The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charitable company's Memorandum & Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016).
The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) exists to help communities across the UK use the law to protect nature and tackle environmental harm in their local area. Through free legal support, public education, research, and cross-sector collaboration, ELF works to strengthen access to environmental justice and support greater participation in environmental decision-making.
The charity’s activities further the charitable objectives set out in its Articles of Association, including the protection and conservation of the environment for the benefit of the public and the advancement of education relating to environmental law, policy, and practice.
During the year, ELF released a refreshed organisational strategy, helping to further refine and strengthen the charity’s strategic objectives and activities. ELF’s work focuses on three core strategic priorities.
1. Supporting communities to use the law to protect the environment:
ELF provides free legal advice and support to communities across the UK facing environmental challenges in their local area.
Communities contact ELF directly through the charity’s Advice and Referral Service. Enquiries are reviewed by ELF’s in-house legal team, who provide support directly or connect communities with specialist legal and technical expertise through the charity’s Professional Pro Bono Membership Network.
ELF supports communities to engage more effectively in complex legal and regulatory processes and in consultations and negotiations with regulators, public authorities, and corporations. In some cases, ELF also supports pre-litigation action and legal proceedings where communities are seeking to challenge environmental harm or ensure environmental law is properly applied and enforced.
2. Strengthening the environmental justice ecosystem:
ELF works to strengthen the wider environmental justice sector by building and managing networks that support knowledge-exchange, learning and collaboration, while also increasing community access to environmental legal expertise.
The charity manages a Professional Pro Bono Membership Network of 120 barristers, solicitors, and technical experts who provide free legal advice and support to communities. This operating model enables ELF to deliver impact significantly beyond its size and helps ensure communities can access specialist expertise that would otherwise be financially inaccessible. The network is also a powerful vehicle contributing to knowledge-sharing, training, and sector collaboration.
ELF also works with a network of 20 university law schools across the UK through environmental legal and policy clinics. Students contribute to live community cases and also carry out research projects relating to environmental law and policy, helping to expand access to justice while supporting the development of the next generation of environmental lawyers and practitioners.
Alongside this, ELF manages a Community Network by maintaining relationships with communities previously supported by the charity and facilitating connections between groups facing similar environmental challenges.
3. Informing environmental policy and practice through community insight:
Drawing on insight from hundreds of community enquiries and cases, ELF works to ensure that the experiences and perspectives of local communities help inform and shape environmental policy and practice. This includes contributing legal and policy insight to government consultations, representing community voices in a range of public fora and with different decision-makers, and carrying out strategic projects advancing environmental justice and environmental rights, including ongoing work connected to Rights of Nature.
In certain strategically important Supreme Court cases, ELF also carries out interventions where there is an opportunity to help strengthen environmental law and improve access to environmental justice for communities.
Public benefit
The trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty under section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
ELF provides public benefit by helping communities across the UK understand and use environmental law to protect and restore nature and improve the environments in which they live. Through free legal advice, public education, research, training, and cross-sector collaboration, the charity supports greater access to environmental justice and helps communities engage more effectively with environmental decision-making processes.
The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) is a charitable company limited by guarantee (registered charity number 1045918) governed by its Articles of Association. The charity is overseen by a Board of Trustees, who are responsible for the overall governance, strategic direction, and financial oversight of the organisation.
Trustees are recruited based on the skills, expertise, and perspectives required to support the charity’s work and are appointed in accordance with the charity’s governing document. The Board meets regularly throughout the year and works closely with the executive team to support the effective delivery of the charity’s objectives and activities.
In January 2026, Robin Pierro was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ELF. Robin brings almost 20 years of experience across the human rights and environmental justice sectors and deep expertise in organisational strategy, fundraising, communications, and operations, complementing the legal and policy expertise of the wider team. Since her appointment, ELF has continued to strengthen its organisational strategy, fundraising, operational systems, governance, and external engagement, helping position the organisation for its next phase of growth and impact.
Robin’s appointment followed the sad and unexpected passing of Rachel Youngman, who had joined the organisation as CEO in the previous financial year. In her short time with ELF, Rachel made an important contribution to strengthening the organisation’s strategy, structure, and governance, and her loss was deeply felt across the organisation and wider network.
The Board of Trustees also saw several changes during the year. Long-serving trustees Jeremy Woods, Michael Taite, and Nick Flynn stepped down from the Board in March 2026 following many years of contribution to the organisation. ELF would like to express its sincere thanks for their commitment and support over many years.
During the year, the charity also welcomed new trustees Zoe Leventhal and Jemima Coleman to the Board, both bringing significant additional legal and environmental expertise to the organisation as it continues to evolve and grow.
In summary, the trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served throughout the year, were:
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
ELF’s staff team works closely with a broad network of professional members, university partners, environmental charities and community organisations across the UK. The charity’s delivery model combines in-house legal and policy expertise with significant pro bono support from its Professional Pro Bono Membership Network, enabling ELF to remain small and nimble while leveraging a huge amount of specialist legal support to grassroots communities across a wide range of environmental issues.
During the year, ELF made significant progress across its three core strategic priority areas. Below is a snapshot of the charity’s achievements and performance across each strategic area of focus during the FY 2025–26.
1. Supporting communities to use the law to protect the environment
During the year, ELF continued to provide free legal advice and support to communities across the UK facing a wide range of environmental issues, from sewage pollution, intensive agriculture and industrial development to biodiversity loss, marine conservation and the protection of green spaces and habitats.
Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, ELF responded to 370 requests for legal support.
ELF’s in-house legal team reviewed enquiries that came through its helpline and provided direct support to communities, while also connecting enquirers with legal experts from the charity’s professional membership network of barristers, solicitors, and technical experts. This hybrid model enabled ELF to handle a large volume of cases and for communities to access specialist legal expertise that would otherwise be financially inaccessible.
The following case studies provide a snapshot of the impact achieved during the year.
Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone: ELF supported Sussex Wildlife Trust in successfully challenging a decision by the Marine Management Organisation to grant a permit allowing contaminated dredged sediment from Brighton Marina to continue being dumped within the Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone. Following a legal challenge, the decision was quashed, helping to protect a sensitive marine environment and nationally important conservation site.
Methwold Megafarm: ELF assisted local residents in Methwold, Norfolk, in opposing planning proposals for what would have been one of the largest intensive farming developments in Europe, housing more than 700,000 chickens and 14,000 pigs at any one time. The application was unanimously refused on environmental grounds following significant community campaigning and technical objections supported by ELF.
Ceibwr Bay: ELF supported a local community opposing a proposed development in Molygrove, Wales which would have had significant recreational environmental impacts at the secluded Ceibwr Bay in Pembrokeshire, one of the most environmentally sensitive coastal sites in Wales. The planning permission was subsequently quashed following legal challenge relating to failures in environmental assessment and consideration of impacts on protected habitats and species.
Caernarfon Polluting Plant: ELF supported local communities opposing proposals for a gas-fired peaking plant and associated industrial development near homes, a hospital, ancient woodland, and river ecosystems in Caernarfon, Wales. Following sustained community opposition and legal support, the peaking plant application was rejected and associated concrete processing proposals were withdrawn on environmental grounds.
Minster Marshes and Sea Link: ELF continued to support communities opposing Nationally Significant Infrastructure proposals connected to the Sea Link project between Suffolk and Kent. During the year, ELF worked alongside Save Minster Marshes and environmental partners to support community participation in the Development Consent Order examination process and strengthen scrutiny of the project’s environmental impacts.
2. Strengthening the environmental justice ecosystem
Beyond providing communities frontline legal support, ELF continued to strengthen the wider environmental justice ecosystem through its professional, university, and community networks.
During the year, ELF maintained and expanded engagement with its Professional Pro Bono Membership Network, consisting of 120 barristers, solicitors, and technical experts from across the UK. The network continued to provide significant pro bono legal and technical support to communities while also contributing to sector collaboration, training, and shared learning. ELF also continued to strengthen its University Network, which grew to 20 university law schools across the UK delivering a mix of environmental legal and policy clinics.
Through ELF’s legal clinics, students work on live community cases under supervision, helping provide additional pro bono support to communities while developing practical experience in environmental law and justice. ELF’s policy clinics provide students with opportunities to undertake longer-term research projects on emerging environmental issues, helping inform both ELF’s work and wider sector understanding of key environmental justice challenges.
During the year, ELF’s university policy clinics undertook a range of research projects relating to Rights of Nature, devolution and local governance, planning reform, and the environmental justice implications of emerging infrastructure and development proposals, including data centres. In some instances, these projects were collaborative across multiple universities. This included a partnership involving five London universities exploring potential approaches to recognising the Rights of the River Thames and opportunities to support future community-led river protection work.
The charity also continued strengthening relationships across its wider community network, helping connect groups facing similar environmental challenges and supporting peer learning and collaboration between communities across the UK.
3. Informing environmental policy and practice through community insight
Alongside ELF’s direct legal support and ecosystem-building work, the charity also works to ensure that insight and learning from community experiences help inform wider environmental policy, practice, and public discussion.
Drawing on insight from hundreds of community enquiries and cases, ELF continued to contribute to environmental policy and practice discussions throughout the year, helping elevate issues emerging at the grassroots level.
A major focus during the year was ELF’s ongoing work connected to the Rights of Nature. During the year, ELF advised local community partner Love Our Ouse through the development of the River Ouse Rights Charter in Lewes, which established the first rights-based charter for a river in England.
Support for the charter by Lewes District Council represented a historic milestone for the Rights of Nature movement in the UK. It also established an important precedent at the local authority level, demonstrating how councils and communities can recognise and champion the rights of ecosystems within local governance and paving the way for other communities to follow suit.
Following the development of the Charter, ELF continued supporting councils, communities, academics, and partner organisations exploring similar Rights of Nature approaches across the UK. This included ELF’s work with Hogan Lovells LLP to publish a Rights of Rivers Guide for communities and local authorities and the delivery of a number of webinars and events relating to Rights of Nature and river protection.
ELF also continued developing Rights of Nature community hubs in partnership with universities, including events and workshops held with the University of Sussex focused on the Rights of Trees, Woodlands, and Forests.
Alongside this work, ELF contributed to conferences, webinars, workshops, university engagement, media contributions, and public discussion relating to environmental law and environmental justice throughout the year.
ELF also began preparations during the year for a strategic intervention relating to sewage pollution and environmental accountability before the UK Supreme Court, which is due to proceed during the following financial year. Drawing on insight from ELF’s casework and community relationships, the intervention seeks to ensure that the experiences and perspectives of affected communities are represented in proceedings that will have significant implications for how water companies are held accountable for sewage pollution for years to come.
During the FY 2025–26, ELF maintained a stable financial position while continuing to strengthen the organisation’s operational infrastructure, leadership capacity, and fundraising systems in preparation for future growth.
The charity’s total income for the year was £170,905, a marginal increase from the previous financial year. Following a period of significant organisational growth in recent years, the focus during FY 2025–26 was on financial stabilisation, strengthening organisational systems, and building the foundations required to support long-term sustainability and future expansion.
Funding sources
ELF’s work during the year was supported by a range of trusts, foundations, members, and individual supporters. Major grant funding during the year included:
Aurora Trust: supporting ELF’s core environmental justice work and helping strengthen the charity’s long-term organisational sustainability and operational capacity.
The Baring Foundation: supporting ELF’s legal advice and environmental justice work, including support for communities seeking to address environmental harm.
Ecological Restoration Fund: supporting ELF’s legal advice service and ongoing work connected to Rights of Nature and community-led environmental protection.
Earth Funding Lab: supporting the development of ELF’s Rights of Nature community hubs and associated university and public engagement activity.
Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights: supporting ELF’s work relating to Rights of Nature, environmental governance, and community-led approaches to environmental protection.
Rathbones Foundation: supporting ELF’s broader charitable activities and work providing free environmental legal support to communities across the UK.
Membership income also continued to make an important and growing contribution to the charity’s financial sustainability. ELF maintains a range of membership categories across individual members, community groups, universities, technical experts, and corporate and legal sector partners.
Alongside their financial contributions, ELF’s Professional Pro Bono Members also provide significant pro bono legal and technical expertise to support communities facing environmental challenges. This network enables ELF to deliver impact significantly beyond its small size and helps ensure communities can access specialist expertise that would otherwise be financially inaccessible.
The charity also continued to receive donations from members of the public throughout the year, helping support ELF’s ongoing work with communities across the UK.
Reserves policy
The trustees maintain a reserves policy designed to ensure the charity holds sufficient unrestricted funds to support operational stability of the charity and manage financial risk responsibly. The charity’s policy is to maintain minimum reserves equivalent to approximately three months of operating costs. At the end of the financial year, ELF held £108,364 in unrestricted funds, of which £106,967 are free reserves. Minimum reserves have been set at £55,000.
Going concern
The trustees have reviewed the charity’s financial position and future forecasts and are satisfied that the charity remains a going concern for the foreseeable future.
This report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies exemption in the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Environmental Law Foundation for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Environmental Law Foundation (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Environmental Law Foundation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Wellesley House, Duke of Wellington Avenue, London, SE18 6SS.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charitable company has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the accounts, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charitable company has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount.
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charitable company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, and other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.
The charitable company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charitable company's balance sheet when the charitable company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors are initially recognised at transaction price. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charitable company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the charitable company’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Donations and memberships
Grants received
By activity
Computer running costs
By activity
Insurance
By activity
Bank charges
By activity
Professional charges
By activity
Travel and subsistence
By activity
Events and marketing
By activity
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, and no travel expenses were reimbursed (2025 £nil).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Tudor Trust Wellbeing Grant - this fund represents amounts received to support the wellbeing of the staff, volunteers and Trustees.
The Baring Foundation - this fund represents amounts received to provide advice and support to UK communities seeking environmental justice.
Aurora Trust - this fund represents amounts received toward work in developing the legal concept of nature's rights in local authorities in the UK.
Gower Street/Earth Funding Lab - this fund represents amounts received for the Hub Network programme in relation to the Rights of Nature.
Center for Democratic & Environment rights - this fund represents amounts received for collaborative work around Rights of Nature.
Martin Polden Bequest - this fund was received from the estate of Martin Polden for the charity to honour his name in future endeavours.
Network for Social Change - this fund represents represents amounts received towards a 'Rights of nature' policy clinics research project.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2025 - none).