What is Global Action Plan?

Global Action Plan is the product of Trewin Restorick, previously a recycling co-ordinator and then head of marketing at Friends of the Earth. He left and founded Global Action Plan (GAP) in 1993. GAP looks to build teamwork among groups of people who increase the sustainability of their activities in an environmental sense.

In 2003 it described itself thus: "Global Action Plan is an independent national charity that provides practical guidance to support sustainable development through a mix of facilitated behaviour change programmes based on measurable achievements and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles through web and paper-based publications." It has a quite impressive track record and has grown to employ 50 members of staff.

GAP is a registered charity, number 102648. It defines its purpose as: "To promote the protection and improvement of the natural environment by increasing public knowledge and understanding of human behaviour which is not harmful to man and other living species and to planetary ecology."

The latest GAP project is the Environmental IT Leadership TEAM (EITLT), which aims to build a green group of IT businesses and have it produce reports on greener IT practices and so exert pressure on government and vendors to bring about greener IT.

As a marketeer, Restorick is adept at tactics that raise awareness and also raise the profile of his charity; for it does not exist on voluntary contributions from individuals. No, it depends on and solicits funding from, organisations, both public sector and private. For example, landfill tax credit.