Friends of the Earth Charitable Trust

Our sister organisation Friends of the Earth Charitable Trust is a registered charity (No. 281681) that works to raise funds and provide grants to organisations whose activities further its charitable objectives. It is regulated by the Charity Commission and registered with Companies House.

Download the latest financial accounts for Friends of the Earth Charitable Trust.

Charitable objectives

• The conservation, protection and sustainable use for the public benefit of the Earth’s natural environment, including bio-diversity, atmosphere, water, land and natural resources.
• The advancement of education for the public benefit and, in particular, the advancement of education in ecology, natural history, resource conservation, sustainable development and environment studies.
• The promotion of sustainable development for the benefit of the public by the preservation, conservation and the protection of the environment and the prudent use of natural resources; and conducting or commissioning research and publishing the results of such research. ‘Sustainable development’ means improving the quality of life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems and the natural environment.

Governance

The Board of Friends of the Earth Charitable Trust:

Sian Ferguson – Chair

Sian Ferguson was appointed Chair of the Charitable Trust in 2023. Sian has worked the environmental sector for 30 years and for the last ten within philanthropy as Trust Executive of the Aurora, JJ Charitable and Mark Leonard Trusts. She is a trustee at the Environmental Funders Network and a member of the advisory committee of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity.

Nicholas Eldred

Nicholas is an experienced solicitor and governance advisor who spent a significant amount of his career in-house, in both public and private sectors. He has been general counsel and secretary of O2uk, the BBC and Christie’s. More recently he has been running his own legal and governance consultancy providing consultant general counsel and/or company secretary services to a number of different organisations, he advises on and project manages organisational governance change and acts as mentor to general counsel/heads of legal/company secretaries. He is also a trustee of The Conversation UK.

Nicholas lives in St Albans and counts cycling as one of his principal enthusiasms.

Gillian Fawcett - Treasurer

Gillian is a public policy, strategy and finance consultant. During her career she has held the positions of: Head of International at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA); Head of Public Sector at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); Senior Fellow at the Office for Public Management (OPM); Head of Policy at the Audit Commission; and Head of Finance at the Scrutiny Unit in the House of Commons.

Sandy Hore-Ruthven

Sandy Hore-Ruthven MBE is the CEO of Severn Wye Energy– one of the UK’s largest charities tackling fuel poverty and Climate Change through our energy system . It works to support those struggling with fuel poverty through advice and retrofitting their homes. Each year Severn Wye supports 12000 households, saving over £1.5m in energy bills. Severn Wye also invests in cutting edge technology to capture carbon and generate renewable energy saving over 20,000 tonnes of Carbon each year.

Sandy was the Green Party Mayoral candidate in the elections of 2021 and received 44% of the vote – the largest green vote outside of Brighton.

He is has been Chair of Children in Need in the South West and has held a number board positions including the Chair of Youth Action Network and VOSCUR and has been a board member of the Quartet Community Foundation. He was a founder member of the Bristol Mayor’s ‘One City’ board where he initiated the plans to reach Net Zero by 2030.

Sandy has cycled in many places across the globe including the Andes, the Tibetan Plateau, Himalayas and central Africa. He has two adopted children who are now grown up and making their way in the world.

Frances Butler

Frances has been Chair of Liberty, Vice Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights, a human rights policy adviser and a practising lawyer. She has worked on community energy projects in Camden, North London and is currently doing a PhD at University College London researching the state’s responsibility to act on climate change. Frances is also a member of Camden Friends of the Earth .

Kate Hand

Kate is a Principal Policy Officer at London Councils, and previously spent a decade working in environmental policy, including at RSPB, Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Community Development Foundation. She has been a trustee at People & Planet and is Treasurer of Hackney and Tower Hamlets Friends of the Earth.

Mel Oley

Mel is Director of Fundraising and Communications at Freedom from Torture. During her career, she's held fundraising roles with Mental Health UK, ActionAid and Greenpeace. Mel has previously held a trustee role with Build Africa.

Beverley Downes

Contact

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