If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please get in touch. We aim to respond to all enquiries as soon as we can but we receive a huge number of emails every day, so your patience is appreciated.
The organisation
How can I contact Greenpeace?
Why does Greenpeace exist?
What does Greenpeace do?
How and where did the organisation start?
Where did the name Rainbow Warrior come from?
How does Greenpeace choose its campaigns?
Where does Greenpeace get its funding from?
How many supporters does Greenpeace have?
How is the organisation run?
Are you an animal welfare organisation?
How do I get to Canonbury Villas
Getting involved
How do I make a donation?
How can I volunteer for Greenpeace?
How do I get to work for Greenpeace?
What can I do to help if I am under 18 years old?
How do I leave a legacy to Greenpeace?
How can I take part in a direct action with Greenpeace?
I'm a student writing a report about an environmental problem. Can you fill in my questionnaire, attend an interview for my project or send me some information?
How can I live a greener life?
There's an environmental problem in my town. What can I do about it?
The website
Can I put a link on my website to Greenpeace?
Can I have a reciprocal link on the Greenpeace website?
I can't hear audio clips, see movies or open a report. What should I do?
Do I need permission to quote or reproduce an article from the website?
Where can I get technical help on using the Greenpeace site?
I can see a broken link or another problem with the website. Who do I tell?
What is your privacy policy?
How can I contact Greenpeace?
You can get in touch with us at:
Greenpeace, Canonbury Villas, London, N1 2PN
Tel: 020 7865 8100
Fax: 020 7865 8200
Email - general enquiries
Email - donations
We aim to respond to all enquiries as soon as we can but we receive a huge number of emails every day, so your patience is appreciated. It would help us enormously if you could check that the information you need isn't already on our website by using the search form and by reading these FAQs before you email us.
If you'd like to make a comment on any of our campaigns, you can comment on anything posted to the blog and ask questions about the issues raised - we can't promise to reply to every comment but we do read them all and we appreciate your feedback.
Why does Greenpeace exist?
Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action. The underlying goal of all our work is a green and peaceful world - an earth that is ecologically healthy and able to nurture life in all its diversity.
More about Greenpeace »
More about our vision »
What does Greenpeace do?
Greenpeace is an independent organisation campaigning to ensure a peaceful and sustainable world for future generations.
Greenpeace stands for positive change through action. We defend the natural world and promote peace. We investigate, expose and confront environmental abuse by governments and corporations around the world. We champion environmentally responsible and socially just solutions, including scientific and technical innovation.
More about what we do »
More about how we make change happen »
More about our impact »
How and where did the organisation start?
In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace, believed a few individuals could make a difference. Nowadays, Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide and a presence in 41 countries.
Where did the name Rainbow Warrior come from?
The name comes from the first voyage taken by a small team of activists to stop nuclear testing in Amchitka in 1971. Bob Hunter, one of the Greenpeace founders, had taken on board a small book of Native American myths and legends that contained some striking prophesies. The book had been given to him by an old wandering Native American who had told him it would "change his life" - something which prompted a bit of cynicism in the Canadian journalist, who tossed the book into a box and forgot about it.
But he stocked the fishing boat with reading material for the voyage, and one stormy evening, he read it. A chapter that particularly inspired Hunter related a story an old Cree Indian woman told to her great grandson. Just as they were being overthrown, The Cree Indian people foresaw a time when the white man's materialistic ways would strip the earth of its resources, but just before it was too late the Great Spirit of the Indians would return to resurrect the braves and teach the white man reverence for the earth. They would become known as the Warriors of the Rainbow.
The story circulated in Greenpeace for many years, and in 1978 our first ship, a rusting North Sea Trawler named the "Sir William Hardy" was rechristened "Rainbow Warrior."
More about the Rainbow Warrior »
More about the other ships in our fleet »
How does Greenpeace choose its campaigns?
We focus our campaigns based on those environmental abuses that most threaten the global environment. We use our lobbying and international outreach to investigate and expose the worst culprits while helping others to push for solutions. To maximise Greenpeace's impact, we campaign on very specific issues where we feel we can have the greatest effect. These issues are agreed by Greenpeace national offices at an annual meeting. To find out what we are working on at the moment please look at our what we do section.
Where does Greenpeace get its funding from?
To maintain absolute independence, we don't accept money from companies, governments or political parties. We're serious about that - we screen cheques, and actually send them back when they're drawn on a corporate account. We depend on the donations of individual supporters to carry on our campaigns for a greener, more peaceful world.
Our accounts are audited every year, and we publish Annual Reports so you can see exactly how much money we're given and how it gets spent.
If you'd like to become a supporter of Greenpeace and help fund our campaigns, please join us. Monthly donations from supporters are especially helpful as they allow us to predict what money we have available – but all donations enable us to continue our campaigns so, if you can, please join us today.
How many supporters does Greenpeace have?
We have 130,000 supporters in the UK and 2.8 million around the world. Through making donations, campaigning locally, taking non-violent direct action and taking action online, our supporters have played a pivotal role in every one of our campaign successes. If you want to support Greenpeace’s work for a green and peaceful world for future generations, find out how you can help »
How is the organisation run?
The Greenpeace organisation consists of Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council) in Amsterdam and Greenpeace offices in 41 countries around the world. Each office is governed by a board, which appoints a representative called a trustee.
In each office, trustees meet once a year to agree on the long-term strategy of the organisation, to make necessary changes to governance structure, to set a ceiling on spending, and to elect the Board of four members and a chairperson.
The Board approves the annual budget of Greenpeace and its audited accounts. It also appoints and supervises the Executive Director who, together with directors and senior managers, and consulting widely with office staff, leads the organisation.
The Chair of Board in the UK is Sue Cooper, and the Executive Director is John Sauven.
More about Greenpeace's global structure »
Are you an animal welfare organisation?
We campaign on a range of environmental and peace issues, but there are many that we don't campaign on, including animal welfare. If you're looking for information and campaigns on animal welfare, try these organisations:
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV)
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
League Against Cruel Sports (LACS)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA)
Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF)
How do I get to Canonbury Villas?
The Greenpeace office is located in Canonbury Villas, which is situated at an apex between Upper Street and Essex Road (map) in Islington, London.
Mainline trains: Kings Cross and Essex Road are the nearest mainline stations.
London underground: Angel (Northern line) and Highbury & Islington (Victoria line) are the nearest tubes, both within 10/15 minutes walking distance.
London buses: The 38, 56, 73 and 341 buses all stop at the South Library on Essex Road.
How do I make a donation?
Thank you for considering donating to Greenpeace. You can make a donation online via our secure server by direct debit or credit card. You can send a cheque or postal order to Greenpeace, Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN. Or, if you prefer, you can telephone our supporter services team on 0800 269065.
Your support will help us to end illegal and destructive logging of the world's ancient forests, defend the world's oceans by working for global marine reserves and continue to promote clean, efficient and renewable energy to help stop catastrophic climate change.
To make a donation online, just select whether you would like to donate regularly by direct debit or give a one off donation. Monthly donations are especially helpful as they allow us to predict what money we have available – but all donations enable us to continue our campaigns, so if you can please join us today.
How can I volunteer for Greenpeace?
Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Greenpeace. There are three ways in which you can help us deliver our campaigns through volunteering; by becoming an active supporter, by volunteering at our office in Islington, London, or by volunteering internationally.
As an active supporter you will join thousands of volunteers who deliver our campaigns across the country. Visit our Get Active site to find a group near you and start campaigning locally.
More about campaigning locally »
In our office, voluntary opportunities range from helping with administrative tasks, mail outs, data entry, data analysis, translations, design and editing, research projects, assisting with events coordination, painting, sewing, carpentry, and many more.
More about volunteering in our office »
If you're not based in the UK or are keen to travel, there are volunteering opportunities at our international offices – find out more here. Finally, there are also opportunities to volunteer on our ships.
How do I work for Greenpeace?
Greenpeace UK employs around 90 staff in its London office. If you're interested in working for us, have a look at the list of current positions we have open. You may wish to sign up to receive job alerts from us. Finally, you can get a sense of what it's like to work for Greenpeace by meeting some of our staff (online!). We also offer a small number of internships – these are also advertised on the current vacancies section of our website as and when they arise. Good luck!
More about working for Greenpeace »
More about Greenpeace internships »
What can I do to help if I am under 18 years old?
Unfortunately, to volunteer in our office, you need to be at least 18 years old. But there are plenty of other things you can do to help if you're under 18. You can sign up to join our cyber-activists and help lobby decision makers and power holders online. You can help spread the word about Greenpeace by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. If you have your own blog or website, you can hang a banner there.
You could also try joining a local Greenpeace group. For some of the group’s activities, you need to be at least 18 for legal reasons, but you may be able to help out in other ways, like running stalls, painting banners or leafleting. Please contact your local group and they'll let you know if there is anything you can do to help them out.
If your local group can't take you on board, it may be worth looking around at other environmental organisations also working for a greener world. People and Planet, for instance, do take on under 18’s.
How do I leave a legacy to Greenpeace?
Leaving a bequest to Greenpeace is a positive and effective way of leaving a legacy of a healthy, peaceful planet for future generations. It will honour your memory, perpetuate your ideals and serve for generations to come to protect this planet and all who call it home.
You can fill in our legacy form online, download our legacy factsheet or get in touch with Andrew Sturley on 0800 269 065 / Andrew.Sturley@greenpeace.org to ask any questions. Your support is vital to the work we do and we thank you for it.
How can I take part in a direct action with Greenpeace?
Nonviolent direct action is at the heart of our work. Direct action is about physically acting to stop an immediate environmental wrong at the scene of the crime. We act to confront those in positions of power with their responsibility for stopping global environmental abuse, to raise the level and quality of public debate and, above all, to provoke action from those with the power and responsibility to make change happen. Guiding all of our actions is our commitment to nonviolence and personal responsibility.
If you are committed to nonviolence and would like to take direct action with us, the best way to get started is to join a local group.
More about nonviolent direct actions »
I'm a student writing a report about an environmental problem. Can you fill in my questionnaire, attend an interview for my project or send me some information?
We get a lot of requests from students for help with reports about environmental issues. We wish we could help each of you individually, but we need to keep our staff focussed on winning campaigns. You can browse our website for information on:
Greenpeace as an organisation »
Our history »
Stopping climate change »
Protecting ancient forests »
Defending our oceans »
Working for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons »
How can I live a greener life?
There are many ways that all of us can step a little lighter on the Earth. These guides will give you tips on how to create a healthier environment for you and your family, as well as for the Earth:
Greenpeace USA's Green Guide »
The Green Guide »
Treehugger »
There's an environmental problem in my town. What can I do about it?
Greenpeace works on a global scale, with limited resources, and unfortunately we can’t address individual problems one by one. For local issues, we count on people like you who care and are willing to fight for what you believe. WriteToThem.com will tell you who your MP, MEPs and local councillors are, and allow you to write directly to them.
Can I put a link on my website to Greenpeace?
We love it when you link to us and help spread the word about our campaigns for a greener and more peaceful world, and you're very welcome to link to our website. We also have a range of banners in different shapes and sizes to fit most standard web pages. Please feel free to use them and help us promote our campaigns.
Find out what else you can do »
Can I have a reciprocal link on the Greenpeace website?
We don't maintain a large database of links on our site, as we prefer to invest our resources in action. If your link is highly relevant to one of our campaigns, we will consider using it in a campaign section, but can't promise anything. Please don't write to us if you are promoting a commercial product as an environmental solution, as we tend to endorse technology only on our own initiative.
I can't hear audio clips, see movies or open a report. What should I do?
Visit our plugins page for information on the free programs you need to view all of the movies, slide shows and documents on this site.
Do I need permission to quote or reproduce an article from the website?
Unless otherwise expressly stated, all writing published on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. That means you're welcome to reproduce articles and blog entries from the site but you need to acknowledge www.greenpeace.org.uk as the source.
Greenpeace reserves all rights to all other formats, including images. Images are only available for editorial use, with our express permission, due to copyright restrictions. To request an image, email us or phone us on 020 7865 8294.
Where can I get technical help on using the Greenpeace site?
Our site help page should give you all the help you need in using the website. You can also find out about our house rules (for commenting on the blog) and how to use RSS. If you still can't find what you're looking for, please contact us via our contact form.
I can see a broken link or another problem with the website. Who do I tell?
Please let us know via our contact form.
What is your privacy policy?
Greenpeace believes you have a fundamental right to privacy on the web, and we work to protect your security online as vigorously as possible. We have developed our privacy policy to help you understand how your personal information will be treated as you engage with us both on and off-line. Our policy reflects our duties under the Data Protection Act to use information fairly, keep it secure, make sure it is accurate, and keep it up to date.
