The following is a partial list of environmental non-profit organizations that have a national (U.S.) or international scope and that take a broad approach to sustainability. These 15 groups address a wide spectrum of environmental issues; they are not single-issue organizations. Due to their holistic perspective, many of these groups do work that—directly or indirectly—promotes greater social and economic equity, as well as environmental sustainability, as all of these issues and conditions are inextricably connected to each other.
Please click on the links to learn more about the work that each of these groups is doing.
Earthjustice- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) *
- Environmental Working Group (EWG)
- Foundation for Sustainable Development
- Global Exchange
- Global Green USA *
- Green America
- Green Cross International
- Greenpeace
- ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability *
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
- One Planet Living (BioRegional)
- Resource Renewal Institute *
- Union of Concerned Scientists
- World Resources Institute
This is by no means a comprehensive list of sustainability-minded organizations. For a longer list, see this set of links.
In addition, there are many single-issue environmental organizations (and local, state, and community-level organizations) that do good and important work in their respective areas and issues. I have highlighted such groups in past posts (e.g., organizations focused on green schools, environmental education, green affordable housing, green building, sustainable communities/planning, etc.), and will highlight other types of green groups in the future. (Update: Our newer posts provide lists of organizations related to health/toxics; resilience; sustainable agriculture/farming/food; green business; divestment/investment; and climate issues.)
If you have a favorite green organization that you’d like people to know about, please share that in the Comments.
* Full disclosure: I have worked on projects for the organizations that are marked with an asterisk.
Related Posts:
Lesser Known Organizations that are Worthy of Support [added Dec. 2012]
Non-Profit Organizations of Note (post index) [added Dec. 2017]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
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My fav is EARTHJUSTICE. I love the free desktop apps. And all the great work they do.
And if they had checks I would order them.