Earthjustice

What Earthjustice does

Earthjustice is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public interest environmental law organization founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides free legal representation to environmental organizations, community groups, and tribal entities, deploying approximately 230 specialized lawyers across 15 U.S. offices (spanning the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) to handle roughly 700 active cases at any time. The organization argues cases before federal and state courts and engages directly with regulatory rulemakings, with a docket spanning clean air, clean water, biodiversity, public lands, climate, and environmental justice matters. Core services include litigation, policy and legislative advocacy in Washington D.C., action alerts via email and SMS, an online library of expert resources, and legacy/planned giving programs; supporting technology consists of standard nonprofit SaaS including the FastAction/EveryAction advocacy platform and Microsoft Forms, with no proprietary AI or software products disclosed.

Earthjustice is funded entirely through charitable contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporate giving programs, and reports that 84% of every dollar contributed goes directly to program work. Its go-to-market model is partnership-driven rather than commercial: the organization acquires matters through formal and informal coalitions with entities such as the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association, NAACP, Healthy Gulf Coalition, Habitat Recovery Project, and Puerto Rico-based community organizations (El Puente, Comité Diálogo Ambiental, Queremos Sol, AERA). A separate affiliated entity, Earthjustice Action, operates as a 501(c)(4) for lobbying activity. The organization maintains a Charity Navigator 4-star rating for 14+ consecutive years, Gold-level GuideStar status, and CharityWatch Top-Rated recognition, and is governed by an independent Board of Trustees with no parent company, equity backers, or subsidiaries.

Name

Earthjustice

Legal name

Earthjustice

Website

https://earthjustice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Earthjustice is a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization founded in 1971 that provides free legal representation to environmental NGOs, community groups, and tribes through approximately 230 lawyers across 15 U.S. offices, handling roughly 700 active cases on clean air, water, climate, and environmental justice matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Legal Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Energy Law (BPAHAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Policy, Advocacy & Litigation (BPAGAGAG), Environmental Justice & Community Environmental Health (BPAGAGAL), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Environmental law services
• Public interest litigation
• Nonprofit legal advocacy
• Environmental justice law
• Climate change litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Earthjustice generates revenue through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate giving programs. As a nonprofit, all revenue supports the organization's mission of providing free legal representation in environmental cases. The organization does not charge clients for legal services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Earthjustice is a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization that provides free legal representation to environmental organizations, communities, and tribes in environmental and public health matters. The organization operates 15 offices across the United States with approximately 230 lawyers handling roughly 700 active cases at any given time, covering litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships focused on clean air, clean water, wild places, and environmental justice.

Product overview

Earthjustice is a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization offering free legal representation to clients fighting for clean air, clean water, wild places, and environmental justice. The organization operates 15 offices nationwide with 230 lawyers handling over 700 active cases. Core offerings include litigation services, action alerts (email and text), an online library of expert resources, and legacy giving programs. The organization uses the FastAction (EveryAction) platform for online advocacy and donation forms, with additional tools including Microsoft Forms for mail preferences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legal Representation Services

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing regional environmental law partner working on shared environmental protection goals in the southeastern United States. Collaboration on cases involving air quality, water protection, and land conservation in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
• Sierra ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor environmental organization partner providing referrals and collaboration on environmental litigation cases. Works together on climate, wildlands protection, and clean energy cases.
• NAACPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental justice partnership addressing racial equity in environmental protection. Joint litigation on cases affecting minority communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and environmental hazards.
• El Puente (Puerto Rico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partnership in Puerto Rico addressing environmental justice issues. Collaborates on cases involving environmental health concerns in Puerto Rican communities.
• Comité Diálogo Ambiental (Puerto Rico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental dialogue committee partnership working on environmental advocacy in Puerto Rico. Joint efforts on cases involving environmental contamination and community health.
• Coalición想去替代方案 para un Programa Integral de Energía (Queremos Sol)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner working on solar energy and energy transition issues in Puerto Rico. Collaboration on energy justice cases and advocacy for renewable energy alternatives.
• AERA (Puerto Rico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPuerto Rican environmental organization partner collaborating on environmental protection and advocacy efforts in the territory.
• Healthy Gulf CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition partner focused on Gulf Coast environmental protection. Collaboration on cases involving industrial pollution, wetland destruction, and coastal environmental issues in Gulf states.
• Center for Biological DiversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental organization partner specializing in species protection and biodiversity cases. Works together on Endangered Species Act litigation and wildlife habitat protection.
• National Parks Conservation AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Collaboration on cases involving park preservation, air quality in parks, and protection of park resources.
• Habitat Recovery ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental restoration partner working on habitat recovery and ecological restoration cases. Collaboration on litigation supporting habitat restoration efforts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Sierra Club: Earthjustice's largest long-standing litigation referral partner and overlapping donor base; not a direct legal peer but functions as a key co-litigant and funding ecosystem participant.

Direct peers

• Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC): Regional nonprofit environmental law firm with a similar model of free legal representation for environmental clients, often co-counseling with Earthjustice on cases in the Southeast. Direct counterpart in mission, funding model, and practice areas.
• Center for Biological Diversity: Nonprofit that runs an active in-house litigation practice focused on endangered species and biodiversity, frequently partnering with Earthjustice on ESA cases and competing for similar donor support.

Broad incumbents

• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Larger, broader environmental nonprofit combining litigation, advocacy, and science. Overlaps with Earthjustice on climate, clean air, and water cases and shares the same major donor pool.
• National Wildlife Federation: Large U.S. conservation NGO with a legal arm that litigates wildlife and habitat cases; competes with Earthjustice for foundation grants and conservation-aligned donors.
• Greenpeace USA: International environmental advocacy organization with U.S. operations; competes for similar mass-market donor support and overlaps on climate, oceans, and fossil-fuel litigation campaigns.
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): Major environmental NGO with a significant legal and policy operation; competes for similar corporate, foundation, and high-net-worth donor dollars and operates in overlapping climate and air-quality practice areas.

Emerging players

• Waterkeeper Alliance: Nonprofit network focused on Clean Water Act enforcement through citizen suits; overlaps with Earthjustice's water practice and shares small-donor fundraising mechanics.
• Earthworks: Smaller environmental nonprofit focused on mining, oil and gas, and climate impacts; occasionally co-litigates with Earthjustice but with a more specialized mandate and tighter resources.

Regional players

• ClientEarth: International environmental law charity headquartered in Europe; comparable mission and free-representation model but geographically distinct, representing what a global expansion of Earthjustice's model could look like.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/Earthjustice
• Facebookfacebook.com/earthjustice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earthjustice
• Instagraminstagram.com/Earthjustice
• TikToktiktok.com/@earthjustice
• Xx.com/earthjustice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earthjustice