Our Mission
Green Course is a grassroots activist organization which works to influence elected decision makers in Israel to create public sustainable environmental and social policy, to increase the circles of influence by widening participation, to support social-environmental justice by preventing government authorities, private corporations and the public from harming nature resources and the environmental and social systems of Israel for generations to come.
Who we are
Green Course is made of hundreds of volunteer activists. Most of them are students from all around the country who believe in active participation and in the importance of taking personal responsibility in shaping society, protecting the environment and continuously working towards a better Israel.
Green Course is a non–profit, non-governmental organization supported by national and international foundations and public support. Green Course is not affiliated with any political party, but rather focuses on what is best environmentally and socially for Israel.
Our Work
All themes and projects are identified through a bottom up process, coming from the grassroots activities based on campuses across Israel and by identifying community needs. This ensures that the voices of our volunteers are heard and by identifying community needs early on, we are able to ensure that projects have a positive impact of the communities they affect.
Our Values
Green Course works by supporting:
Leadership
Democracy
Transparency
Full cooperation with the communities involved
What we do
We use public actions and lobbying techniques to create publicity and ‘buzz’ around our chosen projects. We believe that working in the public arena is vital for raising awareness and support when tackling and preventing social and environmental injustice. Green Course is continuously developing and exploring new ways to achieve maximum impact and greatest possible outcomes for all our projects.
Green Course is committed to cooperating and collaborating and works tirelessly to create successful partnerships. We work closely with other social and environmental groups at all levels: locally, nationally and internationally.
We are dedicated to support the environment and society. We are commited to the highest ethical standards including fairness and transparency. Green Course’s volunteers are working to shape a reality, develop an economy, and build a society in which all people can fulfill their needs and accomplish their full potential, whilst safeguarding the environment for the next generations.
Our vision for Israel
We believe that humanity is inseparable from the environment.
We believe that every part of the eco-system has the right to live and prosper.
We believe that social and environmental justice go hand in hand and can only be achieved together.
We believe that environmental justice is important to all members of society, that everyone should receive protection from environmental hazards and that One’s background should not affect his or her ability to access and influence all levels of the decision making process.
We wish to live in a country where decision and policy makers are provided with all the necessary information to get a broad picture of public interests. Decision should consider their long-term impact on the environment and society, including the impacts for all future generations in Israel and abroad.
We wish to see equality in the use of natural resources for everyone, everywhere, along with the recognition the we must give back to the environment and respect the finite resources available.
We want to live in an Israel where environmental, social, economic, and cultural policies reflect values of sustainability and ensuring social and environmental justice.
Green Course’s seven guidelines promoting sustainability and social and environmental justice
1. Promoting and reinforcing social and environmental regulations.
2. Encouraging decision makers working to create sustainable economy by reducing air pollution from industry and transportation, promoting efficient usage of energy and water resources, protecting eco-systems and open spaces, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and Israel’s negative effects on the global climate crisis.
3. Continuous development of an efficient, sustainable, fast and reliable public transportation infrastructure, and as a result: helping to reduce the use of private transportation.
4. Ensuring that all state natural resources are managed for maximum efficiency, whilst taking responsible care for the good of future generations.
5. Including consideration of the environment, society and future generations in the planning process, with care for the long-term impacts and future generations.
6. Advocating the distribution of resource to be based on equity, equality, and level of necessity, to minimize inequality within society.
7. Supporting an open, democratic governmental culture, which enables public involvement and lobbying in decision making processes concerning environment and social justice.