SHAPING A BETTER FUTURE FOR CONSUMERS TOGETHER WITH THE WORLD’S LEADING ORGANISATIONS
The global marketplace is undergoing unprecedented change. In just a decade, rapid technological developments, a global pandemic, escalating living costs, and the impacts of climate change have completely transformed the consumer landscape.
No single sector can solve these complex challenges alone. Yet, each actor holds a vital piece of the puzzle. For instance, governments provide the frameworks that protect, businesses have the reach and resources to act, and consumer groups provide trusted and unguarded insights revealing the lived experiences of consumers.
Our Change Network is a mission-led, multi-stakeholder community where consumer organisations, businesses, regulators, and policymakers co-create practical solutions that make markets safer, fairer, and more sustainable.
Together, we are shaping a global marketplace that works for consumers everywhere.
Why the Change Network?
The Change Network was created to transform how we tackle consumer challenges together.
Rather than simply reacting to problems, our shared platform works to shape the future of the marketplace. It creates a space to share knowledge that identifies top consumer issues, and the commitments, innovation and partnerships needed to address them.
Through the Change Network, organisations:
- Co-create solutions that uphold consumer rights while driving innovation and efficiency across the Network.
- Contribute responsive insights and expertise to deepen understanding of consumer needs and behaviours.
- Collaborate across sectors, sharing their diverse perspectives and experiences with other stakeholders.
- Champion consumer rights in policy, regulation, and decision-making.
- Support business models that reflect a united vision of what consumer care means.
- Build a new marketplace for consumers, in line with our principles.
In doing so, we design better systems for consumers, from the ground up.
Our Change Network
Consumers International’s Change Network unites leading organisations from across the world.
International Organisations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
International Energy Agency
International Organization for Standardization
International Telecommunications Union
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
Organization of American States
United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
World Trade Organization
Supporting partners
Principles for Building with and for consumers
Since 2023, the Change Network has been guided by our Principles for Building with and for Consumers. These principles are embedded into agreements with the businesses that are part of our Change Network — known as our Business Associates — while also helping to shape collaboration across the Network.
Champion the global consumer movement
- Raise awareness of the value of the consumer movement and support its independence, reputation, integrity and mission.
- Seek strategic opportunities with the consumer movement to support consumers together.
- Refrain from leveraging engagement with the consumer movement to advance narrow political or commercial aims.
Champion consumer protection & empowerment within your organisation
- Disseminate the shared principles of building with and for consumers.
- Identify opportunities to improve consumer protection and empowerment.
Champion and advance the common principles of consumer protection held at the United Nations
- Increase public awareness of the United Nations Guidelines of Consumer Protection.
- Support the continuous improvement of the United Nations Guidelines of Consumer Protection.
- Push for the global implementation and application of the United Nations Guidelines of Consumer Protection
A snapshot of our impact
Fair Digital Finance Accelerator
For many consumers in low- and middle-income countries, digital finance brings risks such as predatory lending, weak redress, data misuse and fraud. To address this, in 2022 we launched the Fair Digital Finance Accelerator with support from the Gates Foundation and Consultive Group to Assist the Poor. In just three years, its 77 Member organisations across 50+ countries have gained the tools to influence policy, strengthen protections and drive 10+ legislative or industry reforms worldwide.
Blueprint for Inclusive Energy Services
Inclusive energy access remains a global challenge, with older people and those with disabilities often underserved by energy providers. We are currently piloting the Blueprint for Inclusive Energy Services project in Italy in partnership with our Business Associate Enel and working alongside a steering group of local energy providers, consumer groups and civil society. Together, we are testing scalable solutions and preparing actionable recommendations to help providers appropriately meet underserved groups’ energy needs.
Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams
Did you know? Scams are now estimated to cost consumers over US$1 trillion annually, with fewer than one in ten victims able to recover their money. Our Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams unites cross-sector actors to tackle this growing threat. It includes 40 participants including leading consumer group such as Which? (UK), CERC (India), IDEC (Brazil) and Business Associates Amazon, Visa, Wise, and PayPal. By sharing real consumer insights, coordinating action across the scam life cycle, and amplifying consumer voices at global forums, we are working to build a safer digital marketplace for consumers everywhere.
Fair Food Price Monitor
Nutritious diets are out of reach 90% of consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa as food prices rise faster than incomes. To address this, we collaborated with The Rockefeller Foundation in the fight for fair food prices across Africa. We mobilised Members in 20+ African countries to create a sophisticated Fair Food Price Monitor and reached 30 million consumers through a media campaign. We also established Fair Food Prices Coalitions, linking 200+ organisations — from consumer groups and farmers to businesses and government — for trusted outreach. This led to government action in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia and strengthened consumer organisations’ voices to drive greater accountability at the national level.
Driving Global Standards that Shape Markets
We work with organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to ensure consumers are represented in global discussions, sometimes as the only consumer group at the table. We also advocated for the establishment of the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection in 1985 and have contributed to every update since. Additionally, we drafted the ISO 50007 - the first international standard on energy access proposed by an NGO. These partnerships have set global benchmarks shaping sectors from banking and e-commerce to energy and ensured consumers are heard by leading reputable multilateral organisations.
Consumers International at the World Trade Organization during 9th UN Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection