The Week of Green Action: Community-led solutions building resilience for consumers
In September 2025 our Green Action Week brought communities together across 24 countries, with 29 member-led campaigns demonstrating the power of practical, locally rooted, and inclusive approaches towards sustainability. Members reached an estimated 6.7 million people through community engagement and visibility.
Beyond these figures, Green Action Week’s impact was reflected in the depth and commitment of those it reached. We saw hands-on participation, skills-building, and locally relevant solutions. Communities not only learnt and taught but embedded sustainable practices into everyday life. We saw community outreach in schools, local associations, and public institutions, expanding our reach more than ever, and strengthening accountability.
We know how much influence women have over household consumption decisions and recognise and appreciate the critical role of youth in shaping long-term habits, yet women often face inequalities affecting access to products and services which can shape their lives. This year we saw women and young people play a central role in our campaigns.
Four themes of Green Action Week
Collectively, these campaigns directly supported progress towards the community actions and advocacy that were organised around four main themes all in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Theme 1: Healthy & Traditional Diets, Local Food Systems, and Cultural Preservation
Consumers Association of Bangladesh’s campaign ‘Promoting Healthy Eating Habits and Nutrition Education in Schools’ where they conducted a “Back to Our Roots: Safe and Traditional Food in Schools” event. The event involved students bringing their regular tiffin meals for assessment by a nutritionist. This interactive approach encouraged peer learning and enabled participants to understand the nutritional value of their everyday meals, along with practical suggestions for improvement using local and organic ingredients.
Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF, Nigeria) ran a ‘GreenShare’ campaign featured collective efforts in promoting fair access to resources and knowledge, including the sharing of tools, compost, seeds, seedlings, and irrigation assistance among participants. The initiative emphasised a shared-resource model and participatory approach in management of a community garden and micro-urban farm.
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe conducted a food exhibition in one of the ten provinces reached, as part of their ‘Seed saving and Seed Sovereignty’ campaign focused on sharing of indigenous foods to foster sustainable and resilient food systems. Under the theme “Promotion of Indigenous Foods”, the nutritional and cultural value of traditional crops and dishes such as small grains, indigenous vegetables, and legumes which require fewer natural resources to produce, and contribute to biodiversity preservation, were highlighted.
Theme 2: Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Circular Practices
Consumers Lebanon conducted a Mouneh Exhibition for their campaign ‘Together for a Greener Lebanon’, which focuses on reducing food waste and promoting sustainable sharing practices. The public exhibition showcased traditional food preservation and zero-waste techniques.
Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group held an interactive puppet theatre to communicate waste management concepts as part of their campaign ‘Waste to Worth: Building a Sharing Community for Sustainable Waste Management in Chennai’. The theatre was open to young people and other community members.
Villagers composted food waste as part of Consumer Council of Fiji’s ‘Share to Sustain’ campaign focused on reducing food waste in Fijian households and communities. Workshops were conducted to train communities on food waste reduction, proper waste separation, and composting techniques.
Theme 3: Tackling Plastic Pollution, Empowering Consumer Voice, and Promoting Eco-Friendly Alternatives
Women created crafts from waste as part of Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education’s ‘Combating Greenwashing and Promoting Sustainable Practices’ campaign. The session welcomed a sustainable art expert who demonstrated how old or discarded materials can be turned into useful items. Women were also empowered to adopt sustainable practices and identify greenwashing in everyday products.
Colectivo Ecologista Jalisco, A.C. held a on-the-ground public outreach at Parque la Calma Neighborhood Association for their ‘Call the Company’ campaign. This year, their campaign focused on promoting greater access to information through the digital tool "Navigating the World of Plastics", aiming to highlight extended producer responsibility as a key element in transitioning to a true circular economy based on the redesign and returnability of packaging, going beyond mere recycling.
Theme 4: Youth, Schools, and Environmental Education
Food First Information and Action Network Sri Lanka’s ‘Nourishing Traditional Foods’ campaign promotes the use of nutritious but underutilised food crops through awareness-raising and cooking demonstration programmes conducted with women’s neighbourhood associations and community organisations.
As part of the ‘Green Knowledge Caravan: Sharing Libraries for Sustainable Futures’ campaign, a mobile environmental education initiative, the ANNA National Association of Consumers (Armenia) developed and published a 94-page ecological handbook to support environmental education in rural communities in Armenia’s Masis region. The handbook is distributed to participating schools and integrated into classroom activities, serving as a long-term learning resource for pupils, students, teachers, and community members.
Green Action Week has continuously shown that community-led solutions can create powerful ripple effects. Even though the campaigns take place in different local contexts, people shared the same concerns that can be helped through locally adapted solutions.
Through communities, partners and Members over the years we have achieved sustained partnerships and continued momentum for inspiring change.
Green Action Week closing ceremony featuring members who participated in 2025.