Friends of the Earth's first campaign action. Returning thousands of empties to the London HQ of Cadbury Schweppes in 1971, to promote re-use, set the tone for a peaceful, eye-catching and effective style of campaigning. Better use of the planet's resources has underpinned our work ever since.

Friends of the Earth's administrator Anfel Potter (centre) and colleagues display early Friends of Earth campaigning materials, 1971.

Demonstrators blockade a drilling team that plans to investigate Fulbeck airfield in Lincolnshire for the shallow burial of nuclear waste, 1987. The plans were abandoned before the General Election in June that year.

Save the Whale demonstration, Brighton, 1990. Friends of the Earth has campaigned to protect whales in every decade since the 1970s.

Members of Halton Friends of the Earth local group take samples of river water from the Mersey for pollution testing, 1991. Today there are more than 200 volunteer Friends of the Earth groups across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Demo outside Harrods department store, 1993. Friends of the Earth led an international campaign to expose the damage caused by extracting mahogany from rainforests. Brazil's exports of the hardwood to the UK fell by 40% in 1995.

Roadbuilding through Twyford Down sparked a struggle over the right to protest. Tony Juniper, here at the Twyford Mass Trespass in 1993, was Friends of the Earth's director from 2002-2008.

Friends of the Earth's litmus paper billboard changed colour to highlight the effects of acid rain. The poster won a BBC design award in 1994. Leading the UK's first campaign on acid rain, we persuaded the Government to accept the need to cut the emissions responsible.

The Grey Man of Ditchling, a 150-foot chalk figure of John Major, was possibly the largest political cartoon ever. Inspired by the Wilmington Long Man, and timed to coincide with the UK stage of the Tour de France in 1994, it was commissioned for the successful campaign against a south coast superhighway.

Comedian Alexei Sayle puts some elbow behind our Mahogany is Murder campaign, 1995.

Animal Magic presenter Johnny Morris (in spectacles, centre) among locals opposing construction of the Newbury Bypass, 1996. The road cut through 5 nationally important wild habitats. The broad-based campaign against it helped force a major rethink of government roadbuilding plans.

A collaboration between Friends of the Earth and advertising experts McCann-Erickson to raise awareness of the health risks of industrial pollution, 1996.

Comedian Ben Elton (centre) at Fuming Mad rally, Trafalgar Square, 1997 - in support of legal measures to tackle the impacts of burgeoning traffic. Drafted and promoted by Friends of the Earth, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru, the Road Traffic Reduction Act became law in 1997.

Stand Up For South Downs day, 1997. After nearly two decades the campaign to have the South Downs designated as a National Park succeeded in 2009.

Poet Lemn Sissay performs at the launch of Friends of the Earth's poetry on the buses scheme, 1998.

Genebeast outside Sainsbury's, Nine Elms, London, 1998. A majority of customers wanted supermarkets to ban genetically modified ingredients from their products.

Friends of the Earth worked with, among others, Age Concern to press for an end to poorly insulated homes. The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act was passed in 2000.

With planks bearing messages from thousands of supporters worldwide, activists build a lifeboat outside the international climate talks in Bonn, 2001.

Friends of the Earth worked with community groups across South Africa to create a massive installation outside the venue of the Jo'burg Earth Summit in 2002. The mixed-media sculpture drew attention to the basic need for a healthy environment to come before business profit.

Kate Parminter (foreground), chief executive of the CPRE, takes tea on the A303 in 2002. She represented one of seven of the UK's leading green groups, including Friends of the Earth, concerned at the threat to communities and the environment posed by new roads in the south west.

Joan Ruddock MP takes a photocall, as part of the campaign to bring doorstep recycling to every home. The House Waste and Recycling Bill, drafted by Friends of the Earth and introduced to Parliament by Joan Ruddock, became law in 2003.

Campaigners from Friends of the Earth and Kurdish human rights organisations carry a pipeline through the City of London, 2003. The protest was over plans to use UK taxpayers' money to fund a proposed pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean.            

Mass parade through London for GM-free food and farming, 2003. Friends of the Earth's work helped halt commercial planting of GM crops, keep GM foods off supermarket shelves and saw local authorities representing millions of people across the UK declare themselves GM free.

Demanding rights for people, rules for business at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, 2003.

Highlighting the impact of demand for palm oil - a hidden ingredient in many consumer products. Cadbury-Schweppes shareholder meeting, 2004.

Raising public awareness of the sources of climate-changing emissions. London, 2004.

Radiohead front man Thom Yorke launches The Big Ask campaign, 2005 - calling for legally binding limits on UK climate emissions. Within 3 years, and thanks to the support of hundreds of thousands of people, we had secured the world-leading Climate Change Act.

Friends of the Earth stages a Tesco Takeover outside the supermarket giant's AGM to protest against the damage to small shops, farmers, overseas suppliers and the environment, 2005.

Representatives from communities affected by oil operations around the world mark the 10th anniversary, in 2005, of the execution of the Nigerian activist Ken Saro-wiwa.

Friends of the Earth staff and supporters flood Edinburgh's Princes Street at the Make Poverty History rally, 2005.

Members of Camden Friends of the Earth local group target Tesco in 2005 to highlight the threat to the orang-utan's habitat posed by palm oil plantations.

David Cameron MP is grilled on climate change at a mass lobby for the Big Ask campaign, 2006.

Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead perform an acoustic set at The Big Ask Live climate change benefit gig at Koko, Camden, 2006.

David Miliband MP (left) and Friends of the Earth's Tony Juniper at the Big Ask Big Quiz at Labour Party Conference, Manchester, 2006 - just one of a host of tactics we used to make sure politicians couldn't ignore the campaign.

Bob and Roberta Smith, one of many artists, performers and thinkers who got involved in Friends of the Earth's debate on the state of the world - and what to do about it - at London's Whitechapel gallery, 2008.

Razorlight's Johnny Borrell supports Friends of the Earth's Big Ask campaign for a strong climate change law by playing a one-off gig at London's Science Museum, 2008. The event focused on the need to count emissions from flying in the national tally.

Photocall with Help the Aged outside the Royal Courts of Justice draws attention to the link between fuel poverty and climate change, 2008.

Projection on Parliament to remind MPs to vote for emissions from international flights and shipping to be included in the Climate Change Bill, 2008.

An all-star line-up of comedians, including Jimmy Carr, Stephen Merchant, Russell Howard and Dan Antopolski, packed the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in 2009 to help expose the effects of using imported soy in meat and dairy farming.

Actor Helen Baxendale (Friends, Cold Feet) joins Friends of the Earth supporters on a Eurostar to Copenhagen in 2009 to press world leaders for a strong and fair climate agreement at the UN talks.

Cows infiltrate London's morning 'commoote' in 2010 - drawing attention to the link between rainforest destruction in South America and livestock feeds in the UK. Within months the Government acknowledges the need for action to make livestock farming more sustainable.

Parcour athletes dressed as cows head for Parliament to promote our 'MOOvement' for rainforest-free food. Nearly 170,000 people have watched a film of the runners on YouTube.

An oversized inflatable white elephant delivers the nuclear-free message to Parliament, 2011. Friends of the Earth is calling for the Government to create a safer, nuclear-free future by investing more in clean, green energy and helping homes and businesses save energy.

Glenda Jackson MP joins bodybuilder 'Energy Bill' to back Friends of the Earth's demands for a tough new law to save energy and tackle climate change, 2011.