Greenpeace campaign success and the "media mind bomb"

The campaign group: Greenpeace
Brian Wheeler, BBC News 27 May 08;

Few campaign groups can boast the global reach and influence of Greenpeace.

Whether pursuing Japanese whaling ships across the Antarctic, demonstrating against logging in the Amazon or storming oil rigs in the North Sea to protest against global warming, Greenpeace activists grab headlines around the world.

They have perfected the art of using high profile media events to exert pressure on politicians and big business.

Greenpeace founder, Bob Hunter, believed in the idea of the "media mind bomb" - reaching the public consciousness through dramatic, photo-friendly opposition to perceived environmental crimes.

But the organisation is not without its critics.

It has been accused of employing alarmist, even scaremongering, tactics in some of its campaigns and of undermining its serious message on climate change with its trademark publicity stunts.

'Direct action'

In the UK, Greenpeace was most recently in the headlines when four protesters breached security at Heathrow airport to protest against a third runway.

Greenpeace UK's executive director, John Sauven, says such examples of "direct action" are an important part of the group's overall lobbying effort.

"I think the action at Heathrow and what the protesters did on the roof of the House of Commons, are quite important moments actually, in actually raising the issue.

"It has put the government on the back foot on something they thought they were going to just railroad through. This is no longer going to be the case. It is going to be quite a hot political potato for them."

Mr Sauven, who cut his teeth protesting against logging in the rainforests of British Columbia, says much of Greenpeace's work - its scientific research and relentless arm-twisting in board rooms and the corridors of power - goes unreported.

"Sometimes you can slap a big, thick report on the desk and it has the impact you want and sometimes you need to do a direct action to raise the profile, or sometimes you need to use an artist or somebody else from the creative industries."

People join Greenpeace, he says, because in an age when politics seems to have been drained of values and meaning, with politicians becoming increasingly "cut off" from the public and obsessed with media manipulation, it seems to stand for something.

"I think there are certain core values that Greenpeace and other groups stand for, that is attractive to people.

"And that gives a sense of purpose or a sense of belonging, a sense of actually standing for something - or standing up for something."

Core beliefs

Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver in 1971 to protest against underground nuclear testing. It now has 27 national and regional offices around the world and claims a campaigning presence in 41 countries.

In the UK, Greenpeace employs about 100 people, in a former animal testing laboratory in the back streets of Islington, North London ("we had to change the karma of the building," jokes Mr Sauven).

Like a political party, its supporters sign up to a raft of different campaigns based around core beliefs and values.

But - unlike a party - they have no direct input into policy formation. There are no leadership elections or conference debates.

Most national offices elect a board of directors, who make decisions on local campaigns, but global objectives and budgets are decided by Greenpeace International, which owns the Greenpeace name and has its headquarters in Amsterdam.

"Globally, the organisation decides on its priorities, through a joint programme meeting, where the campaigners representing the offices around the world meet once a year to decide on priority campaigns, so that's where our big global campaigns are decided, collectively by offices from China to Russia, to Europe, North America and so on," explains Mr Sauven.

'Frightening facts'

But, he argues, Greenpeace does not gain its legitimacy from the number of people it represents - the size of its membership - but from the strength of its arguments, its independence and willingness to speak up for its beliefs.

"I hold my beliefs and I will always take the consequences of what I stand for," he says.

Crucially, he adds, it receives no direct funding from governments or business - adding to the sense that it is an independent voice.

But what about the accusation - made by, among others, Guardian journalist Nick Davies in his recent Flat Earth News book - that it can sometimes be guilty of overstating the threat posed by nuclear energy or climate change in order to grab headlines?

In one video clip on the Greenpeace website, entitled "Friday 13th - watch your worst nightmares unfold", a family trip to the beach ends in horror when a passenger jet crashes into a nuclear power station.

The accompanying press release contains a list of "frightening facts" on the risk of nuclear installations being targeted by terrorists.

'Big issues'

Such shock tactics are justified if they can be supported by facts, argues Mr Sauven, pointing to a US report on the risk of terrorists flying a plane into a nuclear plant.

"Some of this is slightly artistic license in terms of...these are short films made to grab attention, create a stir and so on and so forth, but I think that they are legitimate in the sense that these are big issues."

He adds: "I am not saying that we never have got our facts wrong. I am not saying we never make mistakes - sometimes we do - but certainly getting our facts right is critical for me."

It seems the internet is posing a particular challenge to Greenpeace when it comes to editorial standards.

If you trawl through the "vast amounts of information" put out by the organisation across the world, Mr Sauven concedes that you will probably be able to "pick out things that were inaccurate or have been overstated".

He is "not happy about that", he says.

"It does pose certain issues for us, in terms of how we guarantee the same kind of quality of standard in the new media area that we have done traditionally."

'Tough decisions'

A large part of Mr Sauven's time is taken up with political lobbying - he has "constant" meetings with senior ministers.

But few, with the possible exception of David Miliband, seem to take the issue of global warming as seriously as Greenpeace, he argues.

"I don't think any of them have really got the seriousness of the issue of climate change in their DNA. It's not that they don't mouth it, it's not that they don't talk about it, it's not that they don't say it's an absolute global priority.

"But you don't get the sense when you talk to them that this is a really critical issue, we have got to do something about it - come hell or high water we are going to make some tough decisions."

He believes Prime Minister Gordon Brown's unwillingness to halt the construction of a third runway at Heathrow and a new coal fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent, speaks volumes about the prime minister's true priorities.

"Brown will say to you, he's said to me before: 'What are you doing to mobilise the public? Why aren't you getting the public on board? Why aren't you opening up the political space?'

"And you think, well why don't you make it easier for us to do that?"

'Vested interests'

He is cautiously optimistic about the Conservative Party: "There are some people definitely within the Tory Party, where there is climate change in their DNA. They definitely get it. They see it as one of their key issues".

But he says leader David Cameron will have to be prepared to take on some "powerful vested interests" if he is to deliver on the pledges included in the party's recent Quality of Life Commission report ("a "really excellent study, a fascinating document to read. I was very surprised that it came out of the Tory Party").

And he remains unrepentant about Greenpeace's buccaneering, publicity-grabbing approach to campaigning.

"I am not unhappy with the situation that exists because it's a bit like an iceberg, you see the tip of it but 90% of the work goes on underneath."

GREENPEACE
Founded: 1971
Leading figures Gerd Liepold, executive director, Greenpeace International; John Sauven, executive director, Greenpeace UK
Aims: Defend the natural world and promote peace through action
Funding: Donations from individuals, grants from foundations
Legal status: Greenpeace UK is a limited company, operating under licence from Greenpeace International, in the Netherlands, which owns the name
Membership: About 2.8 million worldwide