Voice

Our voice is the Greenpeace personality, as expressed through content: on our website, on social media, in emails. It’s distinctive, flexible and identifiable; it’s the personification of our relationship with our users; it brings the organisation to life and inspires support.

Our voice is about who we are, not the things we do. It describes our character, not the attributes of our work.

Our voice is the common thread that makes us recognisably Greenpeace.

We are:

1. Bold but not brash.

We are confident in what we say, but careful not to be rowdy and overbearing.

This isn’t a do-or-die moment for Antarctic protection, but it’s a huge opportunity we shouldn’t miss.

2. Dynamic and energetic but not frenetic.

We aspire to the kind of energy that’s infectiously enthusiastic, not the kind you get at a toddlers’ party after they’ve eaten all the sweets.

It’s been a full year of campaigning to end forest destruction for dirty palm oil. We challenged Mondelez to cut Wilmar off for selling dirty palm oil, and they heard us. But it’s not over yet.

3. Daring but not reckless.

Just as with our actions, we are brave with our words, but we think things through carefully before we say them.

We've brought tar sands to Barclays in Piccadilly Circus. It’s messy - but it's just a small taste of what the bank plans to bring to North America.

4. Idealistic but not impractical.

We are proud of our beliefs, but we’re pragmatic too: we tie our passion to achievable ends.

There is no Planet B. We have the knowledge, skills and technologies to stop climate change. We need to reduce the use of fossil fuels, stop rainforest destruction and switch to clean energy.

5. Playful and fun but not silly.

We know how to enjoy ourselves, but we don’t lose sight of the fact that we’re dealing with serious issues.

Take the end ocean plastics quiz. Will you sink or swim?

On a scale of 1 to David Attenborough, how much do you know about our polar regions?

6. Cheeky and irreverent but not rude.

We believe in power in people, not people in power. We’re prepared to poke fun but we avoid being insultingly rude.

We don’t know exactly what politicians have in store for the environment this year, but so far, they’ve all been falling short. That’s why we’ve taken the liberty of writing ten New Year’s resolutions they need to keep in 2019.

7. Approachable but not cutesy.

We believe in sharing our issues far and wide but we don’t think we need to use fluffy sentimentality in order to do that.

Blue whales eat krill, a lot of krill. If a big whale lunges at a particularly large swarm, it can swallow up to 500 kilograms of krill, eating 457,000 calories in a single monster mouthful. I did the maths, that’s the equivalent of about 200 pizzas.

8. Opinionated but not strident.

We have well-founded opinions and we’re not afraid to share them. But we don’t get shouty or aggressive about them.

The world’s biggest car maker announcing an end to the internal combustion engine is a big step in the right direction. But the date by which VW plans to do this – 2040 – is too late.

So though this is the clearest sign yet that the age of oil is ending, we need VW to move much faster.