Turning Green

What Turning Green does

Turning Green is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by Executive Director Judi Shils and her daughter, then-13-year-old Erin Schrode, originally as Teens for Safe Cosmetics before rebranding to reflect an expanded mission. Headquartered in Marin County, the organization educates, empowers, and mobilizes elementary through graduate-level students on climate action, environmental justice, and public health, operating across all 50 U.S. states and 182 countries with a stated reach of 5.1 million students on 21,502 campuses, supported by 4,556 interns and campus reps and 33.8 million in digital reach.

The organization's core offerings include Project Green Challenge (an annual 30-day October competition with three engagement tiers and an eco-summit for finalists), Project Green Course (a 15-week global independent study program for higher education launched in 2021), Conscious Kitchen (FLOSN food education with a companion cookbook and toolkits), Conscious Campus Road Tour (in-person campus visits), Turning Green Classroom (K-12 and higher-ed curriculum resources), Climate Action Projects (student-led community initiatives with seed funding for finalists), and the Turning Green Collective (a blog and newsletter content platform). All programs are free to participants and delivered digitally or through on-campus events.

Turning Green's business model is nonprofit and donation- and sponsorship-driven, with no tuition, subscription, or licensing fees. Revenue is sourced from individual charitable donations and corporate sponsorship packets, with underwriters including consumer brands such as Klean Kanteen, Applegate, Straus Family Creamery, Numi Organic Tea, and Acure Beauty, alongside nonprofit and media partners. The organization has no parent company, no institutional investors, and no public ticker, operating under founder-led continuity since inception.

Name

Turning Green

Legal name

Turning Green

Website

https://turninggreen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Turning Green is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2005 that educates and mobilizes K-12 and college students globally on climate action, environmental justice, and sustainability through free programs including Project Green Challenge, Project Green Course, and Conscious Kitchen, funded by donations and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Education Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation) (EDAMABAD), STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• Environmental education programs
• Youth climate advocacy
• Sustainability curriculum
• Climate action projects
• Student environmental programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Marin County

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Turning Green relies on charitable donations from individuals who support their mission of climate education and youth mobilization.
2. Sponsorships: The organization offers sponsorship opportunities to corporations and organizations, as evidenced by their sponsorship packet available for download.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Turning Green is a nonprofit that educates, empowers, and mobilizes K-12, college, and graduate students on climate action, environmental sustainability, and public health. Its offerings include annual eco-challenges (Project Green Challenge), semester-long independent study (Project Green Course), food sustainability education (Conscious Kitchen), student-led Climate Action Projects, in-person campus outreach (Conscious Campus Road Tour), and K-12/higher-ed curriculum resources (Turning Green Classroom). All programs are free to student participants and funded by donations and sponsorships.

Product overview

Turning Green operates as a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs focused on student environmental education and climate action mobilization. The core offerings include Project Green Challenge (annual 30-day competition), Project Green Course (semester-long global independent study), Conscious Kitchen (food education), Conscious Campus Road Tour (campus outreach), and Turning Green Classroom (educational resources). The Turning Green Collective serves as the organization's content and blog platform. These programs work together to educate, empower, and mobilize students across K-12, college, and graduate levels through year-round engagement, toolkits, advocacy campaigns, and community action projects, reaching over 5.1 million students on more than 21,500 campuses globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Project Green Challenge: A global annual challenge that educates, empowers, and mobilizes students to become visionary catalysts for sustainable change through 30 days of challenges in October.
• Conscious Kitchen
• Project Green Course
• Conscious College Road Tour
• Turning Green Classroom

Products and services

• Project Green Challenge

Quantifiable outcome

• 5.1 million students educated and mobilized for climate action
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Conscious KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConscious Kitchen is a flagship program of Turning Green focused on fresh, local, organic, seasonal, nutritious food for all. It provides educational resources, cooking classes, and a cookbook to promote sustainable food systems in schools and communities.
• Project Green ChallengecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPGC is Turning Green's annual global eco-challenge engaging students in 30 days of environmental challenges. Partners collaborate on prizes, judging, and program support.
• 550+ Business, Nonprofit, and Media OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurning Green has collaborated with over 550 partners representing business, nonprofit and media organizations to support their programs and amplify their impact.
• Made SafeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing educational resources on safer sunscreen ingredients and toxic chemical awareness, collaborating on campaigns to educate students about product safety.
• Environmental Working Group (EWG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing sunscreen safety tips and resources, collaborated on educational content about SPF and sun protection.
• ApplegateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic meat company providing recipes and product support for Conscious Kitchen's FLOSN (Fresh, Local, Organic, Seasonal, Nutritious) food philosophy.
• Straus Family CreameryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic dairy partner living up to FLOSN motto, providing sustainable dairy products for educational cooking content.
• Numi Organic TeaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlastic-free tea brand featured in sustainable drink recipes and holiday content.
• Acure BeautyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClean beauty partner providing SPF products for interns and supporting the organization's sunscreen safety campaign.
• Klean KanteenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization whose representative provided testimonial about Turning Green's impact on youth empowerment.
• Nature Conservation InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBangladesh-based partner collaborating with PGC finalist Shahed Anan on eco-farming initiative and climate action projects.
• Earth School BangladeshminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner working with Turning Green PGC participants on climate action initiatives in Bangladesh.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DoSomething.org: Youth social-impact nonprofit that mobilizes millions of young people around campaigns including climate action. Directly comparable in target demographic (Gen Z), community-led GTM motion, and campaign-based engagement model.
• Plant-for-the-Planet: Global youth climate organization running Academies and youth ambassador programs. Directly comparable on youth climate leadership training and global reach, with similar program-structure (training academies, ambassador networks).
• Earth Uprising: Youth-led climate education and advocacy nonprofit training the next generation of climate leaders. Closely comparable as a youth-led climate education organization with global ambassador networks and school-based programming.
• EarthEcho International: Youth-focused environmental education nonprofit founded by Philippe Cousteau Jr.; runs structured youth programs and educator resources on ocean and climate literacy. Highly comparable as a youth environmental education nonprofit with school-facing curriculum and global reach.

Broad incumbents

• The Climate Reality Project: Al Gore-founded climate advocacy and education organization with youth leadership programs. Comparable on climate education and youth mobilization, but operates at substantially larger scale and with broader policy advocacy scope.
• Sierra Club: One of the largest US environmental organizations with youth-facing activism programs and curriculum resources. Comparable in environmental mission and youth engagement, but operates as a broad-based conservation/advocacy organization rather than a youth-education specialist.
• National Wildlife Federation: Large conservation nonprofit with the Eco-Schools USA program serving K-12 environmental education. Comparable audience and curriculum deployment model, but operates at far greater scale and as a broad wildlife/habitat organization.
• Green America: National nonprofit focused on sustainable economy and conscious consumer/business choices. Comparable on lifestyle-sustainability education (food, fashion, household), but broader in scope and oriented to adult consumers as well as students.
• EarthDay.org: The world's largest environmental civic-organization, running the annual Earth Day campaign and a Climate Education program across K-12. Comparable in mission (youth climate education and mobilization) but substantially larger in scope and resources.

Emerging players

• Generation180: Nonprofit focused on clean energy engagement, including youth-facing programming. Comparable in mission overlap on clean-energy and climate literacy, narrower scope and smaller scale than Turning Green.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/turninggreenorg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TeensTurningGreen
• Facebookfacebook.com/TGreenOrg
• Instagraminstagram.com/turninggreenorg
• Pinterestpinterest.com/teensturngreen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/turning-green

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Turning Green