WE ARE PROVEG
ProVeg International is a food awareness organisation
with the mission to reduce the global consumption of animals by 50% by 2040.
Our Vision
A world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet.
Our Mission
Reducing the global consumption of animals by 50% by 2040.
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Sebastian Joy
Founder and President of ProVeg International
Sebastian Joy is the co-founder and President of ProVeg International, an initiator of the global collective-impact organisation 50by40.org, co-creator of the ProVeg Incubator, the world’s first incubator focused exclusively on animal-free startups, and co-founder of VeggieWorld, the world’s largest vegan trade show. He is also Vice-Chair of the European Vegetarian Union and taught Non-profit Management and Social Entrepreneurship at the University for Economics and Law in Berlin for several years. Joy’s work is inspired by the concept of effective altruism, which aims to use resources efficiently to do as much good as possible.
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Tobias Leenaert
Co-founder of ProVeg International
Tobias Leenaert is the author of How to Create a Vegan World: a Pragmatic Approach and the creator of the blog The Vegan Strategist. He is a longtime speaker and strategist, giving talks and trainings all over the world. He is also the founder of the Belgian organisation EVA, the only vegan organisation in the world to receive structural government funding. Leenaert began exploring the issue of consuming animals when he was twelve years old, although he only cut out all animal products from his diet ten years later. He lives in a rural area, with an ever-increasing number of rescued animals.
OUR APPROACH
ProVeg International is a food awareness organization working to transform the global food system by replacing animal-based products with plant-based and cultured alternatives.
ProVeg works with decision-making bodies, companies, investors, the media, and the general public to help the world transition to a society and economy that are less reliant on animal agriculture and more sustainable for all humans, animals, and our planet.
ProVeg has offices in nine countries across four continents and is active around the world. ProVeg has permanent observer status with the UNFCCC, special consultative status with ECOSOC, is accredited for UNEA, and has received the United Nations’ Momentum for Change Award.
UNFCCC (COP)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention.
ProVeg had a successful Side Event at COP23 in Bonn (2017). In order to gain access to decision-makers and amplify the impact of such actions, we decided to apply for formal ‘Permanent Observer Status’ in August 2018. Our application was accepted and we were granted “Full Observer Status” just after COP25 in Madrid in December 2019. In the meantime, we actively participated in COP24 in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018. Observer status has granted us access to key events at all future UN Climate Change Conferences. At the upcoming COP26, we will play an active part in negotiations, ensuring that the link between diet change and climate change stays firmly on the agenda.
Being a Permanent Observer, ProVeg has significantly increased its possibilities to negotiate, consult and contribute within the highly influential UNFCCC environment and promote food systems change as a solution to climate change and other global challenges.
UNEA (UN Environment)
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the world’s top-level decision-making body regarding the environment. At its biennial meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, it works to define global environmental policies and develop international environmental legislation. UNEA is the governing body of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
ProVeg’s accreditation allows us to highlight the impact of resource-intensive diets on deforestation. We will also address biodiversity loss, and show how a global shift towards a more plant-based diet can help the environment. An agricultural transition requires urgent implementation.
During our 2018 COP24 campaign, ProVeg established a partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/GRID) in Warsaw. In 2019, we provided materials on the environmental impacts of animal agriculture and how we can mitigate them. Our cooperation and commitment was recently awarded with a diploma, and we are now UNEP/GRID ‘Climate Leadership’ partners, among major corporate partners.
Momentum for Change
Momentum for Change is an initiative spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat. The UN Momentum for Change Award recognizes examples of innovative, transformative and scalable climate actions from around the world.
We received the UN Momentum for Change Award at the Climate Conference (COP24) for two of our programs in 2018: Plant Powered Pupils, and Climate Efficient School Cafeterias – making them “Lighthouse Activities”.
Both projects aim to scale up the availability of healthy and climate-friendly food options in German schools, and are now being scaled and internationalised to other ProVeg focus countries, such as Poland and the United Kingdom. A total of 110 primary schools in England have been working on new menus in collaboration with ProVeg this year. Changes include the adoption of a meat-free day each week, new daily meat-free meals, and new descriptions for the meat-free and plant-based dishes to make them even more appealing to the students. Over the next 12-month period, around 3.1 million meat-based meals will now become meat-free, based on commitments from the schools and local authorities currently engaging with ProVeg.
ProVeg’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
ProVeg is dedicated to being accessible to all by embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). ProVeg strives to be an inclusive, equitable, supportive, and inspiring workplace for our diverse staff members around the world, creating the ideal conditions to develop their full potential towards achieving ProVeg’s mission of food systems change and 50by40.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion: towards a stronger, more, resilient and effective movement to transform our food system
What we do
ProVeg is committed to fostering diversity among its staff members and supporters, by recognising, accepting, respecting, and supporting individual differences – including race, gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, nationality, physical and mental abilities, cognitive makeup, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and anything else of relevance.
ProVeg also implements measures and policies to support attitudes and actions that help to achieve equitable treatment and opportunities for all its staff members. Finally, ProVeg strives to cultivate a diverse working environment that is inclusive in order to make our organisation accessible and relevant for all.
ProVeg constantly monitors developments,improves HR standards, and implements best practices in order to attract and retain talent as well as to ensure a safe and inclusive working environment for all our staff members.
How we do it
ProVeg is actively working towards implementing effective strategies to improve DEI within the organisation – With this in mind, a permanent DEI working group has been established to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are an integral part of the organisation’s strategy of creating a better world for all.
Following the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion allows ProVeg to benefit from a variety of knowledge, world views, and experience, all of which play a crucial role in growing ProVeg’s capacity for innovation and creativity. In the fifth cohort of ProVeg Incubator, we welcomed startups led primarily by women. Additionally, our diverse and inclusive advocacy teams are active at EU and UN level policy, and our recruitment team scouts for talent across the world.
We acknowledge that there is still room for improvement in terms of DEI within the organisation and we will thrive to improve even further.
OUR TEAM
The ProVeg team comprises more than 100 employees of 22 different nationalities. Based on a mindful and respectful corporate culture, ProVeg offers its employees the opportunity to do good as effectively as possible.
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Sebastian Joy
Founder and President of ProVeg International
Sebastian Joy is the co-founder and President of ProVeg International, an initiator of the global collective-impact organisation 50by40.org, co-creator of the ProVeg Incubator, the world’s first incubator focused exclusively on animal-free startups, and co-founder of VeggieWorld, the world’s largest vegan trade show. He is also Vice-Chair of the European Vegetarian Union and taught Non-profit Management and Social Entrepreneurship at the University for Economics and Law in Berlin for several years. Joy’s work is inspired by the concept of effective altruism, which aims to use resources efficiently to do as much good as possible.
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Jasmijn de Boo
Vice President of ProVeg International
Jasmijn de Boo is a professional animal advocate and educator, with over 20 years’ experience in global-leadership positions. Jasmijn is currently Vice President of ProVeg International, where she is responsible for overall strategic direction, international operational management, and governance of ProVeg country offices and programmes, as well as overseeing the International Communications Department and the Grants Program. Jasmijn has previously worked in a range of international animal-protection organisations, including time as CEO of SAFE in New Zealand and the Vegan Society in the UK. De Boo has been vegan since January 2003, when she met her partner and fellow animal advocate, Andrew Knight.
