Center for Environmental Health
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The Center for Environmental Health protects people from toxic chemicals and promotes business products and practices that are safe for public health and the environment.
- Income
- $3.8 million
- Spending
- $4.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 68%
- Reserves
- 6.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 50%
- Employees
- 42
- Volunteers
- 12
- Highest pay
- $363,422, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 71 out of 100. Higher than 45% of charities in its peer group (health care, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 6.4 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 29% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 6% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 2% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1568% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 40 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 67% of charities in its peer group (health care, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $1.1 million spent. Litigation to Protect People from Toxic Chemicals CEH protected consumers from carcinogens and reproductive toxicants across a wide range of consumer products in 2024. We tested over 315 products for new and active cases and 10 products for compliance monitoring. Our testing protected consumers from endocrine-disrupting BPA in canned coconut water, socks, and clothing, and from the reproductive toxicant nicotine in Zyn nicotine pouches, a product rising in popularity among youth according to the FDAs Annual Youth Tobacco Survey.These litigation efforts have and will continue to result in legal agreements with companies to reformulate products, directly reducing exposure to harmful chemicals and setting precedents that hold industries accountable for human health and environmental impacts. Our team published a groundbreaking report detailing a 13-year investigation of off-price retailers Ross and Burlingtons sale of lead-containing fashion accessories, garnering the attention of national news outlets including Univision, Newsweek, Fox, Yahoo Finance, and more, as well as eliciting responses from the multi-billion dollar fashion retailers featured in the report.
- $746,505 spent. All other programs
- $643,172 spent. Green Chemistry: Accelerating the adoption of safer products to protect human health and the environment Our climate work to reduce plastic and toxics exposure by leveraging institutional buying power to drive more sustainable supply chains has yielded impactful results. Our proven strategies have achieved real, tangible wins for human health, including:-Preventing over 600,000 single-use plastic foodware items from exposing people to toxic chemicals, filling landfills, and producing potent greenhouse gases. Landfills are major contributors to climate change given the gases they emit and the amount of plastic they contain. -Making it easier than ever for government, corporate, and educational institutions to find, evaluate, and purchase healthier, more sustainable furniture, flooring, and carpeting. -Launching a revolutionary standard for reusability criteria that restricts known hazardous chemicals (including recycled materials) in food packaging, service ware, cookware, and food containers. -Releasing an updated version of the Ditching Disposables Toolkit aimed at helping those in the K-12 school space reduce the use of single use-plastics in the cafeteria space and transition to non-toxic, reusable foodware. This updated toolkit has been instrumental in promoting our expertise across the country and has been distributed both nationally and regionally to all school districts in California. These wins propel CEH to continue to target city and county governments and private businesses to use our GreenScreen Certified Standard which as of December 2024 has been accepted under EPAs Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing. We aim to drive the purchasing demand for sustainable products towards products that meet our rigorous safety and health standards, achieving healthier supply chains. The Green and Clean Purchasing team reached out to California school districts totaling over 1,110 district and school leaders in 2024 with the goal of shifting large scale purchasing toward non-toxic alternatives. CEH called on district leaders to consider safer, non-toxic, reusable foodware options and provided introductory resources including our Ditching Disposables Toolkit.
- $312,806 spent. Protecting our Environment and Communities from Industrial Pollution CEH continues to tackle sources of industrial pollution and have focused on the metal processing industrys toxic hex chrome air emissions as well as their illegal PFAS discharges into groundwater classified by the Water Board as a potential source of drinking water for community residents. CEH has filed lawsuits against 6 companies to force them to implement much-needed pollution controls that eliminate further discharges as well as cleanup measures for existing water contamination. After we entered a Consent Judgment with one of these companies, CEH has continued to engage with the remaining five companies to hold them accountable, requiring cleanup, monitoring of groundwater and soil, and cessation of using PFAS-containing materials. Similarly, CEH has been actively engaged in a case involving a lead-acid battery recycling facility in the City of Industry named Quemetco (now known as Ecobat Resources California) to protect soils from lead and arsenic industrial pollution. In 2024, in partnership with community leaders, CEH conducted extensive community outreach to hear how affected residents wanted to use the community fund to protect themselves from contaminated soil. Based on this feedback, CEH is offering soil screening for lead and arsenic, safe gardening workshops, and professional landscaping services to residents who live near the facility. Accessing these services will have a direct impact on reducing residents exposure to lead and arsenic in contaminated soil at no cost to them.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 1997.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.