Earthworks

What Earthworks does

Earthworks is a U.S. 501c3 environmental advocacy nonprofit founded in 1988 (formed from the merger of the Mineral Policy Center and the Oil & Gas Accountability Project), headquartered in Washington, D.C. with a second office in Berkeley, California. It is the only national organization in the United States focused exclusively on preventing the destructive impacts of oil, gas, and mineral extraction, serving frontline communities, Indigenous nations (including the Navajo Nation and Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe), and the broader public affected by extractive industry pollution across 20 U.S. states and at least 7 international markets.

The organization's core technical asset is its Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) field investigation program, which deploys FLIR GasFinder 320 cameras operated by ITC-certified thermographers to detect and document 20 normally invisible volatile organic compounds (including benzene, toluene, and methane) at oil and gas facilities. To date the program has logged 1,971 site visits, produced 700+ videos, filmed 429 operators, and generated 398 regulatory complaints across 22 states and countries. Earthworks packages this evidence in the publicly accessible Oil and Gas Threat Map and, as of 2024, integrates OGI ground truth with Carbon Mapper's Tanager 1 satellite data to attribute emissions to specific operators. Complementary products include the BigGasPolluters.org corporate watchdog platform, policy advocacy at federal and state levels, and international engagement on mining standards (IRMA, IRMA, Global Tailings Management Institute, International Seabed Authority).

Earthworks is funded approximately 80% by leading environmental foundations and philanthropies and ~20% by thousands of individual donors (including a $2,500+ annual Defenders' Circle tier and a planned-giving Legacy Circle). The organization explicitly does not accept government funding or donations from non-green companies. It generates no product or service revenue; its 50+ staff are distributed across energy program, mining program, policy, communications, philanthropy, and field organizing functions.

Name

Earthworks

Legal name

Earthworks

Website

https://earthworks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Earthworks is a 501c3 environmental nonprofit that uses Optical Gas Imaging field investigations, satellite data integration, and policy advocacy to protect frontline communities from oil, gas, and mining extraction impacts across 20 U.S. states and 7+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Advocacy Services

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

akta.pro primary industry

Methane Abatement Projects (Landfill Gas, Manure, Coal Mine Methane, O&G Methane) (EUABABAL)

Keywords

• Environmental advocacy
• Oil gas pollution
• Mining accountability
• Methane emissions
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Claverack

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Approximately 20% of budget comes from thousands of individual donors who contribute one-time or recurring donations. Various giving options include monthly giving, Defenders' Circle ($2,500+ annual commitment), legacy circle/will bequests, and stock donations.
2. Foundation Grants: Nearly 80% of Earthworks' budget comes from leading foundations and philanthropies. Earthworks does not accept funding from governments and accepts donations only from socially responsible and green companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Earthworks is a national nonprofit that advocates to stop the destructive impacts of oil, gas, and minerals extraction while promoting a just and clean energy future. The organization conducts Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) field investigations to document methane and other pollution from extraction sites, partners with frontline and Indigenous communities to amplify their campaigns, and engages in federal and state policy advocacy and litigation to hold polluters and regulators accountable.

Product overview

Earthworks is an environmental nonprofit organization (501c3) that operates programs focused on ending oil and gas expansion and fighting mining injustice rather than selling commercial products. Its core offerings include Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) field investigations using FLIR GasFinder 320 cameras to document pollution, the Oil and Gas Threat Map platform for tracking facilities and complaints, and the BigGasPolluters.org watchdog database. Earthworks also produces research reports, policy advocacy, and community empowerment services as part of its nonprofit mission to protect communities and the environment from extractive industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) Field Investigations
• Oil and Gas Threat Map
• BigGasPolluters.org Watchdog Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,971 site visits conducted, 398 regulatory complaints filed, 429 operators filmed across 22 states and countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRMA offers independent, third-party auditing and transparency at mine sites against its 400-page Standard. Earthworks has been critical of many voluntary certification systems and views IRMA's multi-sector governance and independent oversight as differentiated from industry-led systems.
• SIRGE CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition aiming to ensure Indigenous Peoples rights, especially the right to self-determination, are respected in the global transition to a green economy.
• Lead the ChargecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational coalition of human rights and environmental organizations that ranks companies' environmental and human rights performance to drive improvements across supply chain.
• Break Free From PlasticminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational coalition working to oppose petrochemical plants by highlighting health risks and advocating for alternatives to plastics.
• People Over PetrominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition in the Ohio River basin working to oppose petrochemical infrastructure and promote alternatives.
• Permian-Gulf Coast CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition building stronger, more connected movement across the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast region from extraction to export, opposing oil and gas export terminals.
• Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for optical gas imaging investigations in Colombia documenting methane pollution at Ecopetrol facilities, contributing to 'Crude Lies' report and BBC documentary.
• Protective Buffer Coalition (Pennsylvania)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition advancing campaign to expand protective buffer distances between oil and gas development and homes, schools, water sources, and streams in Pennsylvania.
• Gas LeaksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to relaunch BigGasPolluters.org, a watchdog resource countering oil and gas industry misinformation on methane pollution.
• Safety First InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGuidelines for responsible mine tailings management developed with coalition partners to call on companies, governments and financial institutions to improve tailings safety.
• Mining Standards Accountability Alliance (MSAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of civil society organizations, Indigenous-led groups and human rights experts formed to expose CMSI as an effort by mining industry to appear concerned while doing minimal to protect communities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): Large U.S. environmental NGO with a long-running oil and gas methane program that combines corporate engagement, policy advocacy, and field science. Directly comparable to Earthworks on the methane-from-oil-and-gas issue but operates at much greater scale and broader scope.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Major U.S. environmental advocacy organization with parallel oil and gas, methane, and mining policy work. Directly comparable in mission and tactics (policy advocacy, legal action, science-based campaigns), but operates across a broader environmental portfolio at much larger scale.
• Sierra Club: Long-standing U.S. environmental organization with active 'Beyond Dirty Fuels' and mining campaigns that overlap Earthworks' oil, gas, and mining advocacy. Comparable on grassroots organizing and policy work, though much larger and more diversified across conservation and climate.

Direct peers

• Earthjustice: Public-interest environmental law organization that frequently litigates alongside Earthworks (e.g., on the methane rule delay and Formosa Plastics permits). Highly comparable because they share legal strategy, regulatory targets, and many frontline-community clients in oil, gas, and mining cases.
• Oil Change International: Research and advocacy organization focused specifically on ending fossil fuel extraction, including methane policy, finance, and export infrastructure. Highly comparable in targeting fossil fuel expansion and engaging in the same regulatory and coalition spaces as Earthworks.
• FracTracker Alliance: Data and mapping nonprofit that documents oil and gas infrastructure, environmental and health impacts, and community proximity data. Closely comparable to Earthworks' Oil and Gas Threat Map product and shared focus on exposing fossil fuel impacts through geospatial evidence.
• Center for Biological Diversity: Environmental advocacy organization using litigation, science, and creative media to protect endangered species, habitats, and climate. Comparable on legal strategy, regulatory petitions, and media-driven campaigns on extraction impacts, though with a stronger biodiversity framing.
• Indigenous Environmental Network: Indigenous-led environmental organization working on fossil fuel infrastructure, mining, and environmental justice. Strongly comparable to Earthworks on Indigenous frontline-community partnerships (e.g., Four Corners, Fort Yuma) and shared opposition to extractive industry expansion.
• 350.org: Global grassroots climate movement focused on stopping fossil fuel expansion and funding community-led solutions. Comparable on anti-extraction advocacy, coalition-based organizing, and international campaign footprint, but operates at significantly larger global scale.

Others

• Carbon Mapper: Satellite-data nonprofit deploying the Tanager-1 satellite to detect and attribute methane and CO2 point-source emissions. Not a direct peer organizationally, but a technology partner and adjacent operator that is reshaping methane accountability and to which Earthworks aligns its OGI investigations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/earthworks
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/earthworksaction
• Facebookfacebook.com/earthworksaction
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earthworks
• Instagraminstagram.com/earthworksaction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Earthworks