IMPACT REPORT 2010 Greenpeace takes action to defend the natural world and promote peace. We are lawyers, lobbyists, scientists, sailors, researchers and above all activists united by a common mission to protect our environment. Our effectiveness lies in our unique independence from government and corporate funding. This is only possible through the generous and incredibly appreciated support from individuals like you. There are various Greenpeace reports referenced in this publication. If you would like to receive a copy by post or email please contact Fiona Stewart on 020 7865 8197 or at fiona.stewart@greenpeace.org Design: paul@hellopaul.com Front cover: ©Rose/Greenpeace Welcome to our 2010 impact report. I hope you are inspired by the campaign successes we have achieved together over the past year. One of the key drivers behind our success is the strong global reach of Greenpeace. We have been able to achieve this by moving the resources and expertise from established offices like the UK to our teams campaigning in rapidly growing economies such as China, India, Brazil and Indonesia. Being able to connect these countries at the frontline of destruction with countries such as our own is what enables us to campaign so effectively for change. Throughout this year and next, supporting our campaigners who work at the heart of environmental problems in an increasingly globalised world will continue to be our priority. We must strengthen our global presence in order to protect the environment and promote solutions. We also continue to gain strength from our supporters. People like you, who make all our work possible, are truly at the heart of our organisation. Your support is essential in maintaining our independence from government and companies, giving us the ability to take action and campaign in the unique way that we do. Thank you for giving us this strength and I hope you will continue to stand with us. John Sauven INVESTIGATING EXPOSING LOBBYING `GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD NEED TO INVEST IN CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS THAT REDUCE OUR CARBON EMISSIONS AND END OUR ADDICTION TO OIL.' Leila Deen, climate campaigner CONFRONTING Climate campaigner Leila Deen explains why she and 34 other Greenpeace activists sailed to the pristine Arctic to take direct action against the oil industry. Drilling for oil beneath the Arctic seas is only possible between August and November, giving oil companies just four months each year to explore for oil. An oil spill in this remote and icy environment would be close to impossible to clean up. Yet this year, relatively unknown Scottish company, Cairn Energy ­ determined to discover the last drops of oil ­ aimed to drill at least two exploratory wells before the sea froze over for the winter. PREVENTING AN OIL RUSH We knew that if we could stop drilling ­ even for a short time ­ we could potentially ruin Cairn's chances of discovering oil and the Arctic would escape exploitation for another year. If the company struck oil, however, it would be an invitation for other oil companies to rush in, massively threatening this remote and delicate wilderness ­ home to blue whales, seals, sharks, kittiwakes and many other species. We had to confront them. So in August, we sailed our ship the Esperanza to Greenland to take direct action. After nine days of circling the Stena Don oil rig and waiting for the right moment, we saw our opportunity. We outmaneuvered Cairn's security and climbed onto the underside of the rig, successfully surviving the severe Arctic conditions and shutting down drilling operations for 40 hours. Days later, tired but exuberant, we heard that Cairn had failed, they had not struck oil. The Arctic was safe from oil drilling for now. But the only way to truly protect the Arctic and other remote locations from exploitation is to reduce our dependence on oil. The society we live in today relies on energy which for many people is synonymous with oil. But that simply is not true any more ­ we have a choice. We either let oil companies lock us in to increased carbon emissions and environmental damage or we go beyond oil to a clean energy future. I know which future I want. Main left: Energy company Cairn blasts icebergs that drift into its drilling area with giant hoses. ©Rose/Greenpeace Right: Activists on the Esperanza prepare to take direct action to stop oil drilling. ©Rose/Greenpeace WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? Greenpeace is working internationally to confront oil companies and governments that have plans for Arctic oil developments in Alaska, Russia and Greenland. Reducing our demand for oil is key to preventing oil companies from taking ever increasing risks to feed the world's addiction to oil. In Europe, we will be publicly confronting car companies that are lobbying against legislation on car emissions and pressuring them to make cars more efficient and help set us on the path to go beyond oil. EXPOSING `NESTLÉ HAD TWO WEAK SPOTS: A MUCH-LOVED BRAND AND INSUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF ITS SUPPLY CHAIN.' The Economist Forest campaigner Ian Duff explains how we convinced Nestlé to stop destroying rainforests and publicly commit to a progressive plan to protect forests. Greenpeace's two-year investigation revealed that Sinar Mas ­ a company known for appalling environmental and social practices ­ was clearing rainforests and draining carbon rich peatlands to create palm oil plantations. The company was violating people's land rights, destroying habitats, pushing endangered orangutans closer to extinction and releasing huge quantities of greenhouse gases every year. PARTNERS IN CRIME We traced the Sinar Mas supply chain directly to Nestlé and our investigations quickly transformed into a high-profile exposé. As we launched our report `Caught Red Handed', activists presented our findings at Nestlé headquarters and offices around the world, demanding that Nestlé stop destroying forests for palm oil. Meanwhile, over 1.5 million people around the world watched our spoof KitKat advert and Greenpeace supporters triggered an onslaught the company had never encountered before, with over 200,000 emails and hundreds of phonecalls. SWEET SUCCESS! Nestlé ­ a company notorious for not giving in to consumer pressure ­ agreed to all our demands within eight weeks. It cancelled its contracts with Sinar Mas and introduced a policy excluding companies linked to deforestation from its entire supply chain. It enlisted an independent NGO, The Forest Trust, to help implement the new policy. CHAIN REACTION Spurred on by success, we turned our attention to HSBC. Following subverted adverts threatening their brand and nearly 10,000 emails from Greenpeace supporters, HSBC announced it had sold its shares in Sinar Mas. Clearly feeling the threat of exposure, companies including Burger King, Mars, Marks & Spencer, Kraft, Sainsbury's, Shell and many more have since committed not to buy Sinar Mas palm oil, putting more pressure on them to stop rainforest destruction. WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? Already in 2011, Sinar Mas has committed to stop destroying forests and peatlands for palm oil as a result of our campaign. We will be making sure this policy is implemented and investigating how Indonesia's pulp and paper market ­ also dominated by Sinar Mas ­ continues to destroy rainforests. Only by convincing companies in Europe, the USA and China to cancel contracts can we reach our goal of zero deforestation in Indonesia's unique and biodiverse rainforests. INFLUENCING In May, the new government rejected plans for a third runway at Heathrow. Anna Jones from the climate team describes how Airplot became the climate victory story for 2010. Airplot was an incredible campaign to be involved with. Not just because we won, but because this small piece of land, slap bang in the middle of Heathrow's planned third runway, became the focus of such a vibrant and powerful climate movement. Over 91,000 people signed up to become beneficial owners of the airplot, showing just how strong opposition to airport expansion is in the UK. PLANTING THE SEED Our work in the run up to the general election was central to Airplot's success. Greenpeace campaigners, supporters and plot owners worked hard to ensure that by the time the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties came to power, they were firmly opposed to the runway. As more people signed up to become Airplotters, we persuaded David Cameron and Nick Clegg to have trees planted in their name in the airplot orchard, as a commitment to stopping Heathrow expansion. Nick Clegg even came along to plant his own tree. This ongoing and growing reminder of their opposition to airport expansion made a post-election change of heart very difficult. Airplot was part of a strong coalition against airport expansion. In April, a month before the election, Greenpeace and twelve other groups including local councils, other NGOs and residents' groups took the Labour government to court ­ and won. The judge ruled that the government's aviation policy was inconsistent with its own Climate Change Act and that the economic case for the runway expansion plan was flawed. This major victory ­ the first test of the Climate Change Act ­ means that any incoming government now knows that all new policies must take climate change into account. WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? Stopping aviation expansion goes hand in hand with developing a truly sustainable transport policy. We will be challenging the government, oil industry and car and transport sectors to go beyond oil. We need to build a clean energy future for the UK, instead of chasing the last drops of oil to feed an unsustainable transport system. First right: Climate victory in the Royal Courts of Justice. ©Cobb/Greenpeace Second right: Nick Clegg plants his opposition to airport expansion. ©Couchman/Greenpeace Main right: Airplotters present the new government with the legal Deed of Trust containing names of 91,317 plot owners. ©Cobb/Greenpeace 7 `THE AIRPLOT FIELD WILL LONG STAND IN THE MEMORY AS THE LITTLE PIECE OF LAND THAT HELPED SAVE THE VILLAGE OF SIPSON, MILLIONS OF TONNES OF CO2, AND OUTFLANKED AN ENTIRE GOVERNMENT.' PR Week `LONG TERM ENERGY SECURITY MUST COME FROM LOWERING OIL DEMAND, NOT SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL IN FRAGILE HABITATS AND TREACHEROUS SEAS.' John Sauven, executive director INTERVENING Vicky Wyatt from the climate team tells us why Greenpeace has taken legal action to stop the government from issuing oil companies with new drilling licences in UK waters. In April 2010, BP's disaster in the Gulf of Mexico brought to the world's attention the huge risks that the oil industry is willing to take to pursue the last drops of oil. However, before we could truly learn from the mistakes made in the Gulf, by September the UK government had granted energy company Chevron the go-ahead to drill for oil in the deep ocean to the west of the Shetland Islands. The area is home to protected bird species as well as whales, dolphins and ancient sea corals. All of these would be devastated by a major spill. We are taking the government to court because it cannot legally grant new oil licences without understanding the causes of the explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, without assessing the risks of it happening again and without properly assessing the impacts a spill could have on wildlife. To do so is reckless and irresponsible. Chevron itself admitted that drilling in these waters could result in a spill worse than BP's. It also released an environmental statement claiming that marine animals' `good swimming abilities' would enable them to avoid the polluted waters of an oil spill. The government should have challenged such absurd statements, which is why we took action to intervene. GOOD TRACK RECORD We have defeated the government in court before and our lawyers are confident that the evidence we have prepared is strong enough to secure another victory. Our case is simple: granting licenses without carrying out a proper assessment is illegal. WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? The High Court has given Greenpeace permission to proceed with our Judicial Review in 2011­ a date for the hearing will be fixed in the near future. If the High Court upholds our challenge, the government will be unable to grant licences for deep sea drilling without a thorough environmental assessment of the risks to protected areas and species. 10 `IT'S CALLED A SUPPLY CHAIN FOR A REASON: THERE ARE A LOT OF LINKS ­ RANCHERS, SLAUGHTERHOUSES, TANNERIES... GREENPEACE EFFECTIVELY BROUGHT A COALITION OF PRESSURE AGAINST EVERY LINK IN THE CHAIN SIMULTANEOUSLY.' Jeff Swarz, President and CEO of Timberland TRANSFORMING Paulo Adario leads our forest campaign in the Amazon. Here he updates us on how, thanks to Greenpeace's determined and longstanding work, deforestation is lower than any other time on record. It is such a pleasure to be able to report great news directly to our supporters from here in the Amazon ­ according to Brazilian Environmental Agency statistics, forest destruction is down to its lowest level since satellite monitoring began in 1988. And it is without a doubt that Greenpeace's continuous presence here for the past 15 years has been crucial to this success. But even with this great achievement, nearly 7,000km2 of forest was destroyed between 2009 and 2010 and this is still too much. HOW TO PROTECT A FOREST This amazingly biodiverse area covers five percent of the Earth's surface and is vital for regulating the world's climate. But it is partly the size of the region that has made it so difficult to protect. A lack of monitoring had made it easy for industry to ignore Brazil's forest protection laws, expanding its farms and profiting from forest destruction. Greenpeace's work has transformed the region. Building on previous work in countries like the UK that use soya and leather products, in 2010, we worked in four main areas crucial to stopping deforestation: g Working with local communities: We helped develop land use maps and pressured farmers to register their land to enable reliable monitoring of deforestation. g Field investigations: We documented and reported farmers who were ignoring agreements and continuing to destroy the Amazon for cattle ranching and soya. g Political lobbying: Over 90,000 Greenpeace supporters emailed the Brazilian government to demand that it upholds its forest protection laws. g Working with industry: We formed beef and leather working groups, with companies, local government and NGOs to develop forest protection strategies. These are all positive steps towards our ultimate goal of zero deforestation. As a direct result of our work, more and more companies and consumers want to know the products they buy are not causing forest destruction. Soya and cattle companies working in the Amazon must now prove they are not destroying forests or they will lose their customers. WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? The Amazon is still under threat. During 2011 we must continue to work with politicians and companies to ensure that forest protection laws are strengthened and work within the rainforest to expose the culprits who are driving deforestation. The soya sector is under control for now, but the cattle industry is still the biggest offender. We will continue to hold companies that buy Amazonian products to their word, making sure they can prove they are not linked to deforestation. INVESTIGATING Toxic chemicals from industry are making nearly half of China's water unsafe for human contact. Yifang Li, based in our Beijing office, explains why this is a global problem. Water pollution is one of China's most severe environmental problems ­ one in four people here drink unsafe water. Toxic chemicals, many of which are banned in the EU and other countries, are still used for manufacturing in China and contribute significantly to this pollution. A major culprit is our growing textile industry. Clothing is one of China's leading exports and global demand for cheap clothes is driving this damage. Greenpeace launched an investigation into the use and effect of toxic chemicals in two manufacturing towns: Xintang, the `Jeans Capital of the World' and Gurao, where underwear and clothing manufacturing makes up 80 percent of its economy. We sent water and sediment from local rivers for independent analysis and found toxic metals in 17 out of the 21 samples. Cadmium, one of the metals found, exceeded China's national limits by 128 times in one sample. The results of these investigations were released in our special report, `Intimate Pollution'. IMMEDIATE IMPACT Greenpeace is the only NGO working to uncover and document evidence linking clothing manufacturing to water pollution and our findings caused uproar in both the Chinese and international media. As a direct result of China's national television coverage of the story, Xintang's local government publicly committed to `zero tolerance', meaning tighter regulations and an investigation into polluting factories. Greenpeace's work has forced one local government to take some initial progressive steps, but as China's industry and exports increase rapidly, so does water contamination with its severe ecological impacts and threat to human life. We still have a long way to go. As we are not able to fundraise here in mainland China, our progress so far has only been possible because of generous donations from supporters in Europe and the USA. Thank you. WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? Water pollution in China, driven by the West's demand for cheap goods is a serious global problem. In 2011, we will be investigating links between high street brands across the world and pollution in China's Pearl and Yangtze rivers. We need to make sure retailers become accountable for their supply chains. LOBBYING Good news! Areas of the Indian and Pacific oceans are now protected from the fishing industry. Willie Mackenzie from the oceans team tells us why this is such a positive step. Most of the tuna eaten in Europe comes from the Indian and Pacific oceans where destructive fishing is widespread. Yet when picking up a sandwich or a tin of tuna most people do not see the true cost of fishing. Fishing fleets from places as far away as the EU, Japan and China chase tuna fish in these tropical waters, but indiscriminate fishing methods do not just catch tuna. Other species like sharks and turtles, caught as unwanted bycatch, are thrown back into the ocean either dead or dying. Overfishing and illegal fishing are also rampant and the surrounding nations reap very little financial reward for this plundering of their seas. Greenpeace has been actively working in the Pacific for many years now, both at sea onboard our ships, and on land helping Pacific Islanders get a fair deal for their fish. We have been lobbying for the creation of large scale marine reserves ­ areas at sea where important marine life and fish populations are protected and destructive fishing is banned. PACIFIC PROGRESS This year our work paid off and eight Pacific Island nations agreed to protect an area of ocean the size of India from destructive fishing. All eight nations have agreed to decrease their own fishing efforts by thirty percent and ban fisheries that use purse seine nets ­ a particularly damaging fishing method ­ to protect dwindling populations of yellowfin and bigeye tuna. MORE GOOD NEWS And there was more success in the Indian ocean. In the largest ocean conservation move ever, the UK government created the world's largest fully protected marine reserve in the waters around the Chagos Archipelago. This unique area is twice the size of the UK, home to over 200 species of coral and marine life including whale sharks, turtles, clownfish, and is as important to biodiversity as the Great Barrier Reef. 17 WHAT NEXT FOR 2011? Already in 2011 we have had a major victory as supermarket Tesco and tuna brand Princes committed to completely clean up their fishing method policies. As the year continues, we will be working with retailers around the world to make sure they support protection of the Pacific Commons and the creation of marine reserves. Retailers and suppliers must demand to know how their fish is caught and end the market for fish caught by destructive methods. Forest protection was our theme at the 40th Glastonbury festival in 2010. Our mock HSBC cashpoints around the site exposed the bank's links to rainforest destruction to thousands of festival goers. In our very own Greenpeace field we featured a forest friendly, FSC-certified skate ramp, a giant tree-shaped climbing wall and rainforest themed solar-powered showers, which generated a seemingly endless queue of festival goers keen to stay clean. All of this is only made possible by the hundreds of volunteers who help us each year. Glastonbury has played an important role in Greenpeace's work since the early nineties. The festival's founder, Michael Eavis, is one of our most generous financial supporters, and helps us to connect with the thousands of people who enjoy the festival every year. The festival is also watched around the world, so our vision for a green and peaceful world goes out to a global audience. Helping to bring the festival to life for many people who could not attend, was one of Britain's leading artists and long-time Greenpeace supporter Kurt Jackson. Kurt donated his amazing series of paintings and sketches of scenes around the festival to Greenpeace, we exhibited them in an open gallery on London's South Bank, and then raised an incredible £68,000 at our auction. These generous donations, along with every other donation we receive, turn our campaigns from ideas into actions.