
Green Cross International
Description
Green Cross International is an environmentalist organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993.
Its mission is to respond together to security, poverty and environmental degradation, seeking solutions through dialogue, mediation and cooperation. It promotes legal, ethical and behavioural change in government, business and civil society, works to prevent and resolve conflicts over natural resources such as water and energy, and helps people affected by the environmental consequences of war and disasters. It runs programmes on value change, water for life and peace, smart energy, environmental security, social and medical response, and reforestation. It also gives Green Star Awards and works on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Green Cross International grew out of an idea Gorbachev raised in 1990 and was formally launched in Kyoto, Japan, in 1993, after merging with the Swiss-founded World Green Cross. It operates through member organisations known as Green Cross National Organisations, present in around 30 countries. It holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and UNESCO, and works with UN bodies on climate, desertification and environmental emergencies.