Pollution Probe is a 3-star rated charity. It has reasonable overhead spending and an average results reporting score but is not financially transparent. 

Founded in 1969, Pollution Probe works to find practical solutions to environmental issues. The charity addresses three key areas: technology & innovation, rulemaking, and behavioural change. It collaborates with governments, industry leaders, and the public to tackle environmental problems. 

Pollution Probe works through five programs: Circular Economy, Energy, Transportation, Water, and Youth Leadership. The charity does not provide a breakdown of its spending on its programs.  

For its Circular Economy program, Pollution Probe encourages people to reduce, reuse, and recycle items. It hopes to decrease waste to help the environment. In F2022, the charity conducted the first ever study about the phosphorous cycle in Ontario. It hopes to use this information to decrease human-based phosphorous pollution. It also released a Public Service Announcement about the harm of plastic pollution.  

In the Energy program, Pollution Probe works towards a net-zero energy system. This system would mean that energy production does not release any carbon. Much of the charity’s work in this program is with QUEST, another Canadian non-profit working towards net-zero, as part of a four-year partnership. From January to March of 2022, Pollution Probe helped install 200 electric vehicle (EV) chargers. 

Pollution Probe’s Transportation program hopes to reduce air pollution from vehicles. In F2022, the charity conducted two surveys. First, it wanted to understand the experiences of EV drivers. Second, it looked at the benefits working-from-home has on the environment. In F2022, Pollution Probe also created a roadmap to help Canada’s train system decrease carbon emissions.  

The Water program works to reduce pollution to waterways, especially the Great Lakes. In F2022, Pollution Probe stopped 13.46 kilograms of small plastic debris from entering lakes.  

Finally, Pollution Probe’s Youth Leadership program aims to support and learn from young environmental activists. It hosted a gala in November 2021 that included five youth panelists. 

In F2022, Pollution Probe reported total donations and special events revenue of $1.2m. Administrative costs are 9% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 15% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 24%. For every dollar donated, 76 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

Pollution Probe has $649k in reserve funds, which include cash and investments. These funds can cover around 3 months of program spending at the F2022 level. 

­This charity report is an update that has been sent to Pollution Probe Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on June 14, 2023 by Clive Stevens.