Data, Reports & Resources

NRDC is a leader and trusted source in environmental policy and research. 

From reports to issue briefs, we ensure accountability through peer review led by our Science Office, which provides data and scientific analysis that help shape and guide NRDC’s policies and positions. We also offer a range of other resources, such as 101 guides and consumer-focused scorecards to increase access to knowledge about how everyone can be a catalyst for change. 

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A plastic cup among a pile of wet leaves and branches on the ground

Single-Use Plastics 101

GuideUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall
Here’s everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes.
A pipe sits atop dirt next to a building

Will Funds for Water Infrastructure Flow Fairly?

ReportUnited StatesBecky Hammer, Erik D. Olson
These report cards grade all 50 states on water funding equity.
A view of the cross-section of a cut water pipe

Getting the Lead Out: Removing Lead Pipes Would Yield Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Health Benefits

Issue BriefUnited StatesErik D. Olson
Removing lead service lines could save the United States an estimated $786 billion from avoided health impacts over the next 35 years.

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Lead Pipes Are Widespread and Used in Every State

SurveyUnited States, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, MinnesotaErik D. Olson, Alexandra Stubblefield
An NRDC survey estimates that there are at least 12.8 million water pipes that are, or may be, lead, spread across the entire country. Use our map to find out about your state.

Water Affordability Business Case Downloadable Tool

OverviewUnited StatesLarry Levine, Ed Osann
To help provide safe and affordable water and sanitation to everyone in their communities, this tool allows utilities to assess the business case for implementing a discount program for low-income customers.

Engaging Health Departments: Overview Guide

OverviewUnited States, Colorado, Denver, Tennessee, Nashville, Minnesota, Minneapolis
We outline some of the ways that health inspectors can help educate food facilities on how to prevent wasted food and donate surplus.

Watered Down Justice

ReportUnited StatesKristi Pullen Fedinick
While the Safe Drinking Water Act guarantees all Americans access to clean, drinkable water, it hasn’t worked out that way in practice.

Inflation Reduction Act: A Big Step Toward a Climate-Safe Future

OverviewUnited StatesManish Bapna, Derek Murrow, Amanda Levin, Dr. Simon Mui, Luke Tonachel, Andrew Wetzler, Brendan Guy, Jake Schmidt, Sarah Dougherty, Carolina Herrera, Douglass Sims, Sasha Stashwick
Analysis on the 2022 climate bill by NRDC’s experts.

A Holistic Approach to Reducing Food Waste

Fact SheetUnited StatesElizabeth Balkan
Through public awareness campaigns, partnerships with local cities, and federal advocacy, NRDC leads the way when it comes to reducing food waste.

Liability Protections and Safe Food Donation

OverviewUnited StatesNina Sevilla, Yvette Cabrera, Madeline Keating

Redistributing surplus food is an important way to make sure good food gets to people and doesn’t end up in landfills or incinerators. NRDC has created some resources to help potential donors understand the liability protections that exist.

Increasing Public Awareness About Food Waste Prevention Guide

OverviewUnited States
Given the magnitude of consumer household food waste, cities can play an important role in both raising awareness and providing action-oriented strategies that consumers can implement in their homes to prevent food from being wasted in the first place.

CAFOs: What We Don’t Know Is Hurting Us

ReportUnited StatesJon Devine, Valerie Baron
Corporate livestock facilities, known as concentrated animal feeding operations (or CAFOs), can threaten the health of communities and pollute our air and water. A decade of NRDC research reveals that the EPA has left these health threats largely unmonitored.

Millions Served by Water Systems Detecting Lead

MapUnited StatesKristi Pullen Fedinick
An analysis by NRDC of the most recent EPA data shows that between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020, 186 million people in the United States—a staggering 56 percent of the U.S. population—drank water from drinking water systems detecting…

The Global Climate Action Summit

OverviewInternational, United States

Leaders from across the globe met in San Francisco to step up their actions to meet our climate goals.

Food Matters Regional Initiative

OverviewAtlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Jersey City, Madison, Memphis, Nashville, North Carolina, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C.
Cities are addressing food waste in a holistic way—through prevention, rescue, and recycling.

Building Climate-Ready Fisheries and Fishing Communities

Issue BriefUnited StatesDr. Lisa Suatoni, Molly Masterton
Warming waters are driving a mass migration of life beneath the sea—and a decades-old fishery law cannot keep up without climate-ready science and policy.