Zoï Environment Network is a Geneva-based non-profit organization that specialises in the analysis and communication of environmental issues. We are analysts, communicators, consultants, facilitators, trainers and knowledge brokers all in one.

Our topics

Climate change

Zoï staff has been working to combat climate change for over thirty years. Our founders’ early warning studies of the Nile Delta and the Uganda coffee crop – developed in the 1980s – have set the standard in the international community for such research. Since its beginnings, Zoï has focused on demonstrating the impact of climate change all over the world and guided a range of different groups and entities towards climate neutrality. This also includes providing support towards the implementation of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change. Further, we work on climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as related topics such as air pollution, disaster risk reduction and hydrometeorological services.

Biodiversity

The preservation and management of the earth’s fragile ecosystems under ever-increasing pressure is central in Zoï’s work. We support the Rio conventions on desertification and biodiversity and produce global and local publications on different aspects of conservation and safeguarding the environment, and awareness raising.

Chemicals and waste

Chemicals can not only severely damage the environment but also endanger human health and lives. That is why we cooperate and work on different UN chemical conventions and participate in pollution assessments. We also support the making of international legal instruments on waste and chemicals, e.g. Mercury convention, and create (visual) products to make their importance better understandable to non-specialists.

Security and conflict

Environmental challenges can cause security concerns both between and within countries. Addressing these risks have been one of main areas of Zoï’s work to-date. Through innovative analysis, participatory mapping and visualization, we have contributed to regionally and globally recognized flagship assessments on the environment-security interface. We are also highly engaged on the ground in addressing the unfolding environmental and social issues, including those concerning mining industry which is often at the source of local conflicts.

Water

In recent years, water use has become a focus in international affairs. Zoï has been part of many activities on the ground trying to understand, explain and improve the management of water, in particular in internationally shared lakes and rivers. We have also been working with a range of partners, in particular the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and UNECE, to provide analytical and information support to good water governance and a new type of water diplomacy.

Access to information

Zoï is dedicated to make environmental information as accessible as possible. We cooperate with partner countries, civil society, academia, businesses, media, and international organizations, such as United Nations Environment Programme, the European Environment Agency and the UN Aarhus convention, to ensure access. With our help, partners create and disseminate innovative information products that fit target audience and purpose.

Consumption and production

Responsible consumption and production drives sustainable development. In addition to their environmental benefits, new and improved practices also frequently lead to economic benefits and improved resilience. While large-scale changes are often voluntary, there are also pieces of legislation, labels and other hard measures that impact the production sector, influence consumption patterns, and help achieve international targets, such as those set forth by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 12). Zoï has experience in analysing and communicating about a wide variety of instruments, policies and processes in this diverse field. Some topics on which we have worked include green procurement, ecolabels, sustainable mining, slow fashion and alternative options for building materials.

Our services

Analysis

Zoï’s goal is to provide our partners with reliable tools for informed decision-making. We produce scientifically and technically robust analyses that avoid overly complicated analytical frameworks. With the necessary knowledge, expertise, and experience to back us up, we conduct environmental assessments and data mining exercises, write state-of-the-environment reports and prepare policy briefs, synthesizing relevant information across our entire range of topics and tailored to their intended audience.
In places where information is absent or difficult to obtain, for example due to complex political situations, we also facilitate access to and/or collect new data.

Communication

Zoï creates beautiful and clear knowledge products in the field of environment and sustainable development that engage their audiences without compromising on technical or political complexity. We extract key findings and messages to replace insider jargon with straightforward, well-written texts. In short, we make dense environmental information, e.g. scientific studies, policy papers and evaluation reports, easy to understand.
To support the distilled information, we combine our analytical expertise and environmental knowledge with creative talent to design custom-made products that multiply reach and lifespan of the information contained. There is no fixed format for how we deliver content to our audiences. Depending on what fits your project best, we create illustrated reports, maps, graphics, scrolls, brochures, websites, workshop presentations, campaigns, and/or videos.

Dialogue

Generally operating in the background, the purpose of our work is to support informed decision-making. For this, we help people talk to each other – be it by organizing a presentation on a specific topic in the fields of our expertise, preparing content for a workshop of a partner organization or through facilitation of events. We also use our networks to facilitate planning processes at country levels, bring different actors from international organizations, (local) governments, academia, NGOs and businesses together and strengthen existing cooperation by maintaining dialogue.

Training

Zoï trains decision-makers, local experts and media representatives in the fields of our expertise as well as on how to make best use of our products. For this we give presentations on a wide array of different environmental topics, hold interactive workshops brainstorming the best solutions and build capacities where needed through hands-on learning. We insist on the application of international best practice and standards when researching, communicating, and addressing environmental challenges.