“ Solutions to the climate and nature crises must scale up quickly and their benefits need to be felt by many more people.”
Shaun Spiers Executive director
Laura Sandys Chair
The next five years will be crucial for everything Green Alliance stands for. Solutions to the climate and nature crises must scale up quickly and their benefits need to be felt by many more people. We must accelerate the transition to an economic system where people and the environment can thrive together.
But economic headwinds, fierce political pushback and shifting public expectations are creating challenging conditions.
Green Alliance’s new strategy runs to 2030 because it is a critical year for both climate and nature targets. Our experience and expertise position us as a leader in addressing the challenges of the transition we need to see.
Having worked hard for decades to build a political consensus on the need for bold environmental action, we now see this consensus fracturing. However, there is still a strong mandate for ambitious environmental action. This strategy sets out how we intend to help strengthen, deepen and broaden that mandate by
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We are developing our role over the next five years for greater impact.”
putting people at the heart of the environmental imperatives.
In developing the strategy, we spoke to politicians and partners to understand what is special about Green Alliance and where we need to change. We heard that our work distilling complex issues for policy makers and promoting evidence based, politically salient solutions is valued. Our partnerships and our position at the heart of the environment sector make us a well respected and independent advocate.
Yet the challenges facing the public and the planet have never been greater. So we are developing our role over the next five years for greater impact. Independent and politically impartial, we will align partners and convene new surprising and dynamic alliances in pursuit of clear strategic goals. This will give us the agility to move quickly, test ideas and change course when necessary. Our solutions must work for the public, so we will root our work in economic, racial and social fairness.
Operating in an increasingly complex context, with few simple solutions, our contribution is to mobilise the power of our triple track capability: policy credibility, political acumen and powerful partnerships.
We are proud of our team and committed to nurturing the talent and skills that will enable us to flourish. Our internal culture will be informed by our values, and we hope you see them threaded through everything we do.
This five year strategy sets out our plan to secure benefits that people can see in their lives, while ensuring they are popular and fairly shared globally.
If you are interested in working with us and increasing our impact, please get in touch.
Our past impact
Since 1979, Green Alliance has pushed the environmental agenda from the margins into the mainstream of UK politics.
2010s
The new green economy is recognised. Clean power policies move the dial towards renewable energy. The Paris Climate Agreement sets a target for the world to keep within 1.5oC of warming. The UK establishes international climate leadership, promising to phase out coal. Brexit creates new urgency to preserve UK environmental protections at risk.
Some of our successes
→ 2010
Our Climate Leadership Programme works with over 50 election candidates from all parties, creating active climate champions in parliament.
→ 2011
We lead a collaboration of environmental NGOs, persuading the government to set ambitious carbon targets into the 2030s.
→ 2015
We broker the cross party climate pledge, leading to the historic UK commitment to phase out coal.
→ 2016
We co-ordinate a joint NGO manifesto for London, influencing Mayor Sadiq Khan to tackle air pollution in the capital.
2015: Prime Minister David Cameron signing the climate pledge
2016: Sadiq Khan at our London mayoral hustings
2020-25
The climate and nature crises accelerate. The era of clean energy takes off (renewable power surpasses fossil fuel generation for the first time). The Glasgow COP26 climate summit is a high point for public and media awareness, with renewed policy promises. But global tensions and the cost of living fuel rising populism and backlash against green policies. The cross party climate consensus disintegrates. Although the Labour government promises environmental ambition, it faces enormous political and fiscal headwinds from the outset.
Some of our successes
→ 2021
The Greener UK NGO coalition, initiated and run by Green Alliance post-Brexit, secures the landmark Environment Act and the new Office for Environmental Protection watchdog.
→ 2022
We are ranked as one of the ten most effective environmental groups in the UK in a survey by the Environmental Funders Network. We co-found and advise the Warm This Winter fuel poverty campaign.
→ 2023
Greener UK prevents important environmental protections being scrapped under the Retained EU Law Bill.
→ 2024
We influence the introduction of a zero emission vehicle mandate, instructing carmakers to make more electric vehicle models available.
→ 2024
Our work leads the government to promise a new Circular Economy Strategy for greater resource efficiency.
2020: Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at our Countdown to COP conference
Green Alliance’s mission has never been more important.”
Our future: 2025-30
The next five years will see rapid social, political, economic, technological and industrial change. We are clear that avoiding the worst effects of climate change and reversing nature’s decline are necessary precursors to a secure and growing UK economy.
But the hard won argument for systemic change is now meeting strong headwinds, rooted in people’s discontents about politics, the state of the economy and the world, and particularly the cost of living.
Green Alliance’s mission to drive ambitious change in environmental politics and policy that enables people to thrive has never been more important.
We will work to strengthen the political mandate for ambitious action and secure decisions that will lead to tangible improvements felt by people and communities across the country.
Our vision is for a UK where people and the environment thrive together.
Our mission is to drive the ambitious, meaningful and urgent change in UK environmental policy and politics that enables people to thrive. We achieve impact by focused advocacy based on evidence and political insight, informed by an understanding of public opinion. We build relationships with a wide range of influential people and organisations and act as a bridge between them and political stakeholders to catalyse positive change. We are an independent, trusted expert and non-partisan voice, working across the political spectrum.
Equity, diversity and inclusion
This strategy marks a shift in how we pursue our work on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). No longer a separate strategy, it is now fully integrated through the organisation’s internal and external work and culture. From our vision and goals, which centre fairness, to our internal EDI work, we remain committed to the belief that making progress on EDI, including our commitment to anti-racism, is essential to our success. We recognise this is a continuous process of improvement and learning.
Our values
We are optimists
We are collaborative
We embrace complexity
We are inclusive
We are impact focused
What’s new?
Our legacy, past impact and distinctive role create a strong foundation for us to meet the challenges of our next phase to 2030.
Under this strategy we will maintain our unique strengths, alongside some important shifts and growth to increase our impact.
Maintaining our strengths
Our alliance model
We secure common ground, alignment and consensus around positions and messaging through durable networks and innovative partnerships. We will mobilise and support partners to help win progress.
Independence
A non-partisan, cross party approach is at the heart of our work
Triple track impact: policy, politics and partnerships
The combination of our research, policy and analytical expertise gives us the credibility to lead political engagement and work with partners. Effective communication enables us to land all our work with impact.
Political pragmatism
We understand the realities of politics and policy development, while never losing sight of the need for increased ambition.
Changes and growth
Embedding fairness and social impact
We will champion the benefits of ambitious environmental action for everyone. Where necessary, we will directly address the pinch points that might create disadvantage, guided by the need for fairness and political pragmatism.
Broader partnerships
Working closely with partners across sectors gives our work a unique edge: creating alliances to unlock ambitious, practical outcomes. We are building on this strength, broadening our network of influential partners to call for environmental action that benefits people.
Greater agility
We expect the next five years to be volatile; we will increase our capacity to react rapidly and change course when needed. This will mean faster decision making, leaner organisational infrastructure and continuous monitoring of our impact. We are prepared to pivot fast to achieve results.
An audience centred approach
We will diversify our tactics further to reach our target audiences and tailor communication of bold solutions to decision makers.
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We will show how to build a positive future for the environment and people in the
UK.”
A focus on fairness and social impact
Throughout our work, we will find the fair, people-focused solutions that make action on climate and nature politically possible.
Action to reverse nature decline and address climate change, done well, can cut bills, grow the economy and strengthen the UK’s energy and food security. The public back it and support will grow further when the benefits are clear and fairly shared.
But if benefits are perceived to be unevenly spread, public consent and political appetite to act will be weakened. Managing that risk is a live question because it is essential to maintain the political mandate for ambitious action.
Advocating for change that benefits people will be at the heart of our success, and we will invest more heavily in this agenda. Other organisations are also engaged in this work, yet there is a gap we can fill in collating the evidence, translating it into solutions and narratives to improve the UK’s response to climate change at the scale required.
Our strategy 2025-30
Vision
A UK where the environment and people thrive together
Mission
To drive the ambitious and meaningful change in environmental policy and politics that enables people to thrive
Goal
UK governments take ambitious action on climate and nature for the bene t of people
Goal
A large,diverse and influential network drives progress
Goal
Credible policy, grounded in strong evidence, achieves ambitious and workable outcomes
Goal
A dynamic sta team, culture, infrastructure and funding enables maximum impact
We will build large cross cutting programmes in pursuit of ambitious goals.”
The next five years
Over the course of the next five years, we will build large cross cutting programmes in pursuit of ambitious goals, deploying our unique strengths to answer the big environmental questions of the day for the UK.
Across our portfolio we will:
Deliver high impact solutions: we will advocate policies that offer major emissions reductions or large scale nature restoration
Champion neglected but vital issues: our back catalogue of successes shows the critical role we have played in championing overlooked areas to drive meaningful change.
Catalyse political momentum: securing a discrete change can sometimes spark wider movement. We will identify the strategic issues that can grow momentum.
Our work spans the broad areas of climate, nature and resource use as set out below. Spotting the links and areas of mutual benefit between them is where some of our most powerful work will lie.
Our influential Legislation and Governance Unit will protect the legal targets and effective governance systems that drive environmental improvement in the UK.
Integrated advocacy
Social impact
Delivering climate action and building resilience
Powering up a resource smart economy
Restoring nature and rethinking land use
Strengthening the political mandate
Green economic transition
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Social impact and a fair green economic transition will be at the heart of our work.”
Strengthening the political mandate
The UK’s cross party consensus on achieving a net zero carbon economy by 2050 is broken. Climate sceptic populism is the biggest threat to the UK’s environmental progress in a generation. But the current government has a large mandate for environmental action and our work will aim to extend this by strengthening cross party working and building consensus on issues, where it can be found.
Working in partnership is essential. We will convene and advise the environment sector to ensure we are focused on the delivery of fair policies. We will reach beyond the environment sector and Westminster government to align solutions we propose with people’s everyday lives and interests: economic security with lower bills, good jobs and healthy, resilient communities.
Social impact and a fair green economic transition will often be essential preconditions for success and will be at the heart of our work, regardless of the topic.
Three major themes shown in the diagram opposite will dominate our integrated advocacy campaigns to 2030. Initial priorities under each are described in the following pages.
We will advocate solutions that lower household bills and ensure a fair industrial transition.”
Securing climate action and building resilience
Through our policy work we will advocate solutions that lower household bills and ensure a fair industrial transition. We will harness the economic and social potential of the move to green industries.
Our work will provide the government with ways of bringing down greenhouse gases and improving everyday lives, such as via the modernisation of the transport system and home heating.
We will prioritise fast acting impactful solutions, for example advocating for a reduction in methane emissions.
As climate impacts increasingly affect communities and the economy, it is imperative the government acts to protect the country, citizens and businesses. We will prioritise the urgent need to adapt, alongside efforts to prevent worsening impacts. Our work will centre on creating a resilient economy, which depends on healthier communities and robust natural systems.
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We will highlight nature’s role in wellbeing, the economy and tackling climate change.”
Restoring nature and rethinking land use
Optimising UK land use will support nature, sustainable food production and thriving farming communities.
Recognising the public’s love of nature, we will promote policies to restore and enhance it for the benefit of all. We will highlight nature’s role in the nation’s wellbeing, economic resilience and tackling climate change, and outline how private finance can be attracted to invest in it.
We will advocate for a food system that prioritises environmental improvement alongside affordable food, farmer’s livelihoods and people’s health.
We will build on our work driving the UK towards a more circular economy.”
Powering up a resource smart economy
Using the earth’s resources in a smarter way is core to solving climate change and the nature crisis.
We will build on our work driving the UK towards a more circular economy. Getting more out of fewer resources supports higher productivity and jobs, resonates with the public’s desire to cut waste and pollution, and enables people to live well.
Our work will centre on bringing UK resource use into line with planetary boundaries.
