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In 1971, when a small team of activists set sail to protest against nuclear testing near Alaska, the independent organisation Greenpeace was formed. Over the subsequent four decades, the activist group has campaigned for environmental issues across the globe, the name becoming synonymous with large-scale action against some of the world's largest corporations, raising the profile of issues that may otherwise evade public consciousness.
Greenpeace's targets are wide-ranging. Early campaigns were aimed at the international whaling community and the organisation helped achieve a worldwide ban for commercial practice for signatories. It has also taken on major corporations and brands on issues such as deforestation, pollution, ocean welfare and more.
The campaigns have had varying degrees of success, with some companies promising to make sweeping changes while others remain resolute in their current practices despite the pressure from Greenpeace. We take a look at five of the most high-profile, innovative campaigns that Greenpeace has launched, and the results.
Lego and Shell
As part of its Save the Arctic campaign, Greenpeace's most recent action has targeted Lego over its partnership with oil corporation, Shell, which continues to drill in the Arctic.
The campaign has been high-profile, starting with an animated Lego-style video, coming in the wake of the hugely popular Lego Movie. The initial video, which featured a Lego Arctic paradise being slowly flooded with oil, has already notched up more than 5m YouTube views since it was uploaded last month.
The campaign has not registered any official success so far. Shell has reaffirmed its commitment to the Arctic as an oil resource and Lego remains unrepentant over its involvement with Shell, and vows to continue the partnership.
Gazprom
In another well-documented action as part of the Save the Arctic Campaign, Greenpeace is targeting Russian energy provider, Gazprom. The peaceful protest in September 2013 outside the new Arctic Prirazlomnaya oil rig, which Greenpeace believes to be unprepared for an oil spill, resulted in the arrest of 30 members, dubbed the 'Arctic 30', as Russian soldiers stormed the group's vessel. Those arrested were eventually released after over two months in prison.
As part of the campaign, Greenpeace also made its presence felt at sporting events. As principal sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, Gazprom were targeted at high-profile football matches. At Shalke 04's (also sponsored by Gazprom) match against Basle, a giant Greenpeace banner was lowered from the roof of the stand, stating 'Gazprom: Don't foul the Arctic'. A "Show Gazprom the red card" banner was also used during a Real Madrid press-conference, surprising the manager and players of the Spanish club.
As it stands, over five million people have signed up, with Greenpeace within touching distance of the six million signature goal for the petition. The action against Gazprom is ongoing, with the company taking no action regarding the accusations to date.
Volkswagen
In response to a successful Volkswagen commercial campaign featuring a small Darth Vader, Greenpeace adopted a Star Wars theme as it campaigned to make VW reduce its CO2 emissions and stop its lobbying against climate change law in Europe.
In addition to an Episode I and II video campaign, Greenpeace organised a protest that saw stormtroopers take to the streets of London and Berlin.
The campaign was a successful one for Greenpeace, with over 520,000 people signing the petition against VW. Following the action, the car company signed-up to meet EU laws by 2020, legislation it had previously been lobbying against.
Fashion detox
Greenpeace opted for a different tack in its action against fashion brands such as Burberry and Primark, trying to push them into a commitment against hazardous chemicals.
It organised a three-day "social media storm", which involved more than 10,000 tweets being sent to Burberry, as well as concerted action through Facebook and Instagram. This worked in tandem with high-street action, which saw volunteers in six countries campaigning outside Burberry stores.
The desired effect was achieved, with Burberry committing to rid its manufacturing process of toxic, perflourinated chemicals by 2020, as well as increasing supply chain transparency. Primark made the same pledge two weeks later.
Sports and fashion brand Adidas also made the 2020 pledge after Greenpeace published a report on toxic chemicals in Fifa World Cup merchandise, along with 18 leading brands such as H&M and Zara.
Asia Paper and Pulp (APP)
Greenpeace ran a campaign against paper and packaging giant, APP, by targeting the companies that were buying from it. One of the most high-profile actions against toy manufacturer Mattel focused on Barbie.
The campaign included a video featuring Barbie's long-term boyfriend Ken dumping her when he discovered she was involved in deforestation. The break-up played out across social media channels, ultimately causing Barbie's official Facebook page to be closed to comments. There was also a treasure hunt for "chainsaw Barbie" around the UK. After the campaign, Mattel promised to remove rainforest-sourced paper from their supply chain, with Greenpeace claiming the move as a victory.
The same result was achieved when Greenpeace turned its attention to KFC UK, whose parent company Yum stopped sourcing paper products from APP.
Nine months into the Greenpeace action, in February 2013, APP announced a forest conservation policy that included a moratorium on all further forest clearance by all APP's Indonesian suppliers. As a result Greenpeace suspended action against APP indefinitely.
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