Participants

Participating Organisations

In this year’s Green Action Week, we have organisations participating from around the world. Below we list a few.

Water

Asociación Peruana de Consumidores y Usuarios (ASPEC)

To promote consumer awareness and educate individuals about the significance of healthy, ecological, and responsible food consumption, ASPEC is encouraging urban residents in Lima to transform their rooftops into productive spaces for growing food. Families will receive comprehensive support during the assessment and planning stages, along with guidance on ecologically sound crop cultivation techniques. Additionally, this initiative aims to foster a sense of community among neighbourhoods, where individuals can share their experiences, socialise, and collectively enhance the knowledge and skills of the entire community

Associação para Defesa do Consumidor (ADECO)

ADECO’s campaign will construct a biogas digester in the Ribeira de Calhau community and raise awareness in the broader Cape Verde population of the ecological and economic benefits of using this technology. These include the capturing of methane gas emissions, provision of renewable energy, production of biofertilisers and the elimination of soil and air pollution from animal waste. The digester will enable local animal breeders to share their animals’ organic waste with a group of women who will produce biogas to cook food. The effluent will be shared with farmers as a biofertiliser. The campaign aims to reduce reliance on firewood for cooking and lower dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Centro Ecologico

Centro Ecológico, working with partner organisations, will use its campaign to stimulate the culture of ‘sharing’ with a range of stakeholders. Campaign activities will aim to grow understanding of the principles set out in the Earth Charter with educators and learners; asking children and youth to present their problems and suggested solutions using photography and video; and supporting exchanges between schools to support peer knowledge exchange. In addition, activities will focus on sharing information on how to cook with unconventional food plants and on raising awareness of food loss and waste. Activities will also raise awareness of the plight of homeless animals through the release of an e-book and hosting of an exhibition on animal protection.

Consumer Unity &
Trust Society (CUTS)

CUTS will focus Green Action Week campaign activities on the challenge of single-use plastics and other waste – such as organic kitchen waste – generated at the household level. It will organise trainings on how to make the ‘best out of waste’. Campaign activities will include raising consumer awareness about the negative impacts of consumption and the need for sustainable consumption while showcasing good practices. It will host capacity-building workshops and the formation of a local platform that can continue to promote the use of reusable bags and other alternatives to plastic products. It will also distribute seed kits, organic compost and gardening implements to support the recycling of kitchen waste into compost.

Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC)

CERC will focus its campaign activities on promoting solutions to nutritional insecurity and waste. It will create a platform between resident communities and marginalised urban dwellers to share lost and forgotten traditional millet recipes in support of the International Year of Millets. This will take the form of a fair that will bring together tribal women’s groups, dieticians, chefs and hoteliers, among others, to share information and knowledge. Millet is both a nutritious and climate-resilient grain and its revived planting and use will help to boost food security. The fair will also focus on promoting the exchange of pre-loved items to promote uptake of a circular economy and the minimisation of waste by repairing and reusing products before they are disposed of.

Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP)

CAP will focus its Green Action Week activities on raising awareness of the farmers’ seed system, which enshrines seed saving and sharing. Industrial agriculture and the push for commercial seeds in Malaysia have eroded seed diversity, agrobiodiversity and the farmers’ seed system. The aim of CAP’s campaign is to ‘mainstream’ the farmers’ seed system by raising awareness of local and indigenous varieties through a seed fair and children’s art competition on seeds. CAP will also host a public webinar to highlight to consumers the negative impacts of modern biotechnology and seed commercialisation. It will also advocate for policies that guarantee the collective rights to share seeds. These activities will build on the work undertaken by the seed-sharing network that CAP established in 2018.

Educar Consumidores

Educar Consumidores’ Green Action Week campaign will focus on the recovery and promotion of traditional gastronomy to promote healthy eating in the city of Armenia in Quindío. Campaign activities include reflecting with cooks working in the market square about the preparation and use of ultra-processed products with harmful additives and the negative effects on human health. The aim is to make sure that meals served in the square are healthy and made in a safe way, are made from local ingredients and that they reflect traditional gastronomy. The campaign will build on previous work related to nutrition and safe food preparation undertaken by Educar Consumidores in the region.

Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC)

IDEC will focus its campaign on strengthening its communications strategy and extending its reach to wider networks to support the sharing of good practices related to sustainable consumption. It will establish a node for Green Action Week in Brazil. This campaign also serves to revitalise civic space, which is increasingly constrained in Brazil. Through the campaign, IDEC will focus on enabling accessible technologies, solutions and/or practices among communities – improving their lives and elevating their voices, including at the policy level. IDEC will identify inspiring community-level initiatives that aim to change consumption habits and strengthen their sense of community and ability to scale up and out to other locations. This will also help tackle social inequalities, especially regarding race, ethnicity and gender.

Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG)

MASIPAG’s Green Action Week campaign will raise awareness and create exchange platforms for campaigns related to food sovereignty and sustainable food systems. It will also enhance the capacity of rural communities regarding sustainable food production, local processing and marketing. It will focus communication activities on the general public raising awareness of key challenges and threats faced by farmers due to the liberalisation of agriculture, the promotion of conventional farming practices and the corporatisation of the food and farming systems. Campaign activities will focus on information and education sessions, including online discussions, forums and farmers’ markets, as well as capacity building for farmers through community-based training. This will support farmers in sharing their knowledge of traditional cultural practices related to livestock health and nutrition and intensification, diversification and integration on farms.

Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda

PELUM Uganda will focus its campaign on encouraging the recovery and use of traditional and wild foods and knowledge related to neglected and underutilized plant species. These plants have adapted to local conditions and require fewer external (and economic) inputs than conventional crops. They can also often thrive in marginal areas and they thus play a key role in climate change adaptation strategies. In addition, they are highly nutritious. PELUM Uganda will work with farmers and learners at local schools and host a fair showcasing these plants along the value chain. Farmers will demonstrate how to use the functional parts of the plant for medicine, food and juices. Seed sharing and exchange will be encouraged. These activities will be widely publicised to raise general consumer awareness of the value of these plants, and the importance of preserving local agrobiodiversity.

Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI)

SAFCEI will support six actions in five focus countries – Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – to share knowledge on issues related to sustainable consumption. This will support faith organisations in understanding how they can contribute to sustainable living. Campaign activities in Tanzania include a waste reduction project that will raise awareness of the importance of reducing waste, recycling and composting, conducting campaigns in local schools and markets, providing waste management training for community members and establishing waste collection points. In Malawi, the focus will be on enabling the community to understand their shared responsibility to save the forest through an energy-saving project. And in Zambia, the campaign will focus on developing nurseries to support forest restoration. Activities in South Africa and Zimbabwe support sharing of seeds and technical knowledge related to growing indigenous crops.

Togolese Association of Consumers (ATC)

SAFCEI will support six actions in five focus countries – Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – to share ATC will use its campaign to promote sustainable local consumption in Togo by raising awareness of the importance of supporting local producers and traders, while adopting environmentally friendly consumption practices. This will help to reduce Togo’s carbon footprint, support the growth of the local economy and preserve biodiversity. The campaign will provide information and practical resources to encourage shifts in consumption behaviour through the hosting of capacity building and awareness raising sessions for producers, consumers and other key stakeholders. A one-day market for local organic produce will be held to showcase local producers. Broader awareness will be generated through radio programmes and videos, posters and banners. knowledge on issues related to sustainable consumption. This will support faith organisations in understanding how they can contribute to sustainable living. Campaign activities in Tanzania include a waste reduction project that will raise awareness of the importance of reducing waste, recycling and composting, conducting campaigns in local schools and markets, providing waste management training for community members and establishing waste collection points. In Malawi, the focus will be on enabling the community to understand their shared responsibility to save the forest through an energy-saving project. And in Zambia, the campaign will focus on developing nurseries to support forest restoration. Activities in South Africa and Zimbabwe support sharing of seeds and technical knowledge related to growing indigenous crops.

Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights (ADDC-Wadata)

ADDC will promote the production and consumption of legumes, highlighting their nutritional benefits and their contribution to sustainable food systems and to bringing about a world free from hunger. Local legumes, such as voandzou, amaranth and local squashes, are increasingly being abandoned, despite their high nutritional content, in favour of modern varieties. This is because of lack of knowledge as to their nutritional qualities and sometimes lack of availability in the markets. The campaign will host a public conference to promote these valuable legumes, publish a list of forgotten legumes and describe the nutritional content of at least 10 of them, as well as producing technical production sheets.

Association Burundaise des Consommateurs (ABUCO – TI)

ABUCO will use its campaign to tackle the problem of non-biodegradable plastic waste that often ends up in Lake Tanganyika. This threatens the biodiversity of life in and around the lake and also poses a risk to human health. Campaign activities will empower communities in the fight against the use of non-biodegradable packaging while also encouraging the manufacture of biodegradable packaging in the country. Communities will collect plastic packaging during the campaign disposing of it in a designated space. The campaign will work with media to produce and broadcast commercials and reports to raise awareness of their actions. ABUCO will also work with religious groups to sensitise consumers to the campaign and invite them to participate in campaign activities.

Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG)

CAG will use its campaign to assess consumers’ understanding of plastics in a selected community, educate them about the harmful effects of single-use plastics and motivate them to rather reduce their usage and reuse where they can. This will include sharing of resources as well. Campaign activities include undertaking a survey and developing communication materials like flyers, videos and a street play to raise awareness. Competitions focused on the topic of plastic will also be held for learners at a local school. CAG will ‘surprise’ shoppers by visiting selected stores and giving gifts to those carrying reusable bags. The campaign aims to target about 4 000 people in this way.

Consumer Council of Fiji (CCF)

CCF is focusing its Green Action Week campaign on climate change, which has significant negative implications for the country as low-lying areas are already seeing the effects of sea-level rise. The population is highly dependent on a healthy natural resource base. The campaign will work on the Beyond Oil project to encourage communities to save on energy consumption and to work together to advocate for a transition to clean energy sources. Campaign activities will explore ways and methods in which consumers could be educated to minimise their dependence on energy. CCF will work with other nongovernmental organisations and the Department of Energy to collect and disseminate relevant information in useful formats for different stakeholder groups.

Consumer Lebanon Association (CL)

CL will focus its Green Action Week campaign on the theme: ‘Let’s save food, let’s save lives!’. CL will work with stakeholders in the food industry, retailers and restaurants linking them to associations and initiatives that work to support families in need. The aim is to identify sustainable and practical ways of developing a pilot project that prevents food waste by diverting safe waste to those who need it. This embodies the notion of a sharing community. CL will develop initiatives, processes and agreements as part of campaign activities to help prevent food waste culminating in a workshop with all stakeholders. The campaigns have both positive social and environmental outcomes.

Consumidores Argentinos

Consumidores Argentinos will use its Green Action Week campaign to support the theme of ‘Recycle – Promote social economy – Promote healthy food’. The campaign will encourage the emergence of a circular economy systems starting with community kitchens and local pantry food centres and health stores with local women and agroecological farmers. Women will learn how to cook and recycle their food waste in compost bins and then exchange the compost for organic food from the farmers and in turn prepare dishes for the canteens and food vendors. The campaign will enhance support for agroecological farming – done without agrochemicals – and draw women into the marketplace as suppliers of organic dishes, which, in turn, increases access to nutritious, chemical-free food.

Envirocare

Envirocare’s campaign focuses on establishing a sharing community that will bridge the knowledge gap between elders and youth regarding local seeds and traditional foods. This gap is limiting the preservation and use of local seed knowledge, leading to a decline in traditional farming practices and crop diversity. It is also discouraging adoption of genetically modified seeds that pose risks to human and ecological health. Campaign activities will focus on hosting a knowledge-sharing workshop, community dialogue and inter generational learning exchanges. The campaign will also document and record local seed knowledge, creating a local online platform that is accessible to all community members. The goal is to support sustainable agriculture practices, enhance biodiversity conservation and contribute to the long-term health of Tanzania’s food and farming systems.

Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD)

ISD will use its campaign to work with the Degan community in South Wollo, displaced people who have moved there, and other stakeholders to promote the idea of sharing community. The campaign will host a presentation and panel discussion on the importance of agroforestry and biodiversity in the area and adaptation measures to build resilience to climate change. It aims to reduce deforestation through the cutting of trees for firewood and pollution, particularly in local rivers. It will also organise a field trip to illustrate how agroforestry works. A second focus area is on revitalising local community social values and traditions by organising events for sharing food and clothing with displaced people. In addition, a local committee will be established to sustain the practice of environmental sanitation.

Movement For Consumer Protection (MCP)

MCP’s campaign will promote sustainable consumption and production to bring about a change in attitudes towards consumer goods, production processes and mutual economic relations. It will raise awareness through e-newsletters, a website and media releases about the role of consumers in bringing about sustainable consumption. Activities will focus on hosting a workshop on the role of consumers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to consumption and production and dialogue will be established with policymakers on sustainable consumption. MCP will also publish a manual aimed at learners on shopping, family planning and personal budgeting and so on and will activate the manual at a workshop at the elementary school.

Regrouping for the Defence of Consumers of Mali (REDECOMA)

REDECOMA will work to sensitise and educate consumers – particularly housewives and loggers – about the need to sustainably use natural resources such as wood and coal. It will develop and implement information campaigns in six areas in Bamako and the village of Kassela related to climate change, the environment and need for shifts in behaviour. The goal is to lay the groundwork for enhanced adoption of improved stoves that control consumption of firewood. In addition, REDECOMA will organise a training of trainers’ session to empower community leaders to continue with this work of raising awareness to shift towards more sustainable heating and cooking options. Activities will include reforestation days to restore vegetative cover in the groves.

Socio Economic Welfare Action for Women and Children (SEWA) Nepal

SEWA Nepal’s campaign will promote the rental and thrift culture through a promotional campaign with interaction sessions. This is in response to fast fashion trends supporting a growth in mass and unsustainable consumerism. Purchasing pre-loved clothes and donating and selling one’s second-hand clothes helps the environment and helps people who really need them. The campaign will establish a network among thrift store owners and rental services and promote them in schools and colleges.

Yemen Association for Consumer Protection (YACP)

SEWA Nepal’s campaign will promote the rental and thrift culture through a promotional YACP will launch a public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of plastic bags. This will be done through a field campaign in markets and commercial centres with community participation. The campaign aims to distribute 1 000 cloth shopping bags in commercial centres. It will target major supermarket chains and retailers sharing information about the harm that plastic bags cause the environment and sustainable alternatives, such as multi-use cloth bags, paper bags and biodegradable bags. YACP will also host a workshop targeting decision makers to discuss roles, responsibilities and mechanisms to reduce the use of plastic bags.ampaign with interaction sessions. This is in response to fast fashion trends supporting a growth in mass and unsustainable consumerism. Purchasing pre-loved clothes and donating and selling one’s second-hand clothes helps the environment and helps people who really need them. The campaign will establish a network among thrift store owners and rental services and promote them in schools and colleges.

Ambio Sociedad Civil (Ambio) Costa Rica

AMBIO Costa Rica will focus its campaign activities on sharing experiences of sustainable consumption and good practice examples in local communities. It will work with key actors, development associations, community leaders and organised groups to promote shared action to support a transition to sustainable consumption. Campaign activities will include meetings with focus groups to identify key topics and messaging and developing content for dissemination through podcasts, videos, printed material and on social media. It will also work with its Solidarity Supply Market, Conscious Eating and the Community School of Organic Agriculture to promote sustainable production and consumption of food and use the Native Bee Route to raise awareness with youth.

Association for the Defence of the Environment and Consumers (ADEC)

ADEC will focus its campaign on strengthening consumer awareness and consumption of local agricultural products – cereals and other tree products used to make beverages. The campaign will be implemented through an already active women’s group in this sector. Activities will focus on strengthening hygiene practices, environmental care and food safety. It will support participants in developing shaded areas and planting fruit trees and local cereals. The campaign hopes to help establish a value chain for local products as a substitute for imported wheat and to boost processing of local cereals. It acts to strengthen food sovereignty in Senegal by increasing availability of nutrition-dense foods and by reducing dependence on imported cereals.

Benin Consumer Health and Survival (BSSC)

BBSC will focus its campaign activities on tackling the challenge of food and nutrition insecurity faced by children under the age of five years. It will initiate an organic home garden training project in the communities of Bohicon and Aplahoué targeting 50 women leaders who will be able to pass their skills on to 500 vulnerable women. Key campaign activities will be the establishment of two demonstration gardens planted with highly nutritious plant varieties in which the 50 master trainers will receive instruction on organic home gardening practices. Subsequently a platform will be established to enable long-term exchange of knowledge between women home gardeners.

Colectivo Ecologista Jalisco, A.C. (CEJ)

CEJ will focus its campaign activities on plastics – “Make the Opaque World of Plastics Transparent”. Activities will include a series of webinars, workshops and social networks to continue the conversation and collective action on plastics and climate change. CEJ will do this through sharing their findings from their plastic audits, nurturing and strengthening their Green Action Week community committed to plastics transparency, increasing their dialogue and interaction with the scientific community on plastic contamination in the ocean and through continuing to publicise their tools on recycling and product sustainability information. The project also seeks to promote leverage points to encourage consumers to demand direct action from responsible organisations.

Consumer Council
of Zimbabwe (CCZ)

CCZ will work with consumer action clubs in its Green Action Week campaign to support them in undertaking household environmental impact assessments. This will help to build capacity at grassroots to understand and change consumption behaviours. The training of participants will enable them to share their knowledge with other households and communities – creating a multiplier effect. Campaign activities will target mostly women as heads of households. CCZ will develop appropriate training manuals, instigate training of trainers with CCZ staff and set up a training schedule with consumer action club members. The campaign will close with an event where club members share their assessments with each other.

Consumer Voice

Consumer Voice will use Green Action Week to highlight the urgent need to adopt energy-efficient practices and to transition to renewable energy sources. Rapid economic growth and urbanisation are driving demand for energy in India. Use of fossil fuel-based energy systems are causing air pollution and contributing to climate change. The campaign will focus on creating awareness and encouraging various stakeholders to adopt sustainable and responsible consumption practices that minimise environmental impact and ensure a greener future through sharing community efforts. Activities will include workshops with various stakeholders such as consumers, women and girls and children and youth groups. Workshops aim to promote ways to reduce energy consumption, switch to energy-efficient alternatives, how to choose sustainable options such as mud pitchers as water coolants, chik/bamboo in the house as air coolants and rainwater harvesting for garden, among others.

EcoWaste Coalition

EcoWaste Coalition will use its campaign to highlight local zero waste initiatives in Dumaguete City, in the Central Visayas Region. led by WOW Negros Oriental, an active member of EcoWaste Coalition. The campaign will host a zero-waste fair and learning event to inspire consumers and share knowledge about green and circular living. The event will highlight, promote and demonstrate zero waste as a viable response to sustainable consumption, including a focus on practical backyard composting, urban organic farming, waste reduction and primary segregation, traditional handicrafts and innovative products and socio-cultural participation of the local communities. The goal is to make a visible connection between larger issues for consumers and give them the tools to make daily decisions and to participate in local politics towards change.

IBON Foundation

Access to food and water basic services is becoming increasingly constrained. IBON Foundation will explore ways in which food prices can be lowered and raise awareness of alternative systems, with a particular focus on urban areas. Activities include holding a forum on food prices, launching an urban farming ‘bagsakan’ anthology and participating in a fair. Campaign activities will also expose the constraints surrounding access to water and craft a pro-people resolution to this pressing challenge. Activities include a petition, picketing action, a conference and policy dialogues. The campaign will contribute to the ongoing sharing of knowledge and resources with consumer networks and communities.

Lembaga Konsumen Yogyakarta/Yogyakarta Consumer Institute (YCI)

YCI’s Green Action Week campaign will focus on the economic empowerment of women by improving skills related to the cultivation and processing of moringa in home gardens as a healthy food alternative and source of income. The campaign will introduce cultivation methods using eco-enzyme fertilisers, illustrate how moringa can be used in food preparation and open business opportunities for sale of moringa. An emphasis will be placed on the sharing of resources for the common good. A further outcome will be enhanced appreciation for and protection of the environment. Initially, 25 women from rural communities will be targeted in the campaign, with others brought in from consumer groups to assist with the marketing.

Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Kenya

PELUM Kenya’s campaign will create awareness around the root causes of persistent hunger and poverty in Makueni County in Kenya. These are inappropriate agricultural practices, unpredictable weather patterns, recurrent droughts, degraded land and soils and highly erodible soils. Campaign activities will focus on promotional actions and messaging on community-sharing narratives to trigger robust debate among key stakeholders. Key focus areas are the promotion of indigenous seed – able to adapt to local environmental conditions, promotion of agroecology as way to regenerate the environment, promotion of indigenous food production, consumption and sharing among community members and lobbying and advocacy regarding agroecology with government extension workers.

Rwanda Consumers Rights Protection Organization / ADECOR

Vegetable loss and waste are a challenge in Rwanda’s agricultural value chain, contributing to food and nutrition insecurity and loss of livelihood incomes. Our project aims to raise awareness of ways to manage harvest and post-harvest losses and improve waste management techniques with smallholder farmers in Rwanda’s Rubavu district. Green Action Week activities will focus on illustrating how sharing resources such as compost can build good nutrition, support enhanced farmer incomes, improve public health and support environmental sustainability. Activities will focus on building farmer skills and on supporting collaborative action regarding vegetable loss and waste.

TheNetwork for Consumer Protection

Vegetable loss and waste are a challenge in Rwanda’s agricultural value chain, contributing to food and nutrition insecurity andThe Network for Consumer Protection will use its campaign to bring sharing communities together in the form of kitchen gardening in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The goal is to increase the volume and accessibility of fresh food items in these communities, which reduces transportation costs and challenges while also greening the environment. The campaign will focus on using multipliers and influencers to disseminate Sharing Community spirit by developing community kitchens and promoting sustainable and healthy food supplies. Information materials will be developed in the local language and selected kitchen gardeners will be trained to plant out kitchen and community gardens. Seedlings will be distributed to this group. loss of livelihood incomes. Our project aims to raise awareness of ways to manage harvest and post-harvest losses and improve waste management techniques with smallholder farmers in Rwanda’s Rubavu district. Green Action Week activities will focus on illustrating how sharing resources such as compost can build good nutrition, support enhanced farmer incomes, improve public health and support environmental sustainability. Activities will focus on building farmer skills and on supporting collaborative action regarding vegetable loss and waste.

Youth Education Network (YEN)

YEN’s campaign will focus on raising consumer awareness of the need to value and consume renewable energy. It will engage women working in local rural markets to embrace the use of renewable energy technologies, specifically solar power, for both business and home use. The campaign is a response to climate change and the rising cost of electricity – where it is available. The campaign will use radio and television to reach millions of Kenya but will focus its activities in schools educating teachers who will be able to reach 5 000 learners with their new knowledge and through direct contact with 1 000 women in marketplaces in rural areas with printed materials.