At Greenpeace in Luxembourg, Holbach currently is in charge of climate justice and finance campaigning. She has spent her entire career with the environmental group.

What was your first job and how long did you do this job for?

Martina Holbach: My first job was with Greenpeace where I started working as a campaigner right after I finished university in 1988, and today I am still with Greenpeace. In these 33 years, I had the chance to work on many different campaign issues, first and foremost on climate and energy, agriculture and GMOs. Since 2018, my work has been focusing on the Luxembourg financial sector, given its global importance towards shifting billions of euros away from dirty and polluting companies into sustainable businesses.

What’s your best/worst memory?

There have been countless good memories over all those years, and this is very much linked to the fact that Greenpeace is an international environmental organisation. Collaborating with so many diverse people from all over the globe is one of the most amazing aspects of my work. It has broadened my horizons in so many ways. And of course, I have lots of good memories of the many Greenpeace actions I participated in, both as a campaigner and as an activist. Acting together for positive change is very empowering.

What did you learn that helped your career further along the way?

One of the most important things I learned is that you have to be very clear about the objectives of your work and your projects. Defining these objectives precisely may sometimes be difficult, but it is crucial. Only then can you develop suitable strategies to successfully complete a project. And you have to persevere in working towards your goals, even if you are often set back by failures.

What did you spend your first salary on?

I was saving my first salaries for a trip to Cuba, back in 1990. It was definitely worth it!

Why did you quit?

I never quit working for Greenpeace. Over the past 33 years, my work has changed so much in many aspects, and there have constantly been new challenges so I never got bored. Today, I can say that I am paid to do what I love and believe in wholeheartedly. It’s a great privilege that not many people have. Finding another job that satisfies me to the same extent would certainly be very difficult. As many of my colleagues say, Greenpeace is like Hotel California: “You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.”