Draft:Climate Whistleblowers
International climate whistleblower NGO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Climate Whistleblowers (CW) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2023 with the aim of protecting and supporting whistleblowers who have information about practices that exacerbate the climate crisis[1]. Since 2023, Climate Whistleblowers has supported whistleblowers responsible for several revelations: GreenFakes about the practices of environmental auditing firms[2][3] or Polina Zabrodskaya's story about greenwashing in the advertising industry[4].
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Protecting climate whistleblowers
Climate Whistleblowers champions the idea that even an isolated whistleblowing can have a significant impact. It believes that, with specialised support, the emergence of a new generation of climate whistleblowers could generate significant changes in the fight against climate change[5]. However, reporting can be dangerous, and these people may be subject to retaliation. For this reason, Climate Whistleblowers seeks to protect them (physically, financially, legally, in the media, and psychologically)[6]. Beyond this support, Climate Whistleblowers seeks to maximise the impact of the revelations in the hope of putting an end to the reported practices[7].
International reach
Climate Whistleblowers is an organisation that operates on an international scale. Its boards of directors and strategic boards are made up of lawyers, activists, scientists and journalists from various countries around the world[6]. Among them are, for example, the American scientist Peter Kalmus, the French economist Lucas Chancel and the Mexican lawyer Alejandra Ancheita. Its headquarters are located in Paris, as France has an ambitious regulatory framework for the protection of whistleblowers and the organisations that support them[8]. It is closely linked to the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF)[1].
Climate Whistleblowers-backed disclosures
Dawn Meats incinerator case
The Dawn Meats case concerns an environmental dispute in Ireland over an animal by-product incinerator project promoted by the agri-food company Dawn Meats in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo. The case rose to prominence in 2024 following revelations showing that the incinerator's predicted sulphur dioxide emissions could exceed legal limits set by the European Union[9][10].
Context
Dawn Meats, one of Europe's leading meat suppliers, proposed the construction of an incinerator to treat animal waste, in particular in response to the inability to export this waste to the UK after Brexit[9]. The facility was to produce energy for the Ballyhaunis plant. In this context, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted an authorisation in 2024, setting an emission limit of 50 mg/m³ of sulphur dioxide SO2[9].
Revelations about planned broadcasts
According to internal documents obtained by Climate Whistleblowers and made public by SourceMaterial and The Irish Times, the Spanish company Valfortec, which designed the incinerator, had estimated emissions at approximately 80 mg/m³ of SO2[10]. Therefore, this estimate is significantly higher than the regulatory limit and the declarations made to the authorities. These revelations have raised the question of a possible breach of European air pollution standards.
Consequences and reactions
Following the publication of this information, the EPA announced that it would review the license granted to ensure that the emission limits meet the strictest European standards[9].
Issues raised and the role of Climate Whistleblowers
Climate Whistleblowers collected and transmitted internal documents to the media, highlighting the potential risks to public health and the environment arising from exceeding regulatory thresholds for industrial emissions[11].
The GreenFakes case
The GreenFakes case is a journalistic investigation revealed in February 2025 by a consortium of media outlets that includes Mediapart, Africa Uncensored and Mongabay, in collaboration with Climate Whistleblowers[2][3]. The research brings to light collusion between certain environmental consulting firms and multinational corporations, intending to conduct biased environmental audits to facilitate environmentally destructive industrial projects.
Context
The name "GreenFakes" refers to the falsification or manipulation of environmental assessments. The case reveals how these practices allow companies to obtain financing or permits more easily, especially for projects in Africa, while concealing or minimising the negative impacts of these projects on biodiversity[2].
Actors and projects involved
Among the consulting firms mentioned are the French Biotope and the British The Biodiversity Consultancy[12]. Its clients included several multinationals such as TotalEnergies, Eiffage, Rio Tinto and Chanel[2], involved in projects in Uganda, Mozambique, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Madagascar. The audit reports in question often acknowledged the ecological richness of the areas studied and the risks to biodiversity, but proposed mitigation measures deemed insufficient or even inapplicable. In some cases, the recommended measures were subject to the explicit agreement of the sponsor, which limited any real commitment to environmental protection within the projects' scope[12][13].
The role of Climate Whistleblowers
In the GreenFakes case, Climate Whistleblowers played a central role in collecting and analysing hundreds of internal documents from research firms; coordinating research work with several independent media outlets; and ensuring the safety and anonymity of whistleblowers[12].
Research method
The revelations are based on an internal set of documents (contracts, reports, correspondence) supplemented by field research, interviews with local communities, OSINT analysis and the use of satellite imagery to corroborate the findings[12].
Issues raised
The case has highlighted structural failures in the environmental audit sector, underscoring the absence of independent regulation and control. Climate Whistleblowers and the media involved consider that these practices contribute to a phenomenon of "permission to destroy" the environment, granted to industrialists, despite their stated commitments to ecological responsibility[2][12].
The case of Polina Zabrodskaya
Polina Zabrodskaya's case concerns litigation between the former creative partner of the British advertising agency AMV BBDO and her former employer, in relation to accusations of greenwashing and retaliation[4][14]. It is supported by Climate Whistleblowers.
Context
Polina Zabrodskaya, originally from the heavily polluted Tula Oblast in Russia[15], joined AMV BBDO to work on international advertising campaigns, particularly for the Galaxy and Sheba brands, owned by Mars Inc.[4][14]. These campaigns highlighted environmental and sustainability commitments, particularly through third-party certifications such as Rainforest Alliance and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). However, her personal investigations revealed serious problems in the supply chains of these brands, including child labor in cocoa farming and environmentally destructive fishing practices[4][14]. In this context, she claims that certifications used to validate AMV BBDO's advertising campaigns were misleading.
Revelations and alleged retaliation
After raising her concerns internally, Zabrodskaya says she was progressively removed from her responsibilities, excluded from meetings, and criticised for her attitude[16][4]. Eventually, she was suspended. Considering that her warnings were ignored, she left AMV BBDO in 2024.
Judicial proceedings
In 2025, Zabrodskaya initiated proceedings before a labour court, alleging unfair dismissal and retaliation for raising the alarm within the company[16]. She was supported by the law firms Equal Justice Solicitors and Doughty Street Chambers[16]. At the same time, thanks to the support of Climate Whistleblowers, among others, she decided to sound the alarm publicly[15]. His story has been the subject of an article in the Financial Times[4] as well as a more personal interview for DeSmog[15].
Issues raised
This case highlights the role of advertising agencies in the dissemination of environmental messages by companies, as well as the risks of greenwashing when these messages are based on controversial or unrealistic data or certifications. It also raises the issue of whistleblower protection in the advertising sector[15].
Funding
Climate Whistleblowers receives funding from the Tides Foundation, Broad Reach Foundation, the Open Society Foundation and OLIN[17].
Partners
Climate Whistleblowers has collaborated with various organisations from several countries, such as the associations Notre Affaire à Tous and Friends of the Earth - France[1], investigative journalism organisations such as The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), Global Witness, or the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). legal organisations such as the Human Rights Law Centre[18] or Protect, or, finally, organisations specialising in whistleblowing, such as the Whistleblowing International Network (WIN)[19] or the Maison des Lanceurs d'Alerte (MLA).