The Public Interest Network’s 2024 highlights

Ten highlights from 2024, when we remained focused, as always, on our core mission: to tackle problems of abundance. Economic growth, for all its virtues, causes its own set of problems: for our environment, public health, and our sense of connection to each other and to our democracy. Even modest achievements can make a difference in people’s lives and for the natural world.

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1. Consumer Watchdog

Businesses mostly provide consumers with a valuable product or useful service. But when, in the process, they commit fraud or abuse, PIRG is there to serve as a watchdog. In 2024, we took aim at fake online product reviews, airline practices that make it difficult to obtain refunds, hard-to-cancel subscriptions, unwanted robocalls, and companies that sell your data without permission.


PIRG’s RJ Cross talks about retailers’ collection of customers’ data on CNBC. Credit: CNBCPIRG’s RJ Cross talks about retailers’ collection of customers’ data on CNBC. Credit: CNBC

2. Reduce, Reuse, REPAIR

The Right to Repair movement is a reminder that the best way to reduce waste is to reuse what we already have — a task made easier when companies don’t block access to the tools and parts needed to fix our stuff. In 2024, Colorado, Oregon and California adopted new PIRG-backed laws that dismantle barriers to repair. These and other state-level actions helped spur Apple and other firms to make their products easier to fix nationwide.


After California’s Right To Repair law went into effect, CALPIRG celebrated “Repair Independence Day” with workshops showing people how to repair their own electronics. Credit: Ben Lohrentz

3. Renewable Energy & Conservation

As Environment America’s 2024 Renewables on the Rise online dashboard shows, solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy keep surpassing even the sunniest expectations. Yet on a warming planet with finite resources, generating more renewable energy is not, in and of itself, an adequate solution to our energy and climate problems. We also need to use less energy in the first place. That’s why our advocates are consistent supporters of energy-saving standards for appliances and other products, including new water heater standards that will prevent 332 million metric tons of carbon emissions. We’re also taking a critical look at the potential for a dramatic increase in electricity use driven by new data centers designed to support AI.


Environment California’s Steven King (center) and CALPIRG’s Fiona Hines (left) at Los Angeles City Hall releasing our Renewables on the Rise report in October 2024. Credit: Irina Logra Photography

4. Beyond Plastic

Single-use plastic products deliver short-lived convenience at the cost of lasting harm to our environment and health, yet their production is increasing. PIRG, Environment America and our state environmental groups challenged the throwaway mentality in 2024, with victories including an expanded CALPIRG-backed ban of single-use plastic grocery bags; a commitment by Amazon to phase out more plastic packaging; and corporate commitments to reduce plastic waste from Costco, Disney, Marriott, Mattel and Hasbro. PennEnvironment is also taking legal action to stop Styropek from polluting local waters with plastic pellets.


CALPIRG campaign staff at an event calling to strengthen California’s ban on single-use plastic grocery bags. Credit: Andy Smith


5. Clean Water

In the absence of the precautionary principle, the American people have been exposed to numerous toxic hazards. We can’t put the genie back in the bottle, but in 2024, our advocates applauded a new 10-year timetable for removing most lead service lines while calling for more action to protect schoolkids from lead exposure. We also supported new limits on PFAS, the “forever chemicals,” in drinking water and PIRG-backed laws to get PFAS out of firefighting gear in Massachusetts; ban them from cleaning products, cookware and other products in Colorado; and prohibit the sale and use of PFAS-contaminated fertilizer in Connecticut.


MASSPIRG’s Deirdre Cummings (top row, second from right) looks on at Gov. Maura Healey’s event signing the new law to ban PFAS in firefighting gear. Credit: Leise Jones Photography

6. Protecting & Restoring the Natural World

Conserving resources and reducing pollution are necessary steps toward a sustainable economy and a healthy society. Yet they also offer more profound rewards, including a more beautiful and awe-inspiring natural world. That’s why this year we helped deliver the last of 1 million comments favoring protection of America’s oldest forests. We also supported the new 4,000 square-mile Chumash marine sanctuary off the California coast. And we won laws in California and Colorado regulating pesticides that harm bees and other pollinators. People could use, as our conservation team says, more nature in our lives.


Ellen Montgomery, Environment America’s public lands campaign director, gathers with summer campaign staff. Credit: Staff

7. Student PIRGs

Our brand of result-oriented consumer and environmental action started at colleges, where PIRG chapters and clubs are still active in 25 states. During 2024, more than 2,300 students got involved with our programs on 381 campuses, taking more than 78,000 campaign actions. In addition, students involved in Student PIRG’s New Voters Project contacted over 160,000 of their peers. Students also helped organize the first-ever New England Youth Ocean Summit, featuring workshops and action on ocean conservation.


MASSPIRG student leader Ashanti McLean speaks at the New England Youth Ocean Summit. Credit: Tim O’Connor

8. National Environmental Law Center (NELC)

Litigation is a powerful tool in our network’s strategic toolbox. In 2024, our team at NELC, representing PennEnvironment, won a historic $42 million settlement against U.S. Steel, after the firm illegally allowed untreated sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide to spew from one of its plants for 102 days. NELC also filed, on behalf of Environment California and Environment Ohio, respectively, clean water lawsuits against the Port of Los Angeles and Campbell Soup. The groups in our network have filed over 100 environmental enforcement actions over the last four decades. Each completed action has resulted in a court victory, a favorable settlement, or a commitment to enforce the law.


NELC Attorney Matt Donohue and PennEnvironment member Edith Abeyta at the Jan. 29 press conference. Credit: Abby Wilcox 

9. Green Century°

With investors holding more than $1 billion in funds managed by Green Century Capital Management, our environmentally responsible investment firm, we’re harnessing the power of shareholders to leverage greener corporate practices. This year Green Century’s advocacy persuaded companies such as Costco and Disney to reduce their plastic waste, and convinced home improvement giant Lowe’s to pledge greater transparency about its greenhouse emissions. And Leslie Samuelrich, the president of the Green Century Funds, was chosen for Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list.


Green Century’s Leslie Samuelrich leads a strategy meeting. Credit: Leise Jones Photography

 

10. Community Action Works

Its name may have changed since 1986, but the mission of Community Action Works has stayed constant: to provide ordinary citizens with the training and other resources they need to tackle local environmental problems. In 2024, that training and expertise helped a citizen coalition stop plans to dump radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts. Community Action Works also organized a Grassroots Organizing Summit, bringing together local activists combating PFAS pollution, landfills and more.


Community Action Works’ Grassroots Organizing Summit brought together 40 environmental leaders from five states to tackle pressing environmental threats. Credit: Adam Perri

Many thanks to our members, friends, allies, donors and other partners who made all of this work possible.

The Public Interest Network is not a registered investment adviser. The Public Interest Network is not providing any investment advice to any recipient of this communication.

°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (the Funds). You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please visit www.greencentury.com, email [email protected], or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk and principal loss is possible. The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212.

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Douglas H. Phelps

President and Executive Director, The Public Interest Network

Doug is President and Executive Director of The Public Interest Network. As director of MASSPIRG starting in 1979, he conceived and helped organize the Fund for the Public Interest, U.S. PIRG, National Environmental Law Center, Green Century Capital Management, Green Corps and Environment America, among other groups. Doug ran the public interest careers program at the Harvard Law School from 1976-1986. He is a graduate of Colorado State University and the Harvard Law School.