Fred Krupp

Fred Krupp is the President of Environmental Defense Fund (formerly known as the Environmental Defense), a U.S. environmental group.

The 2002-2003 annual return submitted by EDF to the Internal Revenue Service discloses that Krupp was paid just over $329,000 that year with a further $37,000 in contributions to his employee benefit plan. 


 * Advisory Committee, Environmental Leadership Program
 * Advisory Board, Environmental Media Association

EDF Partners with Synagro, The World's Leader in Dumping Sewage Sludge on Farms and Gardens
EDF creates formal corporate partnerships between itself and major corporations, such as the Carlyle Group with which it partnered in March, 2010. The Carlyle Group, a private investment corporation, owns Synagro, the world's largest company producing sewage sludge "compost" and "fertilizer," often called "biosolids," that is dumped on farms and gardens.

According to its own guidelines, EDF does accept direct funding from corporations that are engaged "in any significant activities that are in direct conflict with EDF’s environmental protection objectives or activities." This is misleading, since EDF does aggressively seek funding from employees, board members and investors in such corporations, including its formal corporate partners such as Carlyle Group. And EDF also considers on a case by case basis donations from foundations set up by such corporations.

It would seem that by partnering with Synagro EDF is in fact endorsing the practices of Synagro in dumping sludge on farms and gardens, and in misleading millions of people by selling its sewage sludge products as "compost" and "natural organic fertilizer."

Such partnerships are extremely lucrative for EDF since it aggressively fundraises among the individuals on the Boards of Directors, in management, and who are investors in its partners. Meanwhile, the corporate partner such as Carlyle Group can greenwash itself by pointing to its partnership with one of the world's best funded Big Green environmental groups.

In the 1970s and 1980s EDF and other major environmental groups including Natural Resources Defense Council worked closely with the sewage industry and endorsed moves by the Environmental Protection Agency to rename toxic sewage sludge as "biosolids" and dump the waste onto farmland. Until May, 2011, when EDF requested it be removed, the following quote appeared on a sludge industry website showing endorsement of this practice.
 * "EDF and NRDC have been steadfast proponents of reusing biosolids of appropriate quality as the best biosolids management alternative. Biosolids can be a valuable natural resource."
 * FRED KRUP, Executive Director - JOHN ADAMS Executive Director
 * Environmental Defense Fund - Natural Resources Defense Fund"

EDF's Sean Crowley had the quote taken down, and he points out that there is no date or citation for the quote, which likely came from a consent decree among major environmental groups and the sewage sludge industry. While it is partnered with the world's largest sewage sludge company, Synagro of Carlyle Group, Crowley claims that EDF has no position what so ever on the practice of using agricultural farms and gardens as waste dumps for sewage sludge.

NRDC, on the other hand, became a critic of sludge dumping in 2002 and 2003, based on the dioxin contaminants in sewage sludge.

Krupp on nuclear power
Krupp has endorsed the Climate Stewardship Act proposed by Republican John McCain and Democrat Joe Lieberman. The proposed act was defeated when it was first voted on in the Senate. SUbsequently McCain and Lieberman watered it down to include subsidies for nuclear power. In an interview in June 2005 Krupp said that while still concerned about nuclear waste and reactor safety Environmental Defense would be supporting the bill.

"If we believe that Global Warming is very serious, the overriding environmental issue of our day, then I think we have to have an open mind and certainly ask the serious tough questions about nuclear power that, um, need to be asked. And we should not just throw it off the table from the get-go," he said.

Related Sourcewatch

 * Environmentalism
 * Chilling and Gassing with the Environmental Defense Fund