Friend,

While the year ahead promises great uncertainty for people and the planet, we must remember we can never stop defending what’s right. And when we campaign with creativity and build alliances, we often win. No matter what, we will keep fighting.

Over the past year, Friends of the Earth has won important victories at local, state, federal, and international levels, reinforcing a formula of success that we have honed for more than
50 years.

Great Research + Strategic Campaigning + Leading With Our Values + People Power = Victories for People and the Planet.

Here is some of what we accomplished together in 2024:

• In a huge win for pollinators, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Birds and the Bees Protection Act into law, making New York the first state in the country to ban neonicotinoid-treated seeds.
• After years of campaigning to protect our food, we convinced more than 80 grocery retailers to reject the sale of genetically engineered (GE) salmon. Following these wins, the U.S.-based biotech company AquaBounty Technologies announced it will stop production of all GE AquaAdvantage salmon.
• Internationally, we pushed financial institutions to cut spending on fossil fuel projects by $15 billion. We helped convince more than 40 countries to sign the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) calling for ending most public international finance agency support for fossil fuels.
• We successfully convinced public international finance institutions to adopt “No Go” zones to protect biodiverse areas from harmful industrial projects in World Heritage sites and many free-flowing rivers, while expanding Indigenous and community rights. In a colossal win, President Biden announced a “pause” on additional LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) permitting.
• Our work with tribal partners led to the designation of the Chumash National Heritage Marine Sanctuary, protecting 4,500 square miles of ocean waters off the California coast from fossil fuel extraction.
• We also successfully petitioned the courts to overturn a flawed federal agency assessment of offshore oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico, protecting endangered species, including the critically endangered Rice’s whale, that have been devastated by offshore drilling.

As we respond to the Trump administration, we will litigate bad decisions and lobby in the halls of Congress to stop Trump from harming people and the environment. But to just play defense is not enough. To achieve success, we will expand our campaigns at the international, state, and local levels where we can turn our passion into triumphs for the planet and all who call it home.

We will need your help and support, now more than ever, as we continue the fight for a healthier and more just world.

Thank you for your commitment, your passion, and your leadership.

For more than half a century, Members like you have been the backbone of Friends of the Earth’s coalition of tenacious environmental advocates, working tirelessly to preserve our planet.

We know we’re in for some tough fights in 2025, but that’s all the more reason to celebrate the remarkable victories you helped achieve last year. Your dedication produced significant wins:

• You helped secure vital protections for Alaskan polar bears, ending years of harassment from oil and gas operations that disrupted their vital breeding and feeding patterns.
• Your support enabled more than 83 California school districts to expand their plant-
  based menu options, significantly reducing the carbon footprint associated with meat production and transportation.
• Through your advocacy, we convinced
  the International Maritime Organization to ban toxic heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, which contributed to melting polar ice and threatened the health of countless marine species.
• We exposed crucial findings about increased toxicity in Bayer-Monsanto’s glyphosate replacement for Roundup® weedkiller, bringing this urgent issue to public attention.
• Together, we secured a major commitment from Kroger to reduce toxic pesticides in their fresh produce supply chains, following years of advocacy including our Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard that’s already inspired 13 other major grocery and garden retailers to create pesticide policies.

You can read about all these victories and more in the pages ahead. Take pride in knowing that your support has made a tangible difference in protecting our planet and all who call it home.

This past year brought unprecedented climate impacts across America: devastating storms in Florida, historic North Carolina floods, catastrophic wildfires in California and Oregon, and record temperatures nationwide. With Arctic warming accelerating beyond predictions, our climate response has never been more urgent.

Winning major environmental protections

We helped persuade the Biden administration to pause new liquefied natural gas (LNG) permits from the Department of Energy, allowing for comprehensive regulatory review and environmental impact assessment. LNG export expansion could prompt a sharp increase in energy bills for American consumers, while harming coastal communities and the climate by releasing toxic pollution.

We successfully delayed the risky LOC-NESS marine geoengineering experiment, with plans to dump over 60,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide – an extremely caustic substance – into the coastal waters of New England. This pause helps protect eight endangered species, including the North Atlantic right whale and leatherback turtles. We are prepared to fight any future attempt to take this dangerous experiment forward.

Spearheading policy changes

We relaunched our Green Scissors database this year, highlighting over $350 billion in wasteful and environmentally harmful federal spending.

We strengthened climate protection action through two key initiatives in 2024. We contributed to the U.N.’s Global Digital Compact, an agreement that aims to create a free, open, and secure digital future. We endorsed principles related to climate disinformation threats that have run rampant on social media and other digital outlets – threats that undermine not only environmental protection but also information integrity.

We also secured strong Treasury Department standards for green hydrogen tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, which will promote renewable energy instead of power derived from fossil fuels.

We also secured strong Treasury Department standards for new clean energy tax credits established by the Inflation Reduction Act. We ensured that bogus offsets are excluded from the clean electricity tax credit and protected crucial guardrails that ensure hydrogen produced from fossil fuels cannot qualify for the highest value tiers of the clean hydrogen tax credit.

As climate impacts intensify, Friends of the Earth continues advancing energy solutions that prioritize environmental protection and human rights to clean air and water.

The world’s oceans sustain countless species and are crucial to our planet’s health. In 2024, Friends of the Earth achieved significant victories in ocean protection through collaborative action.

Reforming international policy

Working with global partners, we secured landmark protections for marine ecosystems. Our coalition convinced the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to implement new guidelines and an action plan reducing commercial shipping’s underwater noise pollution, which adversely affects marine species, especially
whale pods.

We also persuaded the IMO to ban heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, which went into effect last year and will achieve full implementation by 2029. This toxic oil contributed to the melting of polar ice and contaminated local ecosystems and coastal communities.

Reducing shipping industry pollution

Our persistent advocacy led to stronger industry oversight for freight shipping and cruise companies. We successfully pushed the EPA
to strengthen air quality standards related to soot, often a by-product of dirty shipping fuel. These new standards may prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and generate up to $46 billion in health benefits by 2032.

Meanwhile, we launched our 11th semi-annual Cruise Ship Report Card, holding cruise lines accountable for their impact on oceans and coastal communities. We also advanced efforts to permanently maintain the 2022 pause on cruise ship toxic scrubber wastewater discharge in the Pacific Northwest’s Puget Sound.

Protecting California’s coast

We achieved unprecedented protections along California’s 850-mile coastline by advocating
for environmental bills increasing the fees oil companies must pay to cover clean-up costs and establishing an environmental repair fund for frontline communities impacted by fossil fuel exploitation.

We also partnered with tribal nations to help secure the designation of the Chumash National Marine Sanctuary, protecting over 4,500 square miles of ocean from fossil fuel extraction.

In 2025, Friends of the Earth and our Members remain committed to advancing the health of our oceans and coastlines for the benefit of all.

In 2024, Friends of the Earth’s Legal Team secured landmark victories against corporate polluters and government negligence, ensuring that environmental laws protect people and wildlife.

Protecting wildlife from industry threats

Our attorneys secured critical protections for endangered species. We won a decisive victory protecting Alaska’s polar bears and walruses from oil and gas industry harassment that interfered with breeding and feeding patterns. We also forced a revised environmental review for a massive 130,000-acre oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming when a federal judge ruled that the environmental impacts on wildlife, groundwater, and greenhouse gas emissions weren’t properly assessed. We filed litigation that successfully forced the government to revise its faulty analysis of risks that Big Oil poses to imperiled species in the Gulf of Mexico, like sea turtles and the Rice’s whale.

With your support, we successfully challenged USDA’s inadequate oversight of genetically engineered (GE) salmon that threaten wild salmon populations through potential escape and interbreeding, while raising concerns about the use of growth hormones and antibiotics in fish farming.

Strengthening environmental regulations

We held government agencies accountable to their environmental protection mandates by compelling the EPA to issue overdue regulations on shipping water pollution under the Clean Water Act and Administrative Procedure Act. The USDA also restored proper oversight of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), ensuring that new GMOs undergo thorough safety reviews before entering our food supply.

We also secured an agreement with California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation to end the unregulated use of pesticide-treated seeds, with new regulations taking effect in 2026.

Looking ahead to 2025, Friends of the Earth’s Legal Team remains committed to holding both corporate polluters and government agencies accountable, ensuring that environmental laws serve their intended purposes: protecting people and the planet.

Our work to advance the transition from destructive industrial agriculture to sustainable food systems drove significant achievements in 2024. Through targeted initiatives, Friends of the Earth improved school nutrition and secured key environmental victories.

Improving federal policy

We partnered with congressional leaders to introduce the EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act to align USDA’s $5 billion in annual food purchases with climate and equity goals.

Our rally in Washington, D.C., against factory farm gas – produced from animal waste that threatens human health and drinking water and incentivizes expansion of polluting and inhumane factory farming – mobilized 25 allied organizations and delivered 34,000 Member petitions, challenging EPA’s support of this misleading climate “solution.” Over at the USDA, we delivered petitions from Friends of the Earth supporters urging the USDA to stop financing factory farms!

Creating healthier school food

Thanks to our work in California, over 80 school districts added healthy, climate-friendly plant-based entrees to their menus, while 300 school districts used their USDA funding to purchase 465,615 pounds of organic produce – the highest volume in a single year. What’s more, 15 of these school districts established direct purchasing relationships with small organic farms in their regions.

Nationally, Friends of the Earth led a coalition of students, NGOs and school food leaders that helped shape USDA nutrition standards to facilitate healthier, plant-forward school meals across the U.S.

Stopping genetically engineered salmon

After 30 years of relentless advocacy, Friends of the Earth and allies achieved a landmark victory when AquaBounty Technologies, the company behind the world’s first commercialized genetically engineered (GE) food animal – AquAdvantage salmon – announced it will cease all GE salmon production and shutter its final facility. These GE salmon posed risks to wild salmon and human health. This win follows the widespread rejection of GE salmon by major retailers, food service companies, and restaurants, as well as ongoing legal challenges and mounting environmental concerns.

Friends of the Earth, alongside Indigenous and environmental groups, secured commitments from more than 80 major food retailers, including Walmart, Costco, and Kroger, the three largest food service companies, and restaurant chains like Red Lobster, to not sell GE salmon. This milestone protects wild salmon populations, Indigenous livelihoods, and consumer choice. It also sets an important precedent that there is no market for other farmed animals, such as pigs, chickens, and cows, genetically engineered to fit into factory farms that are fueling the climate crisis, harming communities, and abusing animals.

Building on these wins, we are committed to creating an equitable, sustainable, and healthy food system that works for all people and the environment.

Our Southeast initiatives secured major victories for environmental protection and community health through strategic partnerships and legal action.

Halting offshore drilling

A landmark court victory overturned flawed federal assessments of oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico. Partnering with Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity, we demonstrated how offshore drilling threatens the critically endangered Rice’s whale and other species. We’re now advocating for
the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop comprehensive protections for endangered marine life through a new biological opinion.

Preventing Cancer Alley pollution

With the Stop Formosa Coalition, Friends of the Earth is targeting the proposed Sunshine Project in Louisiana, which would be America’s largest petrochemical plant. This facility would emit 800 tons of toxic air pollution and 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, plus an immeasurable amount of microplastics. With more than 200 industrial facilities already in operation in the region known as “Cancer Alley,” this project would further burden predominantly Black and low- income communities.

Our continued collaboration with Southeast communities and allies strengthens local resistance against industrial pollution while advancing human rights to clean air and water. These efforts protect both current residents and future generations from environmental harm.

Environmental destruction persists because it remains profitable. In 2024, Friends of the Earth’s Economic Policy team achieved significant victories in reshaping financial incentives to protect people and the planet.

Shifting global climate finance

Our advocacy helped transform climate financing by driving implementation of key climate initiatives such as the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), which committed over 40 signatory countries to cut their overseas fossil fuel financing. We co-authored a study documenting the success of the CETP, which revealed that signatory countries collectively cut their fossil fuel financing by two-thirds, marking the largest downward trend in public overseas fossil fuel financing.

We also mobilized our supporters to champion California’s groundbreaking climate disclosure laws, which require large corporations to report their carbon footprints and climate risks.

Protecting critical ecosystems

We established crucial protections for vulnerable ecosystems and Indigenous rights by securing landmark “No Go” zones at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), prohibiting harmful industrial development negatively impacting World Heritage sites and free-flowing rivers.

We also pressured Procter & Gamble to sever ties with Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), Indonesia’s second-largest palm oil producer tied to rainforest destruction and human rights abuses – leading to government action to restore Indigenous farming lands.

Looking ahead, Friends of the Earth remains committed to redirecting financial flows toward climate protection, Indigenous rights, and a just transition to a sustainable economy. With our Members’ continued support, we’re transforming the financial systems that shape our environmental future.

As scientists worldwide warn of an “insect apocalypse” driven largely by toxic pesticides, we achieved significant reforms protecting pollinators and ecosystems.

Winning legislative reforms

Following advocacy and organizing by Friends of the Earth and allies, New York enacted the groundbreaking Birds and Bees Protection Act, the nation’s strongest bill on bee-killing pesticides, known as neonics. We helped secure passage of similar legislation in Vermont. In addition to advancing bills to restrict bee- killing pesticides in other states across the country, Friends of the Earth has devoted years to shifting the food and garden industries toward more bee-friendly practices, propelling these tremendous victories.

Our advocacy also pushed the California State Board of Food & Agriculture to incorporate pesticide reduction in the state’s definition of regenerative agriculture, an important step toward ensuring that state investments in regenerative agriculture are a force to reduce agrochemical use goals and setting an important precedent nationwide.

Holding corporations accountable

Our public pressure campaign on grocery and garden chains, backed by over 100,000 Member petitions, secured commitments from Kroger and Meijer this year, making five major food retailers now with policies to advance ecological farming practices in their produce supply chains, with the goal of reducing the use of neonics and other bee-toxic pesticides. Overall, our campaign has resulted in pollinator health policies from 13 of the 25 major food retailers on our Bee- Friendly Retailer Scorecard.

Exposing toxicity and economic risks

Our bombshell report on residential Roundup revealed that this common weedkiller is more toxic than ever before, despite being reformulated to remove cancer- linked glyphosate.

Our analysis found that the reformulated Roundup products being sold to U.S. home and garden consumers are 45 times more chronically toxic to human health on average, are more likely to harm wildlife, and have a greater risk of contaminating groundwater than glyphosate-based Roundup. The report garnered widespread coverage.

We also released a groundbreaking report that found the U.S. food retail sector’s use of pesticides on just four crops could result in $219 billion in financial, climate, and biodiversity risks between now and 2050. And we have continued highlighting pesticides’ negative impacts on human health, soil quality, and biodiversity, and the science on organic agriculture as a regenerative solution.

Friends of the Earth will continue to fight to save pollinators and the environment by exposing dangerous industry practices while advancing organic and other ecologically regenerative agricultural solutions.

Our Commitment to You

REVENUE	Without Donor Restrictions	With Donor Restrictions	Total
Grants, Bequests & Contributions	$10,346,099	$5,467,630	$15,813,729
Other Income	$1,326,425	$22,884	$1,349,309
Net Assets Released from Restrictions	$5,136,310	($5,136,310)
TOTAL	$16,808,834	$354,204	$17,163,038

EXPENSES
PROGRAM EXPENSES
Economic Policy	$1,897,056	$—	$1,897,056
Oceans & Vessels	$1,494,298	$—	$1,494,298
Climate & Energy	$1,902,776	$—	$1,902,776
Food & Agriculture	$3,599,085	$—	$3,599,085
Outreach, Communications, DEIJ & NC Restricted	$6,078,656	$—	$6,078,656
Membership	$1,375,496	$—	$1,375,496
TOTAL PROGRAM EXPENSES	$116,347,367	$—	$16,347,367
SUPPORTING EXPENSES
Management & General	$1,030,664	$—	$1,030,664
Fundraising	$1,752,233	$—	$1,752,233
TOTAL SUPPORTING EXPENSES	$2,782,897	$—	$2,782,897
TOTAL EXPENSES	$19,130,264		$19,130,264

NET ASSETS
Net Assets – Beginning of Year	$14,235,005	$4,789,117	$19,024,122
Change in Net Assets	($2,321,430)	$354,204	($1,967,226)
NET ASSETS – END OF YEAR	$11,913,575	$5,143,321	$17,056,896

NET ASSETS
Unrestricted	$11,913,575
Restricted	$5,143,321
TOTAL NET ASSETS	$17,056,896
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS	$22,504,324