People & Planet

Description

People & Planet is the largest student network in the UK campaigning for social and environmental justice.

It trains, supports and mentors young people, including those underrepresented in social movements, to become effective campaigners on issues of global poverty, human rights and the environment. Local groups are autonomous and choose their own campaigns, decided democratically at the network’s annual gathering. Over half the Board of Trustees is elected by youth members. Current campaigns focus on climate justice, including Fossil Free and Fossil Free Careers, and migrant justice through Divest Borders.

The network also runs the People & Planet University League, an independent ranking of UK universities on environmental and ethical performance. Past campaigns have pushed universities to divest from fossil fuels, join Electronics Watch on labour standards, and support debt cancellation and HIV treatment campaigns. The organization began in 1969 at Oxford University as Third World First, and took the name People & Planet in 1997. It operates across universities, schools and colleges in the United Kingdom.