Environmental Defense Fund's mission is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends. Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

What distinguishes Environmental Defense Fund is the combination of what we protect and how we protect it.

We work to solve the most critical environmental problems facing the planet. This has drawn us to areas that span the biosphere: climate, oceans, ecosystems and health. Since these topics are intertwined, our solutions take a multidisciplinary approach. We work in concert with other organizations as well as with business, government and communities and avoid duplicating work already being done effectively by others.

Since our founding by a small group of scientists in 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has been dedicated to building a world where people and nature prosper together. Scientific rigor and economic insights shape our solutions; partnerships and coalitions help refine and turn them into action. Working in 26 countries today, EDFs 750 scientists, economists, attorneys and other associates and our partners and allies around the world bring unique perspectives to the quest. The combined power of these diverse perspectives creates new energy and new solutions.