August 31, 2026
Environmental activism doesn’t follow one strict blueprint. Some grassroots leaders build their case in a courtroom; others build it in the streets, in a science lab, or with one signature at a time. Here are four of the many tactics that Goldman Environmental Prize winners have used to make a lasting difference.
1. Organizing Petitions
Petitions can demonstrate public support and put pressure on decision-makers.
Goldman Prize winner Carlos Mallo Molina (Canary Islands, 2025) used this approach to help protect the marine ecosystem of Spain’s Canary Islands. Carlos and his team at Innoceana helped collect more than 420,000 signatures to oppose the construction of a major port that threatened a marine protected area. The petition became a key tool for building public awareness and demonstrating widespread opposition to the project, ultimately contributing to the campaign’s success.
2. Harnessing the Power of Law
By challenging harmful practices through legal action, activists can hold governments and companies accountable.
Sarah Finch (United Kingdom, 2026) helped achieve a landmark legal victory in the United Kingdom. Sarah and the Weald Action Group successfully challenged the approval of an oil drilling project, resulting in a court ruling stating that authorities must consider the downstream impacts that fossil fuels will have on the climate before granting permission to extract them. The case is expected to shape how future development projects are evaluated in the UK and beyond.
Sarah is one of many Goldman Prize winners who have successfully used litigation to achieve environmental progress. Explore more stories:
- Marjan Minnesma (The Netherlands, 2022): Marjan secured a successful ruling requiring the Dutch government to enact specific preventive measures to protect its citizens from climate change.
- Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador, 2020): Nemonte was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that successfully held the Ecuadorian government accountable for violating her community’s right to free, prior, and informed consent.
- Borim Kim (South Korea, 2026): Borim’s organization, Youth 4 Climate Action, won the first youth-led climate case in Asia.
3. Coordinating a March
Public demonstrations can raise awareness and show elected officials and corporate leaders that people are paying attention. Marches and rallies also help connect people with others who share their concerns, building momentum for environmental causes.
Two Goldman Prize winners from Thailand—Tuenjai Deetes (1994) and Niwat Roykaew (2022)—put this tactic into action this June when they participated in a six-day march across Thailand to draw attention to pollution threatening local rivers. Their efforts helped increase awareness of contamination caused by illegal mining for rare earth elements—read a blog post about it here.
4. Documenting with Data
Science and community-led research can gather evidence about environmental harms and strengthen calls for change.
Biologist and Goldman Prize winner Rudi Putra (Indonesia, 2014) relies on field monitoring and scientific data to demonstrate the importance of protecting Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, one of the last places on Earth where orangutans, rhinos, elephants, and tigers coexist in the wild.
But one doesn’t need to have formal scientific training to gather evidence. To expose rampant plastic pollution on Texas’ Gulf Coast, citizen scientist Diane Wilson (United States, 2023) conducted near-daily sampling of a Formosa Plastics’ illegal plastic discharge. Diane and a team of volunteers documented violations with more than 7,000 photos and videos, took the company to court, and won.
Many Paths to Victory
There is no single way to stand up for nature. Whether petitioning, litigating, marching, researching, educating, creating, or speaking up, there are many tactics to create change for our planet.
