activities · 33
what they do
direct service · 6
- Free legal representation for public-interest clients Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides pro bono legal services to over 1,000 public-interest clients, including Indigenous communities, environmental coalitions, and public health organizations, in high-impact environmental cases.
- Free legal representation for public-interest clients Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides pro bono legal services to over 1,000 public-interest clients, including Indigenous communities, environmental organizations, and public health groups, in high-impact environmental cases across local, national, and international jurisdictions.
- Free legal representation for public-interest clients Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides free legal services to over 1,000 public-interest clients, including communities and organizations, in environmental protection and justice cases.
- Free legal representation for public-interest clients Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides pro bono legal services to over 1,000 public-interest clients, including Indigenous communities, environmental coalitions, and public health organizations, in high-impact environmental cases across the United States.
- Free legal representation for public-interest clients Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides pro bono legal services to over 1,000 public-interest clients, including Indigenous communities, environmental organizations, and public health groups, in cases involving environmental protection, climate justice, and community rights.
- Free legal representation in environmental cases Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides free legal representation to over 1,000 public-interest clients, including Indigenous communities and environmental organizations, in ongoing environmental protection litigation. The organization has represented more than 1,000 clients without charge since its founding.
advocacy · 24
- Advancing clean energy and environmental policy Renewable Energy Policy AdvocacySecures legal and policy wins that advance clean energy, clean up air pollution, and deliver financial benefits to communities, such as enabling over 100,000 Florida residents to save on electricity bills.
- Advancing clean energy and reducing pollution through legal action Renewable Energy Policy AdvocacyDrives clean energy adoption, reduces industrial pollution, and protects communities by securing legal bans on harmful practices (e.g., chlorpyrifos on food), blocking fossil fuel infrastructure (e.g., coal and oil terminals), and implementing regional pollution control measures such as in Southern California warehouses.
- Challenging fossil fuel and industrial pollution projects Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyPrevents harmful industrial developments by litigating against coal export terminals, oil terminals, petrochemical complexes, and coal mines, including representation of Indigenous communities like the Chickaloon Native Village.
- Climate and environmental justice litigation for frontline communities Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyRepresents frontline communities, including the Chickaloon Native Village and RISE St. James, in legal actions to stop environmentally harmful projects that threaten public health, cultural practices, and environmental justice.
- Energy cost savings through policy advocacy Renewable Energy Policy AdvocacyEnabled over 100,000 Florida residents to save money on electricity bills through legal or policy advocacy efforts.
- Enforcing federal environmental regulations Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyUses litigation to compel federal agencies to uphold environmental standards, including securing a federal ban on chlorpyrifos in food and forcing EPA disclosure of unsafe smog levels.
- Environmental Legal Advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationProvides free legal representation to public-interest clients in environmental cases, maintaining hundreds of active legal cases across 15 offices to protect wildlands, clean air, advance clean energy, protect endangered species, and limit polluting industries. This includes litigation to prevent fossil fuel expansion, restore federal protections for endangered species like Yellowstone grizzly bears, prevent construction of coal and oil terminals, and ban harmful pesticides like chlorpyrifos.
- Environmental justice and community protection initiatives Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyRepresents frontline communities in legal actions, including the Chickaloon Native Village against a coal mine and RISE St. James against a petrochemical complex, and implemented a first-in-the-nation approach to reduce warehouse pollution in Southern California.
- Environmental litigation and legal advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationConducts large-scale environmental litigation through a staff of over 220 attorneys, maintaining 680 active legal cases and initiating over 150 new cases since January 2025 to protect ecosystems, public health, and climate integrity across local, national, and global jurisdictions.
- Environmental litigation and legal advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationConducts large-scale environmental litigation through a staff of over 220 attorneys, maintaining 680 active legal cases and initiating over 150 new cases since January 2025 to protect ecosystems, public health, and environmental regulations at local, national, and global levels.
- Environmental litigation and legal advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationConducts hundreds of active environmental protection cases nationwide through a staff of over 220 attorneys, maintaining 680 active legal cases and initiating over 150 new litigation cases since January 2025.
- Environmental litigation and legal advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationConducts large-scale environmental litigation across the United States and globally, maintaining 680 active legal cases and initiating over 150 new cases since January 2025. Achievements include blocking fossil fuel infrastructure projects, securing bans on harmful pesticides like chlorpyrifos, and winning protections for endangered species and ecosystems.
- International environmental advocacy Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacySecured legal victories in South Africa that protect communities and the environment from fossil fuel expansion, demonstrating active engagement in global environmental advocacy.
- Landmark environmental legal victoriesAchieved significant legal wins including banning chlorpyrifos on food, protecting endangered species like the Yellowstone grizzly bear and rare marine dolphins, blocking major fossil fuel infrastructure projects, and securing clean air and water protections that benefit hundreds of thousands of people.
- Landmark environmental legal victoriesAchieved significant court victories, including banning chlorpyrifos on food, halting trophy hunting of Yellowstone grizzly bears by restoring Endangered Species Act protections, preventing construction of major coal and oil export terminals, and securing a federal court ruling against unlawful reversal of a coal extraction moratorium.
- Legal advocacy to strengthen environmental regulations and public health protections Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyFiles lawsuits and achieves legal outcomes that compel federal and state agencies to enforce environmental standards, such as forcing the EPA to disclose unsafe smog levels and reinstating coal extraction moratoria, resulting in measurable public health benefits.
- Legal defense of endangered species and ecosystems Legal Protection for Endangered SpeciesSecures court victories to protect endangered species such as Yellowstone grizzly bears and the world's rarest marine dolphin, and restores habitat access for species like California sea otters.
- Legal representation in federal environmental policy challengesFiles lawsuits to challenge unlawful reversals of environmental protections, such as the Department of the Interior’s coal extraction moratorium rollback.
- National and international environmental legal advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationOperates 15 offices to conduct environmental legal advocacy across local, national, and global scales, including legal wins in South Africa that block fossil fuel expansion.
- Nationwide environmental litigation and legal advocacy Pro Bono Environmental LitigationCurrently maintains 680 active legal cases and has initiated over 150 new litigation cases since January 2025, using a staff of more than 220 attorneys to advance environmental protections and public health across local, national, and global scales through 15 regional offices.
- Public health and regulatory enforcement litigation Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyConducted litigation that compelled the EPA to disclose locations with unsafe smog levels and secured a settlement in a greenwashing lawsuit that halted false climate claims by Tyson Foods, advancing public health and corporate accountability.
- Strategic litigation to combat greenwashing and corporate environmental claims Environmental Litigation & Regulatory AdvocacyFiles lawsuits to challenge misleading corporate environmental claims, such as securing a settlement that halted Tyson Foods' climate-related marketing assertions.
- Strategic litigation to protect endangered species and ecosystems Legal Protection for Endangered SpeciesSecures legal victories to protect endangered species (e.g., Earth's rarest marine dolphin, Yellowstone grizzly bears, California sea otters) and irreplaceable wildlands through court challenges and settlements that restore or enforce environmental protections.
- Wildlife and marine species protectionWon legal cases to protect endangered species, including Earth's rarest marine dolphin and California sea otters, by defending habitat access and challenging federal delisting decisions.
capacity building · 3
- Organizational capacity and financial operations Pro Bono Environmental LitigationOperates with 600 full-time staff and $207 million in annual revenue, allocating 84% of expenditures to program services, ensuring sustained capacity for environmental legal advocacy and public-interest representation.
- Organizational capacity and financial operations Pro Bono Environmental LitigationOperates with a workforce of 600 full-time staff and generated $207 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2025, allocating 84% of expenditures to program services.
- Organizational capacity and financial operations Pro Bono Environmental LitigationEmploys over 600 full-time staff and over 220 attorneys, with $207 million in revenue and 84% of expenditures allocated to program services in fiscal year 2025, supporting sustained legal and advocacy operations.
strategies · 59
how they think
Theories of action extracted from this org's own source material. Click any to see the full field of orgs running the same approach.
- Ecosystem of Justice Framework ecosystem_of_justiceApplies an “Ecosystem of Justice” framework that integrates environmental, racial, and democratic justice to advance a society that includes all people and the planet.
- Ecosystem of Justice and internal justice practice ecosystem_of_justiceApplies an "Ecosystem of Justice" framework and engages all staff in values-based, self-reflective practices to align internal operations with external advocacy for a just, inclusive, and democratic society.
- Ecosystem of Justice framework ecosystem_of_justiceApplies an "Ecosystem of Justice" model to advance a democratic, multi-racial society that integrates human and planetary well-being, guiding organizational vision and strategy.
- Ecosystem of Justice framework ecosystem_of_justiceApplies an "Ecosystem of Justice" framework that integrates environmental, racial, and democratic justice to advance a society that includes all people and the planet.
- Ecosystem of Justice framework ecosystem_of_justiceApplies an "Ecosystem of Justice" framework to advance a democratic, multi-racial society that includes all people and the planet, integrating interconnected social and environmental justice goals.
- Ecosystem of Justice framework for systemic societal change ecosystem_of_justiceApplies an "Ecosystem of Justice" model to advance a democratic, multi-racial society that integrates human and planetary well-being as interconnected goals.
- Human Rights and Environmental Justice Framing environmental_justice_human_rightsEarthjustice operates on the principle that environmental rights are fundamental human rights, framing advocacy efforts, such as fossil fuel reduction, as a human rights imperative through international legal mechanisms and an "Ecosystem of Justice" framework.
- Human Rights-Based Environmental Advocacy human_rights-based_environmental_advocacyFrames environmental protection as a human rights imperative, particularly by linking fossil fuel reduction to international human rights mechanisms and asserting that environmental rights are fundamental human rights.
- Human rights and environmental justice framework environmental_justiceFrames environmental protection as a human rights issue, grounding advocacy in the principle that environmental rights are fundamental and advancing justice through both domestic and international legal mechanisms.
- Human rights-based environmental advocacy human_rights-based_environmental_advocacyFrames environmental protection, particularly fossil fuel reduction, as a human rights imperative, leveraging international legal mechanisms and the principle that environmental rights are fundamental human rights.
- Human rights-based environmental advocacy human_rights-based_environmental_advocacyFrames environmental protection, particularly fossil fuel reduction, as a human rights imperative, leveraging international legal mechanisms and the principle that environmental rights are human rights.
- Human rights-based environmental advocacy human_rights-based_environmental_advocacyFrames environmental protection, particularly fossil fuel reduction, as a human rights imperative and leverages international legal mechanisms to advance climate and environmental justice.
- Human rights-based environmental advocacy human_rights-based_environmental_advocacyFrames environmental protection, particularly fossil fuel reduction, as a human rights imperative, using international legal mechanisms to advance climate and environmental justice.
- Institutional Divestment as Climate Action institutional_divestmentCommits to annual review of progress toward divesting from fossil fuel and petrochemical industries as a core component of its institutional climate responsibility.
- Institutional climate accountability institutional_divestmentCommits to annual self-review of progress toward divestment from fossil fuel and petrochemical industries as part of its internal climate action strategy.
- Integrated Legal and Administrative Advocacy integrated_advocacyEarthjustice employs a comprehensive approach that combines legal, regulatory, legislative, and communications strategies, including administrative advocacy outside of court, to secure enduring environmental impacts and policy changes in partnership with clients.
- Integrated legal and administrative advocacy legal_strategic_advocacyCombines litigation with regulatory, legislative, and communications strategies, as well as administrative advocacy, to secure durable environmental protections and policy outcomes in partnership with affected communities.
- Integrated legal and administrative advocacy for policy impact legal_strategic_advocacyCombines litigation with regulatory, legislative, and communications strategies, as well as administrative advocacy, to secure durable environmental policy changes in partnership with communities and clients.
- Integrated legal and policy advocacy legal_strategic_advocacyCombines litigation with administrative, regulatory, legislative, and communications strategies in partnership with clients to achieve durable environmental protections and policy reforms.
- Internal Justice Practice and Critical Inquiry internal_justice_practiceEarthjustice fosters a staff-wide practice of justice, emphasizing interconnectedness and inclusive innovation, and uses critical inquiry and self-reflection to guide decisions and ensure values-based accountability in its internal and external impacts.
- Internal Justice and Reflective Organizational Practice critical_inquiryEngages in critical inquiry and staff-wide justice practices to align internal operations with external values, emphasizing self-reflection, accountability, and interconnectedness.
- Internal justice and accountability practices staff-wide_justice_practiceEngages all staff in values-based justice practices, using critical inquiry and self-reflection to align internal operations with external advocacy goals.
- Internal justice and accountability practices staff-wide_justice_practiceEngages in critical inquiry and staff-wide justice practices to align internal operations with organizational values, emphasizing self-reflection, accountability, and inclusive innovation.
- Internal justice and accountability practices staff-wide_justice_practiceEngages in critical inquiry and staff-wide justice practices to align internal operations with organizational values, emphasizing self-reflection, inclusivity, and accountability.
- Internal justice and reflective organizational practice staff-wide_justice_practiceEngages all staff in values-based accountability, critical inquiry, and shared justice practices to align internal culture with external mission.
- Legal and Administrative Advocacy Across Forums legal_strategic_advocacyAdvances environmental protections through a combination of legal, regulatory, legislative, and administrative strategies, including advocacy before agencies and non-litigation legal mechanisms, to secure durable policy outcomes.
- Legal and administrative advocacy across multiple fronts legal_strategic_advocacyCombines litigation with regulatory, legislative, and communications strategies, as well as administrative advocacy, to secure durable environmental outcomes and policy reforms.
- Organizational Capacity and Financial Sustainability capacity_building_strategyInvests in long-term organizational strength through endowment funding and capacity-building initiatives to ensure continuity of legal cases and resilience of environmental advocacy work.
- Organizational capacity and financial sustainability endowment_funding_modelInvests in long-term organizational strength through capacity building and a board-designated endowment to ensure financial stability and continuity of complex legal advocacy.
- Organizational capacity and financial sustainability endowment_funding_modelInvests in long-term organizational strength through capacity building and a board-designated endowment to ensure continuity of legal advocacy and financial resilience.
- Organizational capacity and financial sustainability endowment_funding_modelInvests in long-term organizational strength through capacity building and a board-designated endowment model to ensure continuity of legal advocacy and financial resilience.
- Organizational capacity and financial sustainability for long-term impact endowment_funding_modelBuilds enduring institutional strength through endowment funding and capacity investments to ensure continuity of legal cases and long-term advocacy effectiveness.
- Organizational capacity and financial sustainability strategy endowment_funding_modelInvests in long-term organizational strength through capacity building and an endowment funding model to ensure continuity of complex legal advocacy and environmental defense work.
- Place-Based Advocacy place_based_advocacyEarthjustice strategically locates its legal advocacy efforts in key geographic regions to foster close connections with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring relevance and responsiveness to local needs.
- Place-Based and Community-Connected Legal Advocacy place-based_legal_advocacyLocates legal advocacy efforts in key geographic regions to maintain close ties with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring that legal strategies are grounded in local realities and community needs.
- Place-based and community-connected legal advocacy place-based_legal_advocacyLocates legal efforts in key geographic regions to maintain deep, sustained relationships with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring that advocacy is grounded in local needs and contexts.
- Place-based and community-connected legal advocacy place-based_legal_advocacyGrounds legal efforts in specific geographic regions to maintain strong ties with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring locally informed and impactful advocacy.
- Place-based and community-connected legal advocacy place-based_legal_advocacyLocates legal efforts in key geographic regions to maintain close collaboration with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring advocacy is grounded in local needs and realities.
- Place-based and community-connected legal advocacy place-based_legal_advocacyLocates legal efforts in key geographic regions to maintain close collaboration with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring that advocacy is grounded in local needs and conditions.
- Place-based and community-connected legal advocacy place-based_legal_advocacyLocates legal efforts in key geographic regions to maintain deep, sustained relationships with affected communities and ecosystems, ensuring that advocacy is grounded in local needs and realities.
- Pro Bono Legal Advocacy for Environmental Justice pro_bono_legal_representationProvides free, high-quality legal representation to public-interest clients and community organizations, particularly those advancing environmental justice, through strategic partnerships and a commitment to equitable access to legal resources.
- Pro Bono Legal Representation and Partnerships pro_bono_legal_representationEarthjustice provides free, high-quality legal representation to public-interest clients, community organizations, and partners, acting as a legal backbone for the environmental movement to advance environmental justice and protections.
- Pro bono legal representation for environmental justice pro_bono_legal_representationProvides free, high-quality legal services to public-interest and community organizations through strategic partnerships, ensuring access to justice and amplifying grassroots environmental advocacy.
- Pro bono legal representation for environmental justice pro_bono_legal_representationProvides free, high-quality legal services to public-interest clients and community organizations through strategic partnerships, ensuring access to justice for marginalized groups and amplifying grassroots environmental advocacy.
- Pro bono legal representation for environmental justice pro_bono_legal_representationProvides free, high-quality legal services to public-interest clients and community organizations through strategic partnerships, ensuring access to justice for marginalized groups affected by environmental harm.
- Pro bono legal representation for environmental justice clients pro_bono_legal_representationProvides free, high-quality legal services to public-interest and community organizations, particularly those advancing environmental justice, through direct representation and strategic partnerships.
- Strategic Environmental Litigation strategic_litigationEarthjustice uses litigation as a primary and strategic mechanism to enforce environmental protections, achieve systemic policy changes, set legal precedents, and challenge federal environmental rollbacks, often employing lesser-known statutes to maximize impact.
- Strategic Litigation for Systemic Environmental Change strategic_litigationUses litigation as a primary tool to enforce environmental protections, challenge harmful policies, and achieve precedent-setting outcomes that drive systemic change. This includes leveraging both well-known and obscure environmental statutes, often in partnership with affected communities.
- Strategic litigation as primary driver of systemic change strategic_litigationUses high-impact litigation, often based on established or underutilized environmental laws, to enforce protections, challenge rollbacks, and set legal precedents that produce broad environmental and public health outcomes.
- Strategic litigation for systemic environmental change strategic_litigationUses high-impact litigation, often based on environmental law and precedent-setting legal arguments, as a primary tool to enforce protections, challenge rollbacks, and achieve broad policy change in partnership with communities and public-interest clients.
- Strategic litigation for systemic environmental change strategic_litigationUses high-impact litigation, often based on established or underutilized environmental laws, as a primary tool to enforce environmental protections, challenge harmful policies, and set legal precedents that produce broad, systemic change.
- Strategic litigation for systemic environmental change strategic_litigationUses high-impact litigation, often based on established or obscure environmental statutes, as a primary tool to enforce environmental protections, challenge rollbacks, and set legal precedents that drive systemic policy change.
- Strategic litigation for systemic environmental change strategic_litigationUses high-impact litigation, often based on established or obscure environmental statutes, as a primary tool to enforce environmental protections, challenge rollbacks, and set legal precedents that produce broad policy change.
- Zero-Emissions and Climate-Centric Policy Advocacy zero-emissions_advocacyAdvocates for zero-emissions policies, particularly at the regulatory level, to reduce pollution in vulnerable residential areas and advance climate justice.
- Zero-emissions and divestment policy advocacy zero-emissions_advocacyAdvocates for zero-emissions policies at regulatory agencies and pursues institutional fossil fuel divestment as core components of climate justice strategy.
- Zero-emissions and divestment policy advocacy zero-emissions_advocacyAdvocates for zero-emissions policies at regulatory agencies and pursues institutional fossil fuel divestment as core components of a comprehensive climate action strategy.
- Zero-emissions and divestment policy advocacy zero-emissions_advocacyAdvocates for zero-emissions policies at regulatory levels and pursues institutional fossil fuel divestment as core components of climate and environmental justice strategy.
- Zero-emissions and fossil fuel divestment advocacy zero-emissions_advocacyAdvances climate action by advocating for zero-emissions policies and committing to institutional divestment from fossil fuel and petrochemical industries.
- Zero-emissions and pollution reduction advocacy zero-emissions_advocacyAdvocates for strong zero-emissions policies, particularly at regulatory agencies, to reduce pollution in residential and vulnerable communities.
named programs · 9
what they call their work
Air Quality Litigation
Challenges harmful air pollution through legal action, including cases on smog, sulfur dioxide, and coal plant emissions, often in partnership with health organizations like the American Lung Association
Clean Air
Legal advocacy to reduce air pollution, enforce the Clean Air Act, and challenge harmful emissions from power plants and industrial facilities.
Clean Water
Litigation to protect waterways, enforce the Clean Water Act, and prevent contamination from mining, agriculture, and industrial sources.
Climate & Energy
Challenging fossil fuel projects, advocating for clean energy, and defending federal climate regulations.
Climate and Energy Advocacy
Fights against fossil fuel extraction and for clean energy policies, including litigation to defend the Clean Power Plan and challenge coal leasing on public lands
Environmental Justice
Representation of frontline communities disproportionately affected by pollution, including in "Cancer Alley" in Louisiana.
Legal Representation for Environmental Justice
Provides free, top-tier legal representation to public-interest clients fighting for clean air, clean water, and healthy environments
Wildlife Protection
Legal efforts to defend endangered species and their habitats, including cases involving sea otters, wolves, and grizzly bears.
Wildlife and Habitat Protection
Defends endangered species and critical habitats through litigation, such as the case to remove the “No Otter Zone” for California sea otters
relationships · 15
who they work with
- American Lung Association Partner — Client and coalition partner in litigation to enforce air quality standards and reduce smog pollution.
- Board of Trustees Government — Provides governance and guidance for Earthjustice.
- Chickaloon Native Village Partner — Client and partner in legal efforts to prevent the reopening of a coal mine threatening tribal land and cultural practices in Alaska.
- Earthjustice Council Government — Advisory body that supports and guides Earthjustice’s work.
- El Puente Partner — Collaborates with El Puente on public policy and advocacy efforts, including on Capitol Hill.
- Humane World for Animals Partner — Legal partner in efforts to protect endangered species, including California sea otters.
- Inter-American Court Partner — Collaborates with the Inter-American Court on human rights and environmental protection cases.
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Partner — Co-petitioner in petition to ban chlorpyrifos
- Northern Cheyenne Tribe Partner — Represented in legal challenge to restore federal protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears
- Pesticide Action Network Partner — Co-petitioner with Earthjustice in efforts to ban chlorpyrifos
- Quinault Indian Nation Partner — Represented in legal challenge against oil terminal development at Grays Harbor
- RISE St. James Partner — Collaborates with Earthjustice on advocacy against petrochemical plants in Louisiana; represented at COP27 with Earthjustice attorney.
- RISE St. James Partner — Legal client and partner in opposing the construction of a $9.4 billion petrochemical complex in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.”
- Sierra Club Partner — Longstanding legal partner in challenging federal environmental rollbacks, including coal extraction on public lands.
- United Farm Workers Partner — Co-plaintiff in litigation seeking ban on chlorpyrifos pesticide