Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is the independent business voice for the environment. E2 is a national community of individual business leaders who advocate for good environmental policy while building economic prosperity. Working with NRDC, E2 takes a reasoned, economically sound approach to environmental issues by relying on fact-based policy expertise. As the independent business voice in the debate, E2 is effective and delivers results at both the state and national levels through its bipartisan efforts.  

E2 is Efficient and Effective

E2 provides timely and accurate information about pressing environmental issues to its member base, enabling them to take rapid and effective action. Our objective is to provide a time-efficient way for business leaders to leverage their professional networks and skills to support NRDC. NRDC’s policy and science experts and its new Center for Market Innovation work with E2 to identify critical environmental issues, key players in the debate and strategic actions that E2 can take to make a difference. We then mobilize E2 members to sign position statements, write letters and op-eds, visit legislators, research environmental issues and call public officials to express their views on environmental legislation.

E2 tackles environmental issues at the state and national levels through bipartisan efforts. E2 delegations visit state houses and the White House, working to gather support for issues such as: federal transportation policy that encourages mixed-use, "smart growth" communities; building momentum for laws that address the threat of global warming; supporting new policies to better manage our ocean resources; and, advocating for clean technologies and sensible energy policies that reduce our reliance on foreign oil and provide incentives for efficiency and renewable energy. E2’s members, individually and collectively, advocate for the often overlooked connections between environmental health and economic strength. We work with NRDC staff and public officials to develop and promote resource-efficient policies that not only improve our air, water, and public health - but also create jobs and provide better economic returns using fewer natural resources. To learn more about our current focus areas, please visit Advocacy Campaigns.

E2 Makes a Difference

E2’s partners in local, state and federal government often tell us that environmental victories could not be won without the support of E2’s business voice. Legislators typically hear from the companies or trade associations that have a financial interest in preserving the status quo and do not necessarily represent the broader business community, whose opinions can be strikingly different. E2 makes sure that legislators hear the business case for good environmental policy. Our members provide credibility and authority to the argument that environmental progress and economic prosperity go hand in hand.

E2 has become a trusted voice in Washington, DC, Sacramento, Boston and Albany, and E2 members are coordinating efforts in other states as well, including Colorado and Oregon. E2 members are increasingly called upon to testify at hearings on Capitol Hill and in statehouses, where they bring to the debate their unique perspectives as professionals in industries that have the potential to benefit from strong environmental policies. To read about specific successes, please visit Results of Our Work.

NRDC Partnership

E2 is a virtual organization. Contributions for E2 membership are made directly to NRDC. E2 partners with NRDC because it’s simply the most effective environmental protection organization working today. Founded in 1970, NRDC has made tangible progress on clean air and water, viable forests and fisheries, and climate stability. Through Congress and the courts, NRDC’s expert staff has successfully fought to build and defend the most powerful framework of environmental laws in the world. NRDC uses science, law, and the strength of more than 1.3 million members and activists throughout the country to protect people, the places we live, and the natural resources we all depend on. E2 supports NRDC’s programs financially and through volunteer and advocacy efforts. Because interested parties must make a contribution to NRDC in order to attain E2 membership, E2’s financial support and activities help NRDC maintain its outstanding record of success and sound, reasoned research. E2’s work is carried out by members, volunteers and by NRDC staff. We work closely with NRDC to prioritize our legislative activities, making the most of the strengths of both groups.