Supporting the environment is Rotary's seventh area of focus. It joined peace-building and conflict prevention; disease prevention and treatment; water, sanitation, and hygiene; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and community economic development.

Rotary is committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. We empower communities to access grants and other resources, embrace local solutions, and spur innovation to address the causes and reduce the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.

The Rotary Foundation in Foundation global grant funding has allocated 18.4 million USD to environment-related causes in the past five years through their support of community economic development and water, sanitation, and hygiene projects. Our Water and Sanitation Global Grant with International partner RC of Fig Garden addresses sanitation issues which affect the environment in twenty-one remote villages in Northern Thailand.

Some of the ways we can work on environmental challenges by:

Protecting and restoring land, coastal, marine, and freshwater resources

Enhancing the capacity of communities to support natural resource management and conservation

Supporting sustainable agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture practices

Addressing the cause of climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases

Strengthening ecosystems and communities affected by climate change

Supporting education initiatives that promote behavior that protects the environment

Advocating for sustainable consumption to build an economy that uses resources more efficiently

Addressing environmental justice issues and public health concerns