We're proud to coordinate the Green Action Fund (GAF). This annual grant scheme aims to promote sustainable development and reduce poverty by promoting worldwide awareness and advocacy activities which encourage sustainable patterns of consumption.
The Green Action Fund is the funding element of Green Action Week (GAW), an annual global campaign running in the first week of October, to promote sustainable consumption. The fund is made available by our partner the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) and is administered by Consumers International, with materials, research, policy support, and joint-campaign communications being provided. The theme for Green Action Week 2020 is ‘Sharing Community’.
The GAF supports projects which are in line with the theme: ways that sharing and collaboration bring more equal and sustainable access to goods and services for the benefit of people and the planet. The GAF is open to applications from our members in economically developing countries to assist them in carrying out their own campaigns in support of the theme.
Congratulations to all Grant recipients for this year's edition; we will be using Green Action Week 2020 to celebrate the new ideas, insight and innovations that are delivering impact and progress towards SDG 12 within the consumer movement. See below for a snapshot of our members’ activities across the globe:
Cape Verde: Associação para Defesa do Consumidor (ADECO)
ADECO’s "Green Community" campaign aims to inform and educate consumers about how to share organic waste, seeds and agricultural products amongst communities. It also aims to provide training on regenerative agriculture and organic composting, with a focus on environmental preservation and sustainability, promoting healthy food and the self-development of more vulnerable communities (particularly women).
India: Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE)
The COVID-19 lockdown has led to environmental benefits, such as a decrease in air pollution in Delhi, but the need to ensure clean air and environmental protection is still as pressing as ever. VOICE’s 2020 project aims to promote sustainable practices and will create a culture of community efforts towards protecting the environment. Through the use of educational tools and awareness campaigns, VOICE will encourage communities (especially women and young people) to adopt green practices such as reducing the use of chemicals, using natural resources and practicing waste management.
Lebanon: Consumers Lebanon (CL)
The majority of Lebanese consumers buy plastic gallon packages for drinking water. CL’s ‘One Seed, One Community’ project aims to reduce plastic waste at the household level. CL will collect the used plastic gallon packages, clean them and distribute them to other groups with seeds and seedlings inside. Those who receive seeds and seedlings will be traced by a serial number and the donors of their seeds can follow up on the growth of the plants in their donated gallon packages via social media. This will create a sharing community and growth of an online platform at the household level and will additionally prevent loneliness, a consequence of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Mexico: Colectivo Ecologista Jalisco (CEJ)
CEJ will work with Tianguis del Recycle and the Producers Fair in Mexico to promote circular economy practices to increase the exchange and consumption of sustainable products as well as reduce waste. CEJ’s campaign will provide information on waste and labelling to allow consumers to exercise their right to information and education. Consumers who consequently clean and separate waste will receive a coupon to be exchanged for merchandise from a network of organic producers and small local and home businesses, 90% of which are led by women who due to COVID-19 have lost about 70% of their sales.
Green Action Week is an opportunity to show how consumer advocacy is actively driving sustainable consumption. The week features consumer advocacy groups around the world and the ways in which new ideas and technologies can drive sustainable consumption.
Take a look at five ways Green Action Week partners are continuing sustainable consumption after World Consumers Rights Day 2019.
Join us by using #GreenActionWeek on Twitter and Facebook to share how you are marking the week. We want to hear updates from the campaigns or actions you are taking to promote sustainable consumption in your country or region.
Photo taken from a Green Action Week 2019 event in India, run by our member - Consumer Voice
Green Action Fund projects have taken place all over the world. Winning projects over the past few years have successfully gone on to raise awareness on a range of issues, including: sustainable fishing, recycling and sustainable transportation. Since 2018, projects have focused on encouraging cultures of sharing and collaboration.
In 2019, 26 grants of £2,200 were awarded to Consumers International members in economically developing countries, in order for them to implement Green Action Fund campaigns on the theme of ‘Sharing Community’. This year 25 grants of £2,200 are being awarded.
Read about work undertaken in previous years (eng):
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
You can also take a look at the Green Action Week website and Facebook page
Photo taken from a Green Action Week 2017 event in Malaysia, run by our member - the Consumers Association of Penang
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