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 2021 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. To be eligible, membership fees must be fully paid to the current year (including January to December 2021).
We will be using Green Action Week 2021 to celebrate the new ideas, insight and innovations that are delivering impact and progress towards SDG 12 within the consumer movement.
Green Action Week is an opportunity to show how consumer advocacy is actively driving sustainable consumption. The week showcases the work of consumer advocacy groups around the world and the ways in which new ideas and technologies can drive sustainable consumption. Take a look at what ‘sharing community’ looked like in 2020.
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 2020, 25 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 27 grants of £2,420 are being awarded.
Read about work undertaken in previous years (eng): 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020
You can also take a look at the Green Action Week website and Facebook page.
Photo take from a Green Action Week 2020 event in India -Gujarat, run by our member - CERS
The programme is open to our members in economically developing countries to assist them in carrying out their own campaigns. To be eligible, membership fees must be fully paid to the current year (including January to December 2021).
The application period for Green Action Fund 2021 is now open. The deadline for applications is 17 May 2021. For more information on this year’s theme, please consult the campaign guide.
Campaign guides: English
Gender equality guidance document: English
Application form: English, French, and Spanish
If you are applying to take part in Green Action Week as a member of Consumers International, you should have received an email.
“We are excited to be part of the Green Action Week for many years now. It is interesting to know and learn about the various activities around sharing and sustainability, carried out by numerous organisations at the same time.” - Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, India, Green Action Fund participant in 2020
After adapting so impressively to the coronavirus pandemic last year, we are expecting that most of us will continue to need to adapt, not postpone or think that it will not affect us. This year, we are focusing on “planning for covid, building for a future after covid” and “going deeper, not wider”. Much more about this focus, and more examples, are in the guide and webinar.
The situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is changing rapidly, so first of all we want to repeat that if you have any questions, please contact us early in the application and campaign-planning process.
Specific things to think about:
Consumers International joined world leaders at the World Economic Forum's Annual meeting in Davos, 21-24 January 2020, to ensure that the global consumer voice was represented in high-level discussions on privacy and digital rights, sustainable consumption, plastics recycling, the future of food, finance and energy.
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As part of our blog series for World Consumer Rights Day, Helena Leurent, Director General at Consumers International, writes about how to find hope in action on sustainability.
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