what we do

Environmental Defence helps people avoid toxic chemicals that our bodies don’t need and that nature doesn’t want.

We educate consumers about the chemicals and heavy metals in consumer products and cosmetics. We offer free practical tools, like our shoppers’ guide. And we connect customers with companies to let them know it’s time to get these toxics out. (This includes you, too, gentlemen—your shaving cream, body wash and shampoo are all considered cosmetics.)

We’ve done our own testing to find the levels of toxins in regular people like you.

We participate in the federal government’s Chemicals Management Plan Stakeholder Advisory Council and are proud to have been involved in protecting infants from the dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA).

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved but there’s more work ahead. At Environmental Defence, we believe that just because a company doesn’t want to tell you what’s in their product that you still have a right to know.

Action alert: Go to the petition urging cosmetic companies to clean up their act.

 

Toxics
Toxics

Environmental Defence helps people avoid toxic chemicals that our bodies don’t need and that nature doesn’t want.

We educate consumers about the chemicals and heavy metals in consumer products and cosmetics. We offer free practical tools, like our shoppers’ guide. And we connect customers with companies to let them know it’s time to get these toxics out. (This includes you, too, gentlemen—your shaving cream, body wash and shampoo are all considered cosmetics.)

We’ve done our own testing to find the levels of toxins in regular people like you.

We participate in the federal government’s Chemicals Management Plan Stakeholder Advisory Council and are proud to have been involved in protecting infants from the dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA).

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved but there’s more work ahead. At Environmental Defence, we believe that just because a company doesn’t want to tell you what’s in their product that you still have a right to know.

Action alert: Go to the petition urging cosmetic companies to clean up their act.

 
  • Just Beautiful
    How safe are the personal products we use on our bodies? Nobody knows.
  • Keeping Cancer Out
    Very few of us would knowingly put formaldehyde on our hands, or our hair.
  • Banning Bisphenol A (BPA)
    Join the call to get rid of BPA in food and beverage containers.
  • Toxic Nation
    Canadians are polluted with a toxic mix of chemicals from our environment.

We are at a crossroads. At a time when Canada aspires to become a global energy superpower, the window of opportunity to prevent catastrophic global warming is rapidly closing. Our planet could lock into irreversible climate change within five years if we don’t change where we get our energy now. The road leading backward is a dead end. We cannot continue to exploit unsustainable and risky sources like oil or coal for our energy. We cannot continue unchecked expansion of the tar sands and the pipelines that serve them. And we don’t need to. There is a better way forward – a green energy future.

Environmental Defence is leading the charge in helping Canada shift to a green economy. We seek to end wasteful fossil fuel subsidies, invest in energy efficiency and smart conservation ideas, and speed up the transition to clean and safe renewable energy. All of which are already growing our economy and creating new jobs.

Energy
Energy

We are at a crossroads. At a time when Canada aspires to become a global energy superpower, the window of opportunity to prevent catastrophic global warming is rapidly closing. Our planet could lock into irreversible climate change within five years if we don’t change where we get our energy now. The road leading backward is a dead end. We cannot continue to exploit unsustainable and risky sources like oil or coal for our energy. We cannot continue unchecked expansion of the tar sands and the pipelines that serve them. And we don’t need to. There is a better way forward – a green energy future.

Environmental Defence is leading the charge in helping Canada shift to a green economy. We seek to end wasteful fossil fuel subsidies, invest in energy efficiency and smart conservation ideas, and speed up the transition to clean and safe renewable energy. All of which are already growing our economy and creating new jobs.
  • Tar Sands
    The tar sands are Canada's fastest growing source of global warming pollution.
  • Clean Energy
    Ontario is now the North American leader in renewable energy.
  • Good Green Jobs
    Creating jobs in the green economy.

We all value clean, fresh water. We drink it. We swim in it and fish from it. We enjoy lazy summer weekends or vacations by its shores.

We educate people about the need for safer, cleaner water – and how we can protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, which hold 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater.

How we treat our land—especially the natural spaces where forests and wetlands thrive—greatly affects the quality and cleanliness of our water.

Environmental Defence works to protect one by protecting the other. By preserving green spaces, we protect the natural filters that keep pollutants from our rivers and lakes. It also helps keep local farmland for agricultural use. That’s why we’re so proud that the world’s biggest Greenbelt wraps around Toronto, and why we educate about the dangers that sprawl-type-growth presents.

We’re also proud our work to reduce water pollution has such a visible symbol: the Blue Flag. We brought this international symbol to Canada in 2004 to designate beaches and marinas that are clean, safe to use and involve local citizens in keeping them clean. Families rely on the Blue Flag to find beaches and marinas that meet high standards.

Action alert: Sign up for updates on Great Lakes, Lake Simcoe and Greenbelt work.

 

 

Land and Water
Land and Water

We all value clean, fresh water. We drink it. We swim in it and fish from it. We enjoy lazy summer weekends or vacations by its shores.

We educate people about the need for safer, cleaner water – and how we can protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, which hold 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater.

How we treat our land—especially the natural spaces where forests and wetlands thrive—greatly affects the quality and cleanliness of our water.

Environmental Defence works to protect one by protecting the other. By preserving green spaces, we protect the natural filters that keep pollutants from our rivers and lakes. It also helps keep local farmland for agricultural use. That’s why we’re so proud that the world’s biggest Greenbelt wraps around Toronto, and why we educate about the dangers that sprawl-type-growth presents.

We’re also proud our work to reduce water pollution has such a visible symbol: the Blue Flag. We brought this international symbol to Canada in 2004 to designate beaches and marinas that are clean, safe to use and involve local citizens in keeping them clean. Families rely on the Blue Flag to find beaches and marinas that meet high standards.

Action alert: Sign up for updates on Great Lakes, Lake Simcoe and Greenbelt work.