are licensed to use the nameGreenpeace. Each office is governed by a board which appoints arepresentative (called a trustee).
Trustees meet once a year to agree on the long-term strategy of theorganisation, to make necessary changes to governance structure, to seta ceiling on spending for Greenpeace International's budget and toelect the International Board of four members and a chairperson.
Greenpeace International monitors the organisational development ofGreenpeace offices, oversees the development and maintenance of ourfleet of ships, coordinates planning and implemenation of our globalcampaigns, and monitors compliance with core policies.
The International Board approves the annual budget of GreenpeaceInternational and its audited accounts. It also appoints and supervisesthe International Executive Director who, together with seniormanagers, and consulting widely with national office staff, leads theorganisation.
Greenpeace does not solicit or accept funding from governments,corporations or political parties. Greenpeace neither seeks nor acceptsdonations which could compromise its independence, aims, objectives orintegrity. Greenpeace relies on the voluntary donations of individualsupporters, and on grant support from foundations.
Greenpeace is committed to the principles of non-violence, politicalindependence and internationalism. In exposing threats to theenvironment and in working to find solutions, Greenpeace has nopermanent allies or enemies.
To find out more about our Board and how Greenpeace makes decisions, visit our " How is Greenpeace Structured" page.