Petitions have come to suffer from clutter, lack of stand out and apathy. Organisations like Avaaz, have made signing and distributing them easier, but they’ve also diluted their power, leaving us unsure of how they’re handed over, who they’re seen by, and whether or not they’re taken seriously.

With a great opportunity to influence key policy makers and decisions, and a tiny budget of under $2500, we wanted to be sure Greenpeace was able to have impact, make noise and gather the support they’d needed to start effecting change. We wanted people to experience the power of renewable energy first hand.

The Greenpeace Windchime Project was installed on a busy promenade outside the country’s largest climate change conference, where delegates from around the world were meeting to discuss responses to climate change.

To remind people of the potential of renewable energy, we made the wind an indispensible part of our outdoor by creating a wind powered petition. People were invited to sign their names on bamboo chimes. With every chime added, our petition got louder, drawing huge interest and participation in our cause, not only from the press and public, but also from delegates visiting from around the world.

The Windchime Project drew large crowds. In a few days, over 3,000 bamboo chimes were signed (some with more than 1 signature), and an additional 6,000 signatures were gathered online. Greenpeace volunteers were able to grow their online community to 30,000 people. The petition gave Greenpeace a voice and moral presence at a conference where only government representatives were invited to attend. The idea was extremely popular with the public, conference attendants, journalists, and earned mentions on local radio stations, blogs, and newspapers, carrying our message to a further 70,000 people. All on a budget of under $2,500.