Background

Friends of the Earth is one of the UK's leading pressure groups which, since its launch in 1971, has been at the forefront of the struggle to protect the environment. Friends of the Earth England,Wales and Northern Ireland is part of the Friends of the Earth International network which was also set up in 1971 to help the Friends of the Earth national groups work together. It is now the largest international network of environmental groups in the world, covering more than 54 countries worldwide.

Within a year of its launch Friends of the Earth had attracted over 2,000 members and some 50 local campaigning groups. Our first ever protest was the dumping of Schweppes' non-returnable bottles on the doorstep of their headquarters, which initiated our campaign for reuse and recycling. Since then Friends of the Earth has expanded and now has around 72,000 members and many more supporters.

We also now have over 240 local groups throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our local groups play a vital role in taking this campaigning message out to local audiences. They lobby local authorities and companies and mobilize public opinion. At the other end of the scale, we are international campaigners, pursuing our objectives through the European Union, United Nations and international trade bodies.

Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland is made up of two organisations. Friends of the Earth Ltd is a campaigning organisation, overseen by a Board of Directors, most of whom are elected by the local groups. Friends of the Earth Trust is a registered charity which was set up in 1981 to carry out research and education work. These two organisations are responsible for the overall running of Friends of the Earth.

95% of our income is raised from our supporters; the rest is raised by events, sponsorship, grants and sales of publications and merchandise.

We believe that pressure for change is most effective when people have access to the facts and can arm themselves with all the arguments, so we devote enormous resources to research, publishing, education, public information and media work on environmental and related social issues.

We are an independent organisation. We work with all political parties, but are aligned to none.

We have built up a reputation for providing reliable and objective information based on sound research. This means that we are often called on by journalists and policy-makers, and are frequently asked to give evidence on environmental threats to Committees in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. But we not only supply information - we expose environmental abuse and offer constructive solutions to current problems.

Our Mission

The mission of Friends of the Earth is to protect and improve the conditions for life on earth, now and for the future. Friends of the Earth has a long term vision of a truly sustainable society, where environmental protection and resource conservation, economic prosperity and social justice go hand-in-hand.

Campaigning -Pressuring Government, business and industry to adopt policies and practices which ensure environmental protection, conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources.

Citizen action - Activating people and communities locally and nationally to reduce their impact on the environment, and to push government, industry and financial institutions to adopt the environmental agenda

Information and ideas - Researching and communicating reliable, accessible and provocative information and ideas about environmental problems and their solutions, and the state of the environment locally, nationally and globally.

Friends of the Earth is campaiging to:

.    Protect the world's last remaining forests and wild places.

.    Stop the pollution of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat to protect the health of life on earth.

Recent Campaign Successes.

.    Defeat of the planned Nirex nuclear waste depository, the first time the UK nuclear industry has ever lost a public inquiry

.    The Road Traffic Reduction Act, which requires local authorities to set targets for reductions in traffic levels and draw up plans to achieve the target.

.    The stop order on Offham Down. The new Labour Government has announced a formal review of the protection and management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest

.    Stopping the Salisbury Bypass, a victory for Salisbury FOE's campaign which has run for 12 years

.    Pressure on Labour to keep its commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2010 to combat dangerous climate change. The UK Government played a key role at the Kyoto Conference in securing a legally binding agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.

Further Reading

Promising the Earth
This book is published as part of the 25th anniversary of Friends of the Earth and presents a vivid account of the experiences, achievements and expectations of Britain's first environmental pressure group. It tells the inside story of pioneering campaigns from the first anti-whaling and fur trade campaigns of the early 1970s to the anti-road protests at Twyford Down and Newbury.
September 1996, L388 £9.99 book ISBN 0 415144442