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Inspired by ideas set forth by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Green Cross International hopes that a paradigm shift in social attitudes and values will lead to a more sustainable and peaceful global community. The group believes that a growing sense of interdependence and mutual responsibility will have ever greater influence on the actions of corporations, governments, and citizens, leading them to create new legal and socioeconomic systems that will insure more sustainable, just growth. To foster this change, Gorbachev and the Green Cross have created the Earth Dialogues to provide a forum for the examination of the connection between ethics and development, supported international environmental and development pacts such as the Earth Charter, and participated in a wide range of education programs.
While working to implement its broad core principles, the Green Cross has targeted specific problems of immediate concern, especially access to water and the environmental legacy of the Cold War. The organization has worked to define clean drinking water as a fundamental human right in international law; and helps governments and international agencies address health problems related to the manufacture of weapons during the Cold War and find safe, effective ways of reducing stockpiles of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.
Through his involvement in the Green Cross, Gorbachev has joined a group often described as the global “elders”–former heads of state who use their connections and status to raise awareness of issues and find solutions based on international cooperation, mediation, and the expansion of nongovernmental organizations. Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela are the two most prominent elders; Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush took steps in that direction with their support for relief and reconstruction efforts after the 26 December 2004 tsunami. Gorbachev and the Green Cross mirror closely the activities of these other leaders and NGOs, particularly their emphasis on moral suasion and the belief that education and dialogue are essential foundations of public policy.