groundWork

What groundWork does

groundWork Friends of the Earth South Africa is a principles-driven non-profit environmental justice organisation established in 1999 and headquartered in South Africa, operating as the local affiliate of Friends of the Earth International. The organisation works towards a just transition and open democracy in South Africa and beyond by partnering with affected fenceline communities to resist dirty energy and toxic production, and by building solidarity and local alliances that advocate for democratic control over resources such as energy, waste, and health. Its primary beneficiaries are communities living near polluting industries (coal power stations, mines, waste sites, and industrial facilities), populations experiencing direct health impacts from environmental pollution, and informal waste workers.

The organisation delivers its mission through six active campaigns — Climate & Energy Justice, Just Transition & Coal, Environmental Health, Waste, and Environmental Justice Education — plus a Healthy Hospitals initiative run in partnership with Health Care Without Harm. Its tangible outputs include research reports (most recently a 2025 Hazardous Waste mapping study and a 2025 critique of the Presidential Climate Commission titled "An Imbalance of Power"), quarterly newsletters, two online resource hubs for activists, public submissions, petitions, and an annual Environmental Justice School. Distribution is multichannel: a primary website, active social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, earned media and press campaigns, events and conferences, and direct community engagement.

groundWork's business model is non-commercial. The organisation is funded through grants, donations, and partnerships rather than the sale of products or services, and it does not disclose pricing or revenue. It maintains strategic alliances with Friends of the Earth International, the Life After Coal coalition (Earthlife Africa, Centre for Environmental Rights), SAWPA (15,000+ waste picker members across nine provinces), GAIA, HCWH/GGHH, AJTN, Clean Air Fund, Oilwatch International, and local alliances in South Durban and the Vaal Triangle. Leadership is led by Executive Director Bobby Peek, supported by a small named team of campaigners, media staff, and an HR officer.

Name

groundWork

Legal name

groundWork Friends of the Earth South Africa

Website

https://groundwork.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

groundWork is a South African non-profit environmental justice organisation (founded 1999) that partners with affected fenceline communities to run six advocacy campaigns on coal transition, climate and energy justice, environmental health, waste, education, and healthy hospitals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Environmental Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Justice & Community Environmental Health (BPAGAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH), Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL)

Keywords

• Environmental justice advocacy
• Climate justice campaigns
• Waste management advocacy
• Community environmental organizing
• Fossil fuel phase-out

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

groundWork Friends of the Earth South Africa is a non-profit environmental justice organization that runs six advocacy campaigns covering Climate & Energy Justice, Just Transition & Coal, Environmental Health, Waste, Environmental Justice Education, and Healthy Hospitals. It partners with affected fenceline communities in South Africa to resist dirty energy and toxic production, builds local alliances and solidarity networks, and produces research reports, quarterly newsletters, and online resource hubs to inform policy advocacy and community organizing.

Product overview

GroundWork Friends of the Earth South Africa is a principles-driven non-profit environmental justice organisation established in 1999. It is not a product-based company but operates through advocacy campaigns and educational resources. Its core offerings include six active campaigns: Climate & Energy Justice, Just Transition & Coal, Environmental Health, Waste, Environmental Justice Education, and Healthy Hospitals. These campaigns work towards a just transition from fossil fuels to clean, community-owned energy while addressing waste management, pollution, and health impacts. GroundWork also produces reports, publishes quarterly newsletters, and maintains resource hubs for environmental justice education. The organization partners with affected communities to resist dirty energy and toxic production, building solidarity and local alliances for democratic control over resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Climate & Energy Justice Campaign Advocacy campaign focused on a just energy transition from a dirty, fossil fuel based energy system to one that delivers clean and accessible electricity owned by people.
• Just Transition & Coal Campaign Advocacy campaign addressing South Africa's minerals-energy complex, one of the most energy and carbon intensive in the world, to phase out coal and advance a just transition.
• Environmental Health Campaign Advocacy campaign addressing pollution and waste impacts on health, particularly from fossil fuels, and the implications of climate change for community health.
• Waste Campaign Advocacy campaign working with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) towards a just and waste-free world without incineration, and supporting waste picker rights in South Africa.
• Environmental Justice Education Campaign Education campaign seeking to increase understandings and skills among activists in organisations living and working on the fenceline, building a cohort of knowledgeable environmental justice community activists, including an annual Environmental Justice School for trainee activists.
• Healthy Hospitals Campaign Advocacy campaign in partnership with Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH) network, promoting climate-smart healthcare for health systems and health institutions across Africa.
• Reports & Publications Research reports, position statements, and analyses on environmental justice issues affecting South African communities, including the 2025 report 'An Imbalance of Power' and the Hazardous Waste (Mis)Management in South Africa report.
• Quarterly Newsletters Quarterly newsletters published as PDF documents detailing groundWork's campaigns, events, and environmental justice updates.
• Environmental Justice Education Resource Hub Online resource hub providing educational materials for activists and community organizers focused on environmental justice issues and skills development.
• Environmental Health Campaign Resource Hub Online resource hub providing materials and information on environmental health issues, pollution impacts, and related campaigns for community organizers and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• SAWPA has more than 15,000 registered waste picker members across all nine provinces of South Africa
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2025groundWork has partnered with SAWPA for over 15 years to mobilize, organize, and work with waste pickers in South Africa and increasingly across Africa, supporting waste picker rights and integration into formal waste management.
• Friends of the Earth InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork is the South African affiliate of Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest grassroots environmental network. This partnership provides global solidarity, shared resources, and international coordination for environmental justice campaigns.
• Life After Coal (Earthlife Africa, Centre for Environmental Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork collaborates with Life After Coal campaign, a coalition that includes Earthlife Africa and Centre for Environmental Rights, to advocate for coal phase-out and just transition in South Africa.
• Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) / Global Green and Healthy HospitalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) to promote climate-smart healthcare through the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH) network in Africa, focusing on reducing healthcare sector environmental impacts.
• Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork is a member of GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), a global alliance working towards a just and waste-free world without incineration, providing international solidarity on waste justice issues.
• Africa Just Transition Network (AJTN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork is a member of the Africa Just Transition Network (AJTN), working to advance a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy across Africa, with emphasis on community-led energy solutions.
• Clean Air FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with Clean Air Fund to implement an open waste burning awareness and data collection community initiative in South Africa's air quality priority areas.
• Wildlife Environmental Society South Africa (WESSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork collaborates with WESSA (Wildlife Environmental Society South Africa) on the open waste burning awareness project, enabling schools to lead on sustainable waste management.
• Oilwatch InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with Oilwatch International, a network working on fossil fuel phase-out and resistance to oil extraction in the Global South.
• Zero Mercury Working GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork collaborates with Zero Mercury Working Group on issues related to mercury pollution and toxic waste management.
• Centre for Environmental RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with Centre for Environmental Rights, a South African organization focused on environmental rights and litigation.
• Earthlife AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with Earthlife Africa (Johannesburg) on environmental justice campaigns and research.
• South Durban Community Environmental AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork collaborates with South Durban Community Environmental Alliance on environmental justice issues in South Durban.
• Vaal Environmental Justice AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance on environmental justice issues in the Vaal Triangle area.
• Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork works with Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) on issues affecting informal waste workers.
• The Support Centre for Land ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnergroundWork partners with The Support Centre for Land Change on land and environmental justice issues.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• 350.org: Global climate movement organization running fossil fuel phase-out campaigns worldwide, including in Africa. Broad incumbent peer running overlapping just-transition and fossil fuel advocacy at much larger scale.
• Greenpeace Africa: Africa office of global environmental organization with overlapping campaign priorities on coal, climate justice, and pollution. Comparable mission and target geography, much larger institutional scale.
• Friends of the Earth International: Global grassroots environmental network of which groundWork is the South African affiliate. Provides global coordination, solidarity, and shared resources; comparable in mission at the global level and the structural parent of groundWork.
• Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA): Global alliance of which groundWork is a member, coordinating waste justice and anti-incineration campaigns. Direct partner and structural umbrella comparable to Friends of the Earth at the waste-campaign vertical.

Others

• WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing): Global network focused on informal workers including waste pickers — a direct partner of groundWork on waste picker rights. Adjacent peer with overlapping constituency in informal-sector waste workers rather than direct campaign competition.
• Health Care Without Harm: International coalition partner of groundWork on the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals network. Adjacent enabling organization rather than direct competitor — shares healthcare decarbonization mission with groundWork's Healthy Hospitals campaign.

Direct peers

• South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA): Community-based environmental justice coalition in South Durban working on industrial pollution and health — a direct partner and functional peer of groundWork on fenceline community organizing.
• Centre for Environmental Rights: South African environmental rights organization using litigation and advocacy, co-leading the Life After Coal coalition with groundWork. Comparable in environmental justice focus but differentiated by a legal-strategy approach versus groundWork's community-organizing approach.
• Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA): Community alliance in the Vaal Triangle working on industrial pollution, coal, and health impacts — a direct partner and peer to groundWork on community-level environmental justice mobilization.
• Earthlife Africa Johannesburg: South African environmental justice organization that co-leads the Life After Coal campaign with groundWork and Centre for Environmental Rights. Directly comparable in mission, geography, and campaign portfolio on coal and just transition.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/groundworksa.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCncrNLBo7oQdfWase4cE2YA
• Facebookfacebook.com/groundWorkSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groundwork_2
• Instagraminstagram.com/groundwork.sa/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about groundWork