PLATINUM2024

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND

aka Environmental Defense Fund Inc., EDF   |   New York, NY   |  https://www.edf.org/

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Mission

Environmental Defense Fund's mission is to build a vital Earth. For everyone. By leveraging our deep expertise in science and economics, EDF delivers bold, game-changing solutions to address the biggest challenge of our time — climate change. We work to stabilize the climate, strengthen the ability of people and nature to thrive and support people's health. Working in more than 30 countries, we focus on the areas where we can make the biggest impact. From slashing pollution from transportation around the world, to slowing the warming we're experiencing now by cutting methane pollution, to bolstering nature's own capacity to stabilize the climate.

Ruling year info

1969

President

Mr. Fred Krupp

Executive Director

Ms. Amanda Leland

Main address

257 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10010 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

11-6107128

NTEE code info

Natural Resource Conservation and Protection (C30)

Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis (C05)

Wildlife Preservation/Protection (D30)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Our Mandate: Create a vital Earth. For everyone. People and communities everywhere are facing the very real environmental, economic and health impacts of climate change. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is laser-focused on addressing the climate crisis and achieving our vision of a vital Earth for everyone. Thanks to your generous support and leadership, EDF is working with a wide array of partners and allies worldwide to spark innovative solutions that: • Stabilize the climate • Strengthen the ability of people and nature to thrive • Support people’s health Where we make an impact: We deliver bold, game-changing climate solutions in China, India, Europe and the United States, which together produce about half of the world’s climate pollution. Altogether, we’re working in more than 30 countries, benefiting communities across the globe.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

AGRICULTURE, WATER AND FOOD

Bringing AGRICULTURE, WATER AND FOOD under one umbrella lets us take a system-wide approach to balance the needs of farmers, communities and nature.

Population(s) Served

CLEAN ENERGY focuses on the electric power sector and how to ramp up zero-carbon electricity fast.

Population(s) Served

CLEAN TRANSPORTATION includes defending the U.S. EPA’s new rules for cars and trucks and helping set international standards for ships and planes.

Population(s) Served

FISHERIES AND OCEANS brings together fisheries management and new opportunities like the potential for ocean carbon dioxide removal.

Population(s) Served

Our FORESTS work will scale the market for high-integrity forest credits to bring billions of dollars to support forest conservation.

Population(s) Served

Alternative FUELS AND FEEDSTOCKS are needed to replace petroleum products for heavy-duty uses where electricity can’t do it all, and as raw materials or “feedstocks” for industry.

Population(s) Served

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES will help more people breathe cleaner air and reduce exposure to hazardous pollution, particularly in frontline communities.

Population(s) Served

In 2024, EDF because the first environmental nonprofit to launch a satelite to track global METHANE pollution. MethaneSAT unleashes huge opportunities to leverage our advocacy with companies and government regulators to cut methane.

Population(s) Served

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of first-time donors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Decreasing

Context Notes

This metric includes the number of people who donated to EDF for the first time.

Number of overall donors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Decreasing

Context Notes

This metric includes all of EDF's donors.

Cost to raise $100

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Decreasing

Context Notes

This metric reflects how much it cost EDF to bring in each $100 of donations.

Percent of total budget spent on programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

This metric reflects the percent of total expenses EDF spent on its programs each year.

Average number of dollars given by new donors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

This metric reflect the average amount given by first-time donors.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Highlights of our top goals

In this critical decade for the climate, it’s now or never. Our goals reflect this urgency, as we prioritize action in communities that are most burdened by pollution. By 2030, we aim to:

1. Slow global warming by cutting methane pollution 40%-45% from big global sources, including oil and gas and livestock.

2. Slash carbon dioxide pollution by making 80% of the CO2 cuts the world needs to limit climate change’s worst impacts.

3. Make sure hydrogen is a safe alternative fuel by creating guardrails for using it, benefiting the climate and communities.

4. Help the land and oceans feed us , so 2.5 billion people benefit from climate-resilient, equitable food systems globally.

5. Build resilient water supplies, so over 40 million people in the Western U.S. have sustainable access to clean water.

6. Drive down air and climate pollution, so 1 billion people in some of the world’s most polluted cities breathe cleaner air.

7. Move the world toward safer chemicals, reducing people’s exposure to the highest-risk chemicals by 30% in the U.S.

EDF’s core capacities of corporate engagement, economics, justice and equity, and science help ensure that all our work is impactful, durable and socially sustainable — and help us see over the horizon to explore new and emerging issues.

MethaneSAT was successfully launched and will soon be producing public data to motivate and enable urgent action to reduce global methane emissions. Our strength in corporate engagement enabled us to expand a single partnership with Danone into the sector-wide Dairy Methane Action Alliance. The Frontline Resource Institute we helped create has delivered more than $130 million for climate work in frontline communities. In addition, our strength in economics has made EDF a trusted partner in China’s and India’s carbon market planning. Such advances show the importance of our core capacities across all our work.

Just as communities depend on their roads, bridges and public utilities, EDF depends on its infrastructure of information technology, facilities, financial and legal expertise, and — most of all — people to maximize our donor resources and achieve our environmental goals.

Today's difficult environmental challenges — and the increasingly global program goals of this ambitious new strategic plan — underscore the need to strengthen EDF to perform on a new scale that reaches around the world.

Human resources: Our strength as an organization depends on a highly skilled staff, board and network of partners. We aim to recruit and train an international workforce composed of top-flight talent and build a robust pipeline of leaders and experts to carry our mission forward. When our work takes us into new geographies, we will rely on strong local leadership, forge partnerships with effective local stakeholder organizations and ensure that our internal managerial capacity keeps pace with our growth.

Diversity: EDF envisions a world in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected to the environmental challenges we face and are engaged in creating durable, equitable solutions. We will realize this vision by continually increasing the diversity of our staff, growing our cultural competency and partnering with diverse communities on environmental justice activities. We are among the first green groups to create a senior position on diversity: 63% of our workforce are women, 26% self-identify as people of color, and 25% of senior leadership self-identify as people of color.

Legal and corporate services: As EDF's global presence expands, we will ensure that our infrastructure is working as effectively and efficiently as possible, that we are adhering to local and national laws in diverse geographies, and that we have proactive plans to keep staff members and their assets safe and protected everywhere they work or travel.

Information technology and facilities: Powering a complex global organization requires top-notch systems, including a best-in-class information technology infrastructure that integrates data and users across the globe while safeguarding their privacy and security. When it comes to facilities, our goal is to find the most innovative and cost-effective solutions while also reducing our environmental footprint, as in a recent reconfiguration of our New York headquarters that accommodates 20% more staff comfortably in the same space, with more efficient design for lighting and heating to save energy and costs.

Finance: Our finance team acts as a trusted adviser and business partner to organizational leaders, identifying opportunities for better allocating scarce resources, improving processes and reducing business risk. We are also examining all of our expenditures to ensure that we are maximizing cost savings and leveraging EDF's buying power.

Stablize the Climate: Methane
* Launched MethaneSAT, ushering in a new era of accountability for global methane emissions. MethaneSAT data
is publicly available, and policy- and market-relevant data products are pushed to investors, customers
and regulators.
* Secured adoption of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, which has been signed by over 50 companies (comprising 42% of global oil production and including over 30 national oil companies), including commitments to end routine flaring and achieve near-zero upstream emissions by 2030.

Strenghten People's and Nature's Ability to Thrive: Resilent Food
* Raised awareness of agricultural methane and aquatic foods in global food policy and security commitments, and used COP28 momentum to drive climate-resilient food policies.
* Ensure full $850 million of Inflation Reduction Act investments in climate-smart agricultural practices, on track toward $20 billion.
* Added seven global dairy companies (representing $230 billion in annual sales) to the Dairy Methane Action Alliance to reduce methane emissions.

Strenghten People's and Nature's Ability to Thrive: Resilent Water Systems
* The Groundwater Accounting Platform, co-developed by EDF to track water use and availability in near
real-time, is being scaled statewide in California and piloted in Oregon’s Deschutes Basin, and OpenET data is being utilized across the western U.S.

Support People's Health: Clean Air
* After EDF provided technical support and analysis, the U.S. EPA lowered limits for fine particle pollution, which will protect the health of millions of Americans and save thousands of lives each year.

Support People's Health: Safer Chemicals
* U.S. EPA took steps EDF has long championed, finalizing asbestos and methylene chloride bans, limiting PFAS in drinking water, limiting toxic pollution from more than 200 petrochemical plants and strengthening community
protection from chemical accidents.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback

Financials

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND

Board of directors
as of 10/25/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Mark Heising

Managing Director, Medley Partners

Term: 2020 -

Carl W. Ferenbach

High Meadows Foundation

G. Leonard Baker, Jr.

Managing Director, Sutter Hill Ventures

Stanley Druckenmiller

Investor

Kirsten J. Feldman

Retired Managing Director, Morgan Stanley; Chair, Steep Rock Association

Charles J. Hamilton, Jr

Senior Counsel, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP

The Honorable Thomas H. Kean

Chairman, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Frank Loy

Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs

Susan Mandel

Zoom Foundation

Stephen W. Pacala, Ph.D.

Frederick D. Petrie Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Sarah Robertson

Peggy M. Shepard

Co-Founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice

Charles F. Wurster, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences, Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook

Ruth DeFries, Ph.D.

Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University

Shelby Bonnie

Co-founder, CNET Networks

Chris Cole

Former Chairman, Investment Banking, Goldman Sachs

Christopher Costello

Professor of Natural Resources Economics, Bren School UCSB; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research

Susan Ford Dorsey

President, Sand Hill Foundation

Mark W. Heising

Managing Director, Medley Partners

Richard J. Lazarus

Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professor of Law, Harvard University

Abby Leigh

Artist

Katherine Lorenz

President, Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Kathryn Murdoch

President, Quadrivium Foundation

Lise Strickler

Environmental Advocate

Lynn R Goldman

Pediatrician; Dean, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services

David S Vogel

CEO & Chief Scientist, Voloridge Investment Management

Secretary Ray Mabus

Former Secretary of the Navy

Georges C Benjamin, MD

Executive Director, American Public Health Association

Susan Oberndorf

President, Susan and William Oberndorf Foundation

Leslie Dach

Strategic Consultant

Matt Cohler

General Partner, Benchmark

Nikki Eslami

Founder and CEO, New Theory Ventures

Marie Lynn Miranda, Ph.D.

Professor, University of Notre Dame

Bruce V. Rauner

Former Governor, State of Illinois

Virginia Sall

Co-founder, Sall Family Foundation

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/12/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/30/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.