Recent successes
Working together with our campaigners we have made a difference
Plans for Hunterston coal-fired power station are abandoned
The win: Peel Energy abandon their plans to build a a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston, Ayrshire, in the west of Scotland, following a long campaign by a coalition of organisations spearheaded by WWF and RSPB.
Start: November 2008
Finish: June 2012
How it came about: Had this proposal gone ahead, it would have contributed to global warming and made a mockery of Scotland’s world-leading climate targets to achieve 100% renewable by 2020.
Over half of the 22,000 objections to the proposal came from our supporters, who helped to make this the most unpopular planning application to date yet. We also worked on the ground to enable local people to make their voice heard, which resulted in a unanimous vote against the proposal by the local council.
Read more about how we won this campaign.
Platform which threatens the last 130 western gray whales is postponed
The win: Sakhalin Energy postpone the decision to build an oil and gas platform near the feeding ground of the last 130 western gray whales in Far East Russia until 2014.
Start: February 2012
Finish: May 2012
How it came about: The western gray whales were in trouble. A new oil platform right next to their vital feeding area threatened their future.
To highlight their plight, we teamed up with dj Mr Scruff, created an 11 metre replica whale, called Olga, who was floated down the Thames and handed out thousands of copies of our spoof newspaper ‘The Daily Whale’ at the offices of Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered, and BNP Paribas, describing how they could a force for good and help save the whales as lenders to the project.
We believe that our messages had an impact. During the campaign, Sakhalin Energy decided to put off the decision to build the 3rd platform until 2014. We will continue to be engaged in the scientific advisory panel and push for stronger conservation measures for these whales.
Find out more about the campaign
Councils listen to your calls and choose good wood
Start: March 2011
Finish: Ongoing
How it came about: Thousands of WWF campaigners like you have asked their local council to make a pledge with our What Wood You Choose? campaign, and your councils are listening to you. We're now working with 61 councils, and many more who are planning to get involved soon, to help them make sure the wood used in your local communities (for things like construction, office paper and housing) is not harming forests and communities in places like Indonesia and the Congo Basin.
Save the Cerrado video moves past 170K views
The win: Our Save the Cerrado video has so far been viewed over 170,000 times online.
Start: April 2011
Finish: Ongoing
How it came about: As part of our ongoing Save the Cerrado campaign, asking UK supermarkets to buy soya that doesn’t cause deforestation, we developed a unique hand shadow video to show the wonder and magic of this amazing region of Brazil and why it's so important.
Campaign success - the Great British Refurb
The win: The GRR campaign helped achieve the Green Deal. This will make it easier for home owners to eco-refurb their homes without upfront costs and cut their carbon emissions.
Start: 2009
End: early 2012
How it came about: We worked with the UK Green Building Council to get eco refurb on the agenda of politicians and the public.
With the tireless help of our ambassador Kevin McCloud who is passionate about design, homes and our planet, we have acted as a convenor, catalyst and cattle prod to many of the changes over the last few years. We worked with many other organisations on the Demand a Better Bill campaign, we ran a refurb competition and a film competition and Kevin took on the energy minister in a numerous live debates.
Waitrose signs up to Save the Cerrado
The win: As a result of our Save the Cerrado campaign, Waitrose made a commitment to purchase 100% RTRS soya by 2015. Other supermarkets, such as Sainsburys and Co-op, also made new timebound commitments to purcases of sustainable soya
Start: April 2011
Finish: January 2012
How it came about: As part of our ongoing Save the Cerrado campaign, asking UK supermarkets to buy soya that doesn’t cause deforestation, we developed a unique hand shadow video to show the wonder and magic of this amazing region of Brazil and why it's so important.
UK sets world-leading climate target
The win: UK government becomes first country in the world to set legal-binding carbon reduction targets for the 2020s.
Start: Campaigning on the Climate Change Act has been a core part of our campaigning for many years.
Finish: ongoing.
How it came about: Following thousands of emails from campaigners and an open letter to the Prime Minister, the UK has become the first country to set a legally-binding carbon reduction target for the 2020s. This shows the continued strength of the Climate Change Act that so many WWF supporters campaigned for.
Find out more
Earth Hour 2011 - A global success
The win: Earth Hour - from London to Sydney, New York and Singapore, people across the world joined us on 26 March 2011 to switch off their lights.
Start: The first Earth Hour took place in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and quickly became a global phenomenon.
Finish: Earth Hour is an annual event. The next Earth Hour will be on Saturday March 31 2012 at 8.30pm.
How it came about: Organised by WWF offices across the world, millions of people come together to switch off lights for one hour on the last Saturday in March. Earth Hour sends a dramatic message to world leaders to take urgent action on climate change.
Find out more
Heathrow legal challenge
The win: Heathrow legal challenge - cancellation of plans to build a third runway.
Start: We've been campaigning hard for last few years against Heathrow expansion.
Finish: High Court decision, March 2010.
How it came about: WWF-UK and other leading green groups, along with local councils and residents’ groups, made their case against the government’s plans to expand Heathrow Airport with a third runway.
Find out more
Illegal Logging
After years of our campaigning, and thanks to our supporters helping to lobby MPs on this issue, in October 2010 the EU finally passed a law banning illegal timber from the European market.
Homes success
We've been campaigning to green the UK’s homes for many years, and our Grand Designs Great British Refurb campaign has had some great successes.
Campaign success – Marine Act
It took a decade of campaigning to achieve it, but now at last the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act has become law. For the first time ever, the UK government now has a legal duty to conserve and protect species and habitats in and around our seas.
Campaign success – Climate Change Act
Find out how WWF campaigning helped achieve the UK Climate Change Act, the first piece of legislation in the world to set binding reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions.
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