The history of Greenpeace

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.

Their mission was to "bear witness" to US underground nuclear testing at Amchitka, a tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, which is one of the world''s most earthquake-prone regions.

Amchitka was the last refuge for 3000 endangered sea otters, and home to bald eagles, peregrine falcons and other wildlife.

Even though their old boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was intercepted before it got to Amchitka, the journey sparked a flurry of public interest.

The US still detonated the bomb, but the voice of reason had been heard. Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary.

Today, Greenpeace is an international organisation that prioritises global environmental campaigns.

Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national as well as regional offices in 41 countries.

Our core values

Greenpeace''s cornerstone principles and core values are reflected in all our environmental campaign work, worldwide. These are:

• We ''bear witness'' to environmental destruction in a peaceful, non-violent manner;
• We use non-violent confrontation to raise the level and quality of public debate;
• In exposing threats to the environment and finding solutions we have no permanent allies or adversaries;
• We ensure our financial independence from political or commercial interests;
• We seek solutions for, and promote open, informed debate about society''s environmental choices.

In developing our campaign strategies and policies we take great care to reflect our fundamental respect for democratic principles and to seek solutions that will promote global social equity.