How does Greenpeace work?
Greenpeace has a unique presence around the world. Our strength lies in the determination among our activists and supporters and in our ability to operate globally.

The crew on the vessel Phyllis Cormack
on their way to the Pacific to protest
against nuclear testing.

Greenpeace was founded in 1971 in Vancouver, Canada. At this time, USA carried out nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean off the Alaskan coast. Twelve activists from Vancouver decided to protest against this. By going by boat to the test area, they tried to prevent further testing. They didn't get there in time, but the trip received a lot of attention. This became the foundation of the world-wide organisation that Greenpeace is today.

Greenpeace is a religiously and politically independent environmental organization that is active all over the world. There are today offices in nearly 30 countries and we have more than 2 500 000 supporting members world-wide.

Greenpeace opened offices in Sweden in 1983, in Denmark 1982, in Norway in 1988 and in Finland in 1989. In may 1998 Sweden, Norway and Finland formed Greenpeace Nordic, with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. In March 1999 Denmark joined. We have about 30 persons employed and a total of 100 000 members in the four countries.

Methods and structure
For more than 25 years, Greenpeace has relentlessly fought against environmental pollution and misuse of the earth's resources. Television and newspapers continuously cover actions where activists in rubber dinghies use their own bodies to stop nuclear tests, whale hunters' harpoons or barrels of toxic waste being dumped into the ocean. The direct and non-violent actions have not only led to pictures in the media - this has also resulted in pollution being stopped or forbidden, ex. the banning of the dumping of radioactive waste at sea, the burning of hazardous waste at sea, the export of polluted waste to poor countries and so on. CFC-free refrigerators and freezers have entered the market since Greenpeace developed the Greenfreeze technology, and large companies like IKEA have been assisted by Greenpeace in their effort to make their business environmentally friendly.
The list of good results can be made very long. Greenpeace, has by its way of operating, made many environmental problems known to the public.


PICTURE OF US, Staff at the Nordic Greenpeace office