The Varda Group was established in 2003 by Kelly Rigg and Rémi Parmentier. We now have operations in the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK and we work with an extensive network of freelance collaborators. We’ve campaigned to protect the deep sea, sharks and tuna, the climate, health from smoking and on many other issues.
Welcome to The Varda Group
The Varda Group provides strategic advice and campaign expertise and coordination services across a wide range of international environmental and social issues. The Varda Group consists of Varda BV (The Netherlands), Varda Desarrollo Sostenible SL (Spain), and Varda Ltd (UK). In addition, The Varda Foundation (Stichting Varda) is a not-for-profit organisation that has the capacity to carry out charitable projects. The Varda Group was established in 2003 by Rémi Parmentier, Kelly Rigg, and Elaine Lawrence who have been leading campaigns for over 30 years on oceans, climate, disarmament, human health and many other issues. Our specialties include:
- Campaign coordination and leadership
- Political campaigning and advocacy
- Strategic planning
- Project design and management
- Campaign and organizational evaluation
- Meeting facilitation
- Communications strategy design
- Event organization
- Campaign training
Varda staff are fluent in English, French and Spanish (and to a lesser extent Dutch and Portuguese).
2021
October 2021:
- Member of Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition’s Organizing Committee for the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Madrid Protocol for the protection of Antarctica
- Co-organizing with TBA21, and facilitating the launch at the Thyssen Museum, Madrid of Antarctic Resolution, an installation to celebrate the protection of the Antarctic continent. Click here to watch video streaming
- Panelist at Barcelona New Economy Week and keynote speaker at the presentation of the City of Barcelona’s Blue Economy plan
September 2021:
- Support to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
- “Marine Exploitable Areas, Shifing the Burden of Proof for Marine Protection” (Making ocean protection the norm rather than the exception), published by Idees, in English, Spanish and Catalan
- Panelist at the WTO Public Forum
- Advice and support to Friends of Ocean Action
August 2021
- Consultations with UNFCCC Patries on behalf of the Because the Ocean initiative
July 2021
- Organizational review for Ocean Unite
June 2021
- Report for Barcelona Activa: The Blue Economy International Policy Ecosystem & Recommendations Arising
- Guest Article published by IISD: Sustainable Fisheries vs Harmful Subsidies: Let’s End the War of Attrition
May 2021
- Panelist at the presentation of the Barcelona Green Deal.
- Organizational review and support for the development of a new three-year organizational strategy for Ocean Unite.
- “Listen to the Lost Whale“, an op-ed published by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
- Contributing author, Policy Brief: “Swimming the talk: How to strengthen synergies between the Climate and Biodiversity Conventions?”, with the Ocean & Climate Platform.
- Panelist at the Spanish annual National Environmental Congress in Madrid.
April 2021
- Round-table organizer and facilitator at the Barcelona ReACT conference.
- Panelist at the high-level workshop Ocean & Climate, From Science to Policy, co-organized by the Tara Ocean Foundation, Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the French Embassy in Chile.
- “Four New Ideas for Protecting the Ocean“, a guest article in the SDG Knowledge Hub of the International Institute on Sustainable Development (IISD).
March 2021
- Blue Food for Thought, an essay hosted by the Monaco Ocean Week.
- Member of the Advisory Council for the Barcelona ReACT conference.
- Initiator and liaison with WTO Secretariat for the Stop Funding Overfishing welcome performance on the new WTO DG’s inauguration day.