HOW DECAH HELPED GREENPEACE BRAZIL UPDATE ITS JOURNEY FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS
In a constantly changing world, where sustainability and environmental awareness have become not just topics of discussion but imperatives for survival on the planet, the role of organisations like Greenpeace Brazil (GPBR) has never been more crucial.
However, even environmental giants are not immune to the challenges of adapting to new realities, technologies, and societal demands. It is with a mix of humility and enthusiasm that we share the consultancy in the form of a journey in which we dove, alongside this iconic institution, to sketch out the strategic planning for the next three years.
Join us on this narrative, not just to discover the adopted engagement strategy, but to understand the beating heart and passion that fuels GPBR’s mission.
1. The Paths of Transformation Unfolding
The previous planning process revealed a series of internal challenges that shaped how we approached each stage.
The first obstacle we encountered was the shadow of a trauma associated with the previous government, mining on indigenous land, dismantling of control agencies, and climate upheaval. This complex history increased the pressure and need for sensitivity from everyone in conducting the new planning.
Another aspect was the arrival of new executive leadership and board formation. This signalled an era of transformation and renewal within the organisation. The introduction of new leaders brought a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and skills, manifesting in a refreshing approach to the challenges faced. The new board emphasised the importance of adapting to changes in the global scenario and reinforced the need for an inclusive, collaborative, attentive, and innovative organisational culture.
This transition, though challenging in several aspects, represented a valuable opportunity for Greenpeace to reassess its mission, align with contemporary demands, and nurture its passion for environmental defence on a daily basis.
Internally, middle management expressed a need for reorientation and alignment, indicating the need for planning to be more distributed throughout the organisation, thus reducing asymmetries and strengthening an even more participatory culture.
Simultaneously, GPBR’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, although a strong point of the organisation, also presented its own challenges, ensuring that these values were consistently brought to the forefront in every stage of planning.
2. Our Methodological Premises
Creating the new strategic plan was a task that required not just expertise, but above all, empathy, adaptability, and a holistic vision. With this responsibility, we put into practice our collaborative DNA and methodological premises to navigate this challenge.
Our ten years of versatile experience proved essential for this project. Having served a wide variety of clients — from startups to established corporations, through governments and various Third Sector Institutions NGOs, Institutes, Foundations, and Funding Agencies — brought us a wealth of perspectives and learnings.
We embraced a hybrid approach, integrating digital and physical. This methodology allowed us to adapt our processes dynamically, as per the demands of participants and the maturation process of the Institution, inviting team members from various locations in the country.
We understood that to build a successful strategy with a sense of belonging, it was crucial to involve stakeholders at various layers, a true co-creation by addition. Thus, we ensured that every voice was heard, every perspective considered, and every challenge diagnosed. This included senior leadership, providing strategic direction; middle management, bringing practical insights; teams, ensuring a diversity of day-to-day perspectives; and the broad ecosystem of stakeholders, encompassing advisors, experts, and partner Greenpeace offices. As we say here, this is Ecosystem-Centred Design.
At each stage, the multiple perspectives that converged ensured that our strategy for GPBR was robust, inclusive, and prepared to face the challenges of the present and stimulate more inspiring futures. We believe this collaborative approach and co-creation by layers of perception was the differential that enabled alignments for a promising future.
3. The Planning Stages
We structured our approach into three sequential and interconnected modules.
M1 — Start and Foundation:
At the beginning of our journey, we conducted an in-depth analysis that included reviewing over 30 previous reports and studies, as well as detailed interviews with leaders from each area. This process revealed not only past challenges and successes but also future perspectives, with alignment meetings with the management (SMT) being fundamental to capturing initial visions and aspirations. The main objectives included initiating reflections with the Board about the context and future vision of GP, and defining the general frame for GPBR, aiming to align the current diagnosis and inspire the organisation of strategic fronts for the 3-year strategic plan.
A report was presented offering a common vision of the external context, challenges, and opportunities, including topics such as COP30 and municipal and presidential elections. The process also involved levelling up on the next steps and the glocalization of Greenpeace’s global Theory of Change. This phase included support dynamics and the generation of a list of “fundamental clauses,” commitments essential for the next three years. Finally, we discussed the alignment on fundraising perspectives and strategies.
M2 — Interaction and Cooperation:
The second moment was the turn to bring to the game the second layer of interaction, middle management (MMT). The sessions covered areas such as campaigns, engagement, fundraising, operations, finance, HR, integrity/diversity, IT, and digital transformation. The proposal was that each session would be divided into moments of exploring what had been built in the previous stage, reflecting on context under a more specialised perspective of each area, and preparing for the final convergence stage that would come later.
The problematization of the strategic frame involved discussions to understand the logic behind our umbrella narrative/change thesis. We used an approach that favours psychological safety, the Fishbowl Methodology, and notes in Miro, including a sandbox with highlights and doubts, followed by a plenary session for clarifications from leaders.
In the internal and external context, we assessed the environment around Greenpeace. Each participant contributed with an individual SWOT analysis, considering internal, external, and global aspects.
The problematization of Greenpeace’s global Theory of Change focused on developing a robust local strategy aligned with this theory. The work consisted in establishing relationships between our frame and the Theory of Change.
At Decah, we have extensive experience in glocalizing global theories of change and governance relations with third sector institutions/impact ecosystems operating in various countries throughout our history. In the case of Greenpeace, we looked at global best practices to serve as levers of innovation in creating GPBR’s new plan.
Finally, we generated reflexological questions to guide strategic planning and future decision-making. We identified which questions would be addressed in M3 and which would require other processes.
M3 — Finalization and Implementation:
In this last stage, the main focus was on building the projects and strategic fronts for the Three-Year Plan, a task shared between management and middle management. Moreover, the integration of global information from the plan was a priority, emphasising the creation of the initial version of the programmatic fronts and defining the complementary objectives of the departments. Decah’s participation was essential in alignment sessions and SMT immersions in São Paulo and Manaus, as well as listening sessions with the Board and meetings with global and other offices to have an integrated view of the entire process.
Departmental workshops focused on the initial discussion of programmatic fronts, also addressing the correlation with the global, the Frame, the Fundamental Clauses, and the context. There was also a focus on ideating projects with the Lotus Blossom technique and defining the “creative triad,” which included the axis, execution methods, and innovation levers.
The globalisation of the strategy, encompassing global triggers, co-responsibilities, and collaborations with other GP offices, was equally relevant.
The final sessions were dedicated to the consolidation of learnings and directions by management, organised in three rounds. The first round explored the purpose and strategic objective of each department. The second round focused on how the department could be more impactful in the plan, exploring primary and secondary objectives. The third round addressed the next steps and necessary help, with a look to the future and detailing the desired results.
The culmination of this planning process was a unique sharing event with the entire team, held at a weekly moment dedicated to the entire team meeting. On this special occasion, we presented the triennial plan to the entire organisation, inviting each member to give their final “two cents.” This was an open space to express what each found most exciting, the perceived challenges, aspects that were not clear, and other points that deserved highlight.
This meeting proved extremely valuable for integration and care with the involvement of everyone in the organisation, to precisely arrive at our first essential objective of this work: bringing belonging and appropriation of each person in the organisation to the plan that was being outlined for the next 3 years.
4. What Greenpeace Brazil Takes for Its Journey
With a participatory process, it is not surprising that we have reaped tangible and significant results. The integration of our methodology with the passion and commitment of GPBR produced a strategy that has much to do with the organisation and the current aspirations of society.
We integrated and intersected themes to establish goals and metrics on issues such as addressing environmental racism, seeking climate justice, the importance of data on the planet’s upheaval, combating deforestation and mining, the role of the financial system in biodiversity loss, valuing indigenous and traditional peoples and communities, the need to overcome fossil fuels, mobilising new generations around the climate agenda, and using communication, culture, and technology as engagement tools. Thus, we arrived at:
Strategic Clarity
The process allowed us to define a clear path. With aligned objectives, goals, and performance indicators, Greenpeace Brazil now has a defined inspirational and strategic north for the coming years. The strategic map, the fruit of this work, serves as a constant guide for the team, ensuring that each action and decision aligns with the organisation’s greater purpose.
Organisational Alignment
One of the most tangible results was integrating various layers of the institution into collective construction. The co-creation and discussion sessions ensured that all organisation levels were aligned, from senior leadership to operational teams. This internal cohesion is a powerful force, enabling more effective and agile implementation of strategic initiatives in daily operations.
Integration of Perspectives
By involving stakeholders from various layers, we achieved a rich, multifaceted strategy with a high sense of belonging. Each perspective added depth and nuance to the plan. This not only enhanced the robustness of the strategy but also ensured its authenticity across various contexts.
Preparation for Future Challenges
Our SWOT analysis, together with discussions about the external context, prepared GPBR to anticipate and face emerging challenges. The strategy now has the necessary flexibility to adapt to constantly changing scenarios, whether in the political, social, or environmental landscape.
Engagement and Ownership
The inclusive process made everyone feel an integral part of the strategy. There is a palpable sense of ownership among team members. This, in turn, ensures a deeper commitment to the organisation’s vision and mission.
External Validation
By involving the Board and the support team of the global (GPI plus 2 offices from other countries), the strategy was also externally validated. This not only reinforces its robustness but also ensures that GPBR remains aligned with global objectives and benefits from external perspectives and partnerships.
5. The Purpose Stands Firm
We continue to hope that the results of this strategic planning will help propel GPBR’s course in the coming years, enabling them to face challenges with determination, embrace opportunities boldly, and inspire generations of activists. All this, recognizing the grandeur of this organisation and the importance of all the people who contribute to it and share the same worldview and purpose for change.
This journey reminded us of the immense value of organisations dedicated to causes greater than themselves and the importance of delineated strategies and collectively defined objectives in this sector (initiatives like the Climate Change Coalition, which we have showcased here). The purpose has to be collective, internally and externally, for the future to be possible.
In times of uncertainty and change, Greenpeace Brazil remains a bastion of hope, determination, and resilience.
On behalf of the entire Decah team, we thank GPBR for the opportunity to be part of this transformative journey. We look forward to witnessing the fruits of this planning in the coming years and will continue to support and admire the indomitable mission of Greenpeace Brazil.
This article is signed by Marcele Oliveira and was prepared in collaboration with the entire Decah project team.
Marcele Oliveira (@marceleolivv), born in Realengo in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, graduated in Cultural Production from UFF — Niterói, and works as a producer, communicator, and climate activist. She is the Master of Ceremonies at Circo Voador and a Young Climate Negotiator for the RJ Environment Secretariat. She is part of the Realengo 2030 Agenda, which integrates the Climate Change Coalition, focusing on environmental racism and climate justice from the perspective of peripheral youth. She is in the Communication Working Group of the National Council of Youth for Climate Action and is jointly building the National Conference of Favelas. She is a leader trained in public policy courses by Casa Fluminense and a researcher in the field of the right to the city and social participation. A B Lab practises Multiplier, she is part of the Decah network of experts as a facilitator and impact strategist in the areas of climate, youth, and creative economy, and a board member of this B Company.
