About us
Greenpeace is a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green, just, and joyful future.
Our work
The fight to save the planet and everyone who calls it home is at a tipping point. The devastating impacts of climate change, an extractivist, racist, and inequitable socioeconomic system, the destruction of ecosystems by greed-fueled corporations and governments, and the deterioration of our oceans grow more dire by the minute. The time for gradual change has passed. What we need is a transformational change — and the stakes are too high to wait.
Our vision
Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, safeguard our planet for future generations, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people over profits.
How we win
- We bear witness to environmental destruction in a peaceful, non-violent manner
- We use non-violent confrontation to draw attention to and hold those in power accountable for their abuses of the planet and its people
- We conduct cutting-edge science and research to back our push for bold, fact-based solutions
- We remain a 100% independent, nonpartisan organization and accept no financial support from corporations or governments
Our history
In 1971, a handful of determined activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada in an old fishing vessel called the Phyllis Cormack. Their mission: to protest nuclear testing by the US military at Amchitka, a tiny volcanic island off western Alaska. Despite being intercepted by the US Coast Guard, their bravery brought worldwide attention to the dangers of nuclear testing. These activists and those who supported them started the movement that Greenpeace is today.
We are willing to go to the ends of the earth to safeguard our planet for generations to come. Our committed activists and supporters have come together to ban commercial whaling, stop nuclear testing, protect the Arctic, pass the Global Oceans Treaty — the strongest climate treaty in history — and so much more.
Our commitment to environmental justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
Greenpeace challenges the systems of power and privilege that destroy the environment and place disproportionate burdens on the most marginalized communities. Environmental justice requires that we incorporate racial and socioeconomic justice into the way we fight for the protection of our planet. We know that building a peaceful, sustainable future for all requires a diverse, people-powered force that centers those most impacted and marginalized to ensure no one gets left behind.
We welcome, value, and rely on a diversity of people, cultural experiences, and perspectives. We learn from one another. Through our campaigning, we create solutions that promote environmental sustainability rooted in justice.