My first 10 years at Greenpeace

I am not going anywhere, why do we have to be grateful only when something great ends?

⚠️ This post is 100% human-written and contains Luca's own views and thoughts.

On March 1st, 2016, I started working at Greenpeace International. As a 32-year-old hunk of passion who just ditched a triple digit contract at Nestlé (yes, from Nestlé to Greenpeace), I walked into the London office without a really clear idea of what awaited me.

Also because I left quite soon, thrown into the streets of Camden with the face-to-face fundraisers. That’s right, in my first week on the (tech) job I had to stand in the rain trying to convince people to donate without any clue of what I was talking about (the goal was not specifically to raise funds, but to understand how difficult it is to secure every cent that pays our salaries).

A weirdly-haired Luca with a few (anonymised) UK colleagues of the Direct Dialogue team — March 2016 — All rights reserved.

Well, 10 years after those rainy 3 hours in Camden, there’s not been a day that I regretted entering the Greenpeace world. This post is a tribute to the longest professional relationship I ever had and probably ever will. I feel such a milestone needs a celebration, this organisation must know why it’s a great place to work, my colleagues must know they’re the best colleagues I could possibly hope for. So here goes.

Why it’s such a precious place to work

I knew what Greenpeace was before becoming a staff member. I joined protests, volunteered a couple of times and donated twice, but I had very little knowledge of how deeply this organisation is rooted in people’s lives. I suspected it was driven by strong values, but had no idea how strong these are and how deeply they influence what the organisation does and how it does it. How great it's been to discover this!

To me, a great place to work is where I feel valued, supported and, more importantly, trusted, not just when things go well, but also when they don’t. And Greenpeace has been there for me. It was there when I arrived from the corporate world, when I insisted on doing things differently, when I survived an earthquake with 27 other colleagues, when I had to stand my ground in negotiations, when I was involved in a conflict, when I wanted to become a Person Of Trust, a leader or a mentor, when I had to spend 60 days in a different continent, when I hired a bunch of rockstars, when I joined actions, when I was sick, happy, sad or anything in between, when I needed training, when I had to move back to Italy, when Covid hit, when I became a dad, when I was rejected for a job I really wanted, when I became a manager, when I had to present at a large technology conference, when I took my team in the streets as fundraisers and in many other occasions. I always felt I was part of Greenpeace, and that sense of belonging made me give my best, because other people were counting on me and were trusting me.

Trying to get tech people out of their comfort zone in Bangkok — April 2019 — All rights reserved.

Today, my purpose is to make others acknowledge how important feeling empowered and trusted is and how lucky we are to be part of a Network that challenges itself first before challenging others, that puts the wellbeing of its staff, activists, supporters and volunteers at the centre of everything we do. After all, Greenpeace is an idea, a movement made up of millions of people who believe a different future is possible.

The Planet 4 team in 2020. Credits — Greenpeace — all rights reserved.

A few well-deserved Thank yous to a few I met along the way

I had the pleasure of meeting some of these wonderful people, so I want to call a few of them out and thank them for making my first decade at Greenpeace unforgettable.

So THANK YOU to Alessia, Alessandro, Alex, Agy, Amandine, Anastasia, Ana, Andrada, Andrea, Annemarie, Ara, Arin, Arnaud, at least 2 Annas, 2 Joes, 3 Julias, 2 Maias, 2 Michaels, 2 Rachaels, 2 Sabrinas, 2 Stefans, 2 Valentinas, 3 Lauras, 3 Robertos and 4 Gabriels, Ben, Bojo, Boon, Brendan, Bonnie, Bunny, Byungheon, Caro, Chanda, Cherry, Cliodhna, Cody (my twin brother), Conan, Daniela, Danny, Davin, Deng, Diego, Dirk, Edurne, Elad, Elaine, Elcio, Fabian, Fadi, Flora, Francesca, Gabe, Gabor, Gean-Xin, Gillo, Gui, Helen, Helena, Hong, Houssam, Ibraheem, James, Jeff, Jetske, Juan, Juliana, Jur, Karen, Kasey, Kate, Kelli, Kelly, Kenan, Kenichiro, Koyan, Koen, Ksenia, Lena, Lilian, Lise, Liz, Loic, Loukia, Maeve, Magali, Maimouna, Manuel, Mara, Marica, Marine, Mario, Mark (who hired me!), Matt, Merel, Michela, Mike, Molly, Muiruri, Musti, Natasja, Navneet, Nelofer, Nick, Nikos, Norma, Nut, Oana, Oscar, Oxana, Pasquale, Paula, Peter, Pei-Ying, Phil, Putri, Quentin, Rakel, Roberta, Rod, Sagar, Sander, Sandrine, Scar, Shindi, Shirley, Simon, Sira, Soenke, Stamatis, Susan, Suzi, Svilena, Teresa, the DXSC, the P4 team, the Reade / Gollem gang, the Universe team, Thetis, Tom, Tsu-Lan, Val, Vanaka, Vanessa, Veronici, Wassim, Vi, Yomi, Yuntak, Zita and everyone else I forgot, but who shared a laugh, a tear, an email, a chat, a community call or a workshop with me since March 1st, 2016.

And thank you, Greenpeace. I can’t wait for our next 10 years.

[embed]One of my favourite videos about Greenpeace ✊ — © Greenpeace Romania