Green Action Fund: Consumers International supports community-led sustainability initiatives across the world

• Green Action Fund: Consumers International supports community-led sustainability initiatives across the world
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Today, we announce that 26 Members of Consumers International will be awarded funding through the Green Action Fund to promote sustainable consumption and reduce poverty.

The transition to sustainable consumption necessitates consumer buy-in. By and large, people want to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. But closing the gap between intention and action remains a challenge. Our research shows that consumers need support, like access to safe and affordable alternatives, complete and transparent information, plus the infrastructure, tools and resources to adopt new lifestyles.

Our Members recognise this. All around the world, they work with consumers within their communities - as well as key stakeholders in business, government, and civil society - to turn our vision for sustainable consumption to reality.

At Consumers International, we're proud to make their impact go further and be bolder.

Every year, through our Green Action Fund, we help to showcase practical, creative, and collaborative ways that consumers can embrace sustainable consumption practices, through the power of Sharing Community.

Explore the winning campaigns

This year, our Members will carry out diverse projects addressing a diverse cross-section of issues related to sustainable consumption and production.

Better Diets

• Ecudar Consumidores (Colombia)will explore the artistry of local gastronomy in the city of Villavicencio, showcasinghow locally sourcedproduce and goods can support better nutrition, lower emissions, and a thriving local economy.

• ADECO (Cape Verde)will lead a campaign to 'Eat What the Earth Gives You' encouraging healthy and sustainable eating through knowledge sharing with a local school community.

• ADEC (Senegal) will publish and distribute amongst communities in the Dakar region a guide to good practice in the production, sale, and consumption of safe and sustainable food.

• BSSC (Benin) will address child malnutritionby working with women living in vulnerable conditions, sharing knowledge on how to grow and produce food in a soilless environment.

Sustainable Agriculture

• Consumers Association of Bangladeshhave planned community awareness campaigns to improve post-harvest management.

• Youth Education Network (Kenya) will promote effective and sustainable small-holdfarming methods that use biodegradable and reusable materials, training 500 women fromcommunities in Mumias, Kenya.

• ADDC-Wadata(Niger) will promote the production and consumption of cassava as a complement to the country's short supply of cereals.

• ADECOR (Rwanda) are addressing the issue of inadequate healthy, sustainableand nutritious food caused bypoor agricultural practices. Their campaign will involve activitiessuch as community gardening, workshops, radio appearances, and stakeholder workshops with smallholder farmers, community leaders and civil society.

Cutting down waste and pollution

• Consumer Council Fiji will address the crisis posed by electronic waste, organising a series of 'community repair cafes', where skilled volunteers will help consumers repair their broken electronics.
• Yemen Association for Consumer Protection will enhance community awareness around the environmental and health risks of pesticide containers. They will work with farmers and agricultural workers to promote the adoption of safe disposal methods.
• SEDECO (Bolivia) will address mercury pollution in rivers, advocating for stricter controls on food produce, working with local students, and running an information campaign on the risks brought by polluted rivers.
• CERC (India) will organise a 'pre-loved exchange', encouraging consumers to trade items rather than throw them away.
• SEWA (Nepal) will centre their campaign around the flowers of festivals including Dashain, Tihar, and Holi. Rather than discarding the flower garlands used to decorate these festivals, SEWA will run community training sessions to turn floral waste into long-life products like incense and natural colour dust.

Solutions to single-use plastic

• Consumer Council Zimbabwe's 'Bring a Bag' campaignwill encourageconsumers to switch to reusableshopping bags, with workshops on repurposing old clothes into carrier bags.

• Yogyakarta Consumer Institute (Indonesia)will train suburban women to repurpose plastic bottles into simple irrigation tools that can be used to grow household vegetable crops.

• CUTS(India) will host community and city level consultations to find solutions to rising levels of household waste in Jaipur.
• TheNetwork (Pakistan) will conduct research with local university students to find out how to implement effective enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics.
• Fédération des Associations de Consommateursde Côte d 'Ivoire will set up information workshops and sessions in a market in Abidjan, encouraging market traders to use alternatives to plastic bags while shopping.

Efficient water and energy use

• Consumers' Association of Penang (Malaysia) will help communities to lower theirelectricity bills and combat climate change, educating consumers on energy saving and sharing the benefits of natural cooling methods.

• Consumers Lebanon's 'Every Drop Matters' initiativewill promote sustainable water management in Lebanon, collecting data on water usageand sharing resources and information with consumers.

Safeguarding the natural environment

• Association Ivoirienne des Consommateurs (Côte d'Ivoire) will encourage urban biodiversity; planting trees, creating neighbourhoodgreen spaces which welcome local plants and animals,and organising organic gardening workshops.

• Colectivo Ecologista Jalisco (Mexico) will work with local creatives in Jaliscoto run a digital campaign on the impact industries like tequila, avocado, and meatare having on deforestation.

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Community building and Knowledge sharing

• AmbioSociedad Civil (Costa Rica) will work with localgroups to draw up new visionsfor a community that produces and consumes sustainably.

• ASPEC (Peru)'s Eco Heroes campaignwill inspire, empower, and educate consumers to adopt sustainable practices into their daily lives, highlighting the importance of consumer and community action in the fight against climate change.

• Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (India) will host a 'mela' (fair) showcasingsustainable products, with organic food, plastic alternatives, e-waste collection points, and a demo on waste segregationand composting.

• Consumer VOICE (India) will educate and engage consumers in the circulareconomy through workshops, digital campaigns, and on-the-ground events.