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← Clientearth

2024-12-31-accounts

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Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Charity Registration no. 1053988

Company Registration no. 2863827 (England and Wales)

Legal and Administrative information

Trustees

Trustees E Howard Boyd (Chair, effective 18 April 2024) G Stratenwerth (Treasurer, until 14 March 2025; Vice-Chair, effective 14 March 2025) F Beinecke H Bruhn (Resigned, effective 27 September 2024) S Butler-Sloss (Resigned, effective 4 February 2025) B Eno A Clarke (Appointed, effective 14 March 2025) P Joubert (Resigned, effective 11 August 2024) W McIntosh S Medina Gomez A Razzouk A Reid M Smith (Resigned, effective 31 October 2024) H Wild (Appointed, effective 11 July 2024; Treasurer, effective 14 March 2025) C Patel (Appointed, effective 11 July 2024) K Ramakrishna (Appointed, effective 11 July 2024) T Rivett-Carnac (Appointed, effective 11 July 2024) R Wanyoike (Appointed, effective 14 March 20 25) G Gurkaynak (Resigned, effective 18 April 2024) H Covington (Resigned, effective 18 April 2024) D Mokhtarzadeh (Resigned, effective 18 April 2024) Charity number 1053988 Company number 2863827 Principal address The Joinery 34 Drayton Park London N5 1PB Registered office The Joinery 34 Drayton Park London N5 1PB Auditor Crowe U.K. LLP 55 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7JW Accountants Gravita LLP Aldgate Tower 2 Leman Street London E1 8FA Tax advisors Sayer Vincent 108-114 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TL

Contents

Contents
Trustees' report …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Independent auditor's report …………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
Statement of financial activities ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
Statement of financial position ………………………………………………………………………………………… 31
Statement of cash flows ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32
Notes to the financial statements …………………………………………………………………………………….. 34

Trustee report

Message from the Chair ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Message from the CEO ................................................................................................................................................... 3
About ClientEarth ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Public benefit ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
An overview of our work ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Strategic approach .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Achievements and performance in 2024 – highlights ................................................................................................. 5
Detailed performance review ......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.
Legal Systems and Rule of Law ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.
Financial and Economic Systems ....................................................................................................................... 7
3.
Energy, Transport, and Materials Systems ........................................................................................................ 8
4.
Food Systems, Oceans, and Land Use .............................................................................................................. 9
Monitoring, evaluation and learning ........................................................................................................................... 11
Innovation lab ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Challenges in 2024 ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
Future plans ................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Structure, governance and management ................................................................................................................... 14
ClientEarth offices ....................................................................................................................................................... 14
Compliance with Trustees’ duties under Section 172(2) Companies Act 2006 ......................................................... 15
Trading company activity ............................................................................................................................................. 16
Climate change and environmental policy ................................................................................................................. 16
Carbon emissions ....................................................................................................................................................... 17
Financial and professional providers .......................................................................................................................... 19
Risk management ......................................................................................................................................................... 19

Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) ........................................................................................................................... 20 People ............................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Remuneration ................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Fundraising .................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Fundraising statement ................................................................................................................................................ 22 Financial review ............................................................................................................................................................ 22 Managing key financial risks ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Managing grants and sub-grants to partners (grant making policy) ........................................................................... 23 Investment policy .......................................................................................................................................................... 24 Reserves policy ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Reserves review ......................................................................................................................................................... 25 Trustees’ responsibilities statement ........................................................................................................................... 25 Disclosure of information to the auditors .................................................................................................................... 26 Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of ClientEarth ................................................................................. 27

ClientEarth Trustees’ Report (including Directors’ and Strategic Report) for the year ended 31 December 2024

The trustees present their report and accounts for the period ended 31 December 2024. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’, FRS102 (published October 2019).

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its memorandum and articles of association. The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, who served during the relevant period, are listed on page 1.

Message from the Chair

My first year as Chair of ClientEarth has seen many external challenges. With the super election year of 2024, there have been substantial geopolitical changes – many of which have had an impact on how climate change work is viewed. We’ve also seen a push for deregulation in some of the jurisdictions where we work.

Climate impacts have remained stark. According to the European State of the Climate Report, Europe is the fastestwarming continent, and 2024 was the warmest year on record for Europe. It’s no surprise, therefore, that a large proportion of ClientEarth’s activity is concentrated in Europe, not just because of the impacts on the continent itself, but because of its influence and long reach around the world.

My first year as Chair has also seen many accomplishments, thanks to ClientEarth’s talented team.

In the EU, and because of ClientEarth advocacy, a revised Industrial Emissions Directive was adopted, which regulates environmental and health impacts from the most polluting industrial activities. For the very first time in EU environmental legislation, people whose health has been affected by illegal pollution can be compensated.

And, in Liberia – which holds the vast majority of the remaining Upper Guinea Forest – we supported civil society and local communities to advocate their concerns about carbon credit deals that don’t include benefit-sharing mechanisms or other safeguards.

To enable these groundbreaking efforts to continue, it’s our role as trustees to support ClientEarth’s CEO, Laura Clarke, and her team of nearly 300 passionate people to do their best work.

That’s why this year we made progress on trustee recruitment, bringing new expertise onto our Board, to improve our diversity of thought, holding each other to account. I was encouraged to see just how much work was focused on stepping up the organisation’s work on EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) this year, with a focus on recruitment and career progression, data transparency, and supporting an inclusive workplace. EDI is now built into ClientEarth’s annual planning.

We know what gets measured, gets done, and so I’m eager to see the outcome of ClientEarth’s first Annual Staff Diversity Survey in 2025, which will capture the demographics of our global workforce and measure representation across the organisation.

I’m also looking forward to seeing our work on environmental rights gather speed, and for an increasing number of people around the world being emboldened to use the law to defend their well-being and right to a safe environment. The momentum is with us.

As we move closer to that pivotal year of 2030, we will need a sharper focus in the coming years on accountability for adaptation and resilience. ClientEarth and our partners are well-positioned to lead this charge.

Emma Howard Boyd CBE , Chair

Message from the CEO

Across continents, communities and courtrooms, momentum is building. 2024 was a year that saw the power of the law grow even more substantially as a global force for change in the drive to protect all life on earth.

For the past 17 years, ClientEarth has been at the forefront of that shift, and 2024 was no different. We worked across the full life-cycle of the law: influencing new laws, strengthening existing laws, and ensuring powerful actors were held to account at the national and international level. We launched 22 new litigation cases, drove forward a further 131 ongoing cases, and engaged on 57 advocacy files. We leveraged the collective might and minds of ClientEarth’s almost 300-strong workforce working across eight offices, to deliver on our global impact strategy, focusing on driving systemic change. We worked in partnership with many organisations, networks and individuals, knowing that we are always stronger together.

2024 marked a milestone moment for greenwashing litigation. We launched our first-ever financial greenwashing complaint against Blackrock, which was sent to the Financial Markets Authority in France. The “sustainable” funds we targeted funnel over $1 billion to fossil fuel companies. In our groundbreaking win against KLM’s misleading marketing – a collaborative effort with Dutch campaigners Fosseilvrij and Reclame Fossielvrij – the District Court of Amsterdam ruled that some claims by the airline were unlawful. This delivered a powerful message across the aviation industry, and later in the year, 71 airlines received a letter warning them not to promote similar industry claims.

Climate litigation used to be the domain of specialist groups. But we are increasingly seeing – and supporting – citizens and civil society to take action for their communities and rights. We were moved and inspired by the Swiss women who took their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights — and won. In this landmark ruling, the ECHR found that Switzerland had breached its human rights obligations by failing to take adequate climate action. We were proud to have provided a third-party intervention in support of this ruling and continue to work with courageous claimants – from young people who want to defend their future, to Indigenous groups seeking to protect livelihoods and nature.

In 2025, our work in this area will continue, for example in Belgium and Germany, where we have pending cases, which assert a human right to breathe clean air as part of a right to a healthy environment. And we await – along with others – the Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal responsibilities that states have to address climate change.

In a world where the rule of law is under increasing pressure, we’re focused not only on what we stand against, but what we’re building. Through our work to uphold legal integrity and support robust institutions, we are actively defending and strengthening the systems that make progress possible. This starts with the development of robust climate laws. That’s why our COP29 advocacy activity focused on securing agreement to enshrine NDCs into climate laws.

Nature, climate and the ocean are deeply intertwined, and our work reflects that connection. In 2024 we worked with partners to challenge a proposed new airport on the Tagus Estuary in Portugal (and won), and proposals in Italy to drill for gas in an iconic UNESCO heritage site (and won). We challenged bottom trawling in marine protected areas and co-operated with the Public Interest Litigation Department of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China on tackling the problem of bird-killing ‘mist nets’.

With the UN Ocean Conference and COP30 on the horizon in 2025, we are working to ensure legal frameworks reflect the reality of the interdependencies between nature, climate and the ocean — and work to protect what sustains us all.

While strategic litigation is a powerful driver of accountability, we are equally committed to building better systems through advocacy, policy reform and legal capacity-building, and this approach is gaining ground in Asia. We hosted the 2024 Asia-Pacific Judicial Convening on Environment and Climate Law Adjudication, co-organised with the Indonesia Supreme Court and the Indonesia Center for Environmental Law. We also conducted a high-level workshop with the Supreme People’s Court and UNEP attended by over 300 senior environmental judges and lawmakers. One workshop focused on the drafting of the Environmental Code, which provides an opportunity to make important systemic improvements in environmental rule of law and will form China’s first climate legislation.

As momentum builds, so too does our resolve. Our passionate partners, supporters and workforce together prove that the law is a force for a healthier, fairer world. But there is still much work to be done. 2025 will see the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, and the half-way mark of this critical decade. Thank you for continuing to stand with us as we step up the fight to protect all life on earth.

Laura Clarke OBE , CEO

About ClientEarth

At ClientEarth, we use our unique expertise to harness the power of the law and bring about systemic change to protect all life on Earth. ClientEarth Group has a team of just under 300 people, based in eight offices across the world, actively working either directly or through partners, collaborators, and networks in over 60 countries. Together, we are focused on strengthening the law to change behaviours and practices; using strategic litigation to enforce laws, set precedents, raise awareness, and change government and corporate mindsets; and working with local communities and Indigenous peoples in using the law to defend their environment and uphold their rights. A future in which people and planet thrive together isn’t just possible - it’s essential.

Public benefit

The charity has regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The main aim of the charity is to promote the protection of the environment for the benefit of the public where the charity operates, and on a global basis, for current and future generations. The public benefit of the charity includes:

Our public benefit is further illustrated through the Achievements and Performance section of this report.

An overview of our work

At ClientEarth, we are working for a healthy planet where nature and all people can thrive together. What we do now will determine whether we hit or miss essential targets in four areas: climate, nature, health, and justice.

As we go about our work, we remain focused on three key principles that underpin our work. First, all our work is rooted in using the power of the law : we are legal experts who believe that the law is our best tool for achieving impactful outcomes. Second, we focus on bringing about the systemic change critical to wide-sweeping and lasting effects. Third, and finally, our work ensures that nature and people thrive together, because we know that the needs of people and planet are inextricably intertwined.

Using the law means much more than just going to court. We use legal advocacy and influencing to secure strong policies and legislation; we focus on strengthening the rule of environmental law by training lawyers, prosecutors, and judges, and building the confidence and competence of other NGOs, civil society, and community groups to leverage the law; and we use strategic litigation to hold governments and companies to account. Our approach is tailored, using the knowledge and expertise of our teams to best suit the cultural and legal differences of the regions where we are active.

Strategic approach

ClientEarth’s 2030 Global Impact Strategy sets out how we drive the systemic change needed to build a planet with resilient and biodiverse ecosystems; a safe and stable climate; a toxic-free environment with healthy air, soil, and water; and societies that are just, fair, and equitable. Instead of working to achieve each of these goals under a separate programme, as previously, under our Strategy we rely on highly collaborative working, seeking to achieve multiple impacts with each intervention. This way of working allows us to prioritise interventions based on their potential to unlock transformational change across four groups of human-created systems (and our impact areas): Legal Systems and Rule of Law; Financial and Economic Systems; Energy, Transport, and Materials Systems; and Food Systems, Ocean, & Land Use .

In 2024, ClientEarth launched 22 new litigation cases and managed a total of 131 pending cases throughout the year . These actions were brought in international, regional, and national courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies, and other adjudicatory bodies, including special procedures of the UN. These cases concerned issues of access to information, GHG emissions reduction, fundamental rights, wildlife & habitats protection, environmental assessment and permitting, financing and investment, disclosure/reporting, greenwashing, supply-chain deforestation, and plastic pollution. ClientEarth’s role in these proceedings varies from being a named claimant in just under half of these suits, to providing input or funding to partners bringing the case.

Alongside our litigation portfolio of 220 active cases (including all stages, from scoping and preparing to pending), ClientEarth was engaged on 57 advocacy files in Europe, in which we work to influence governments and businesses to reform or remove harmful policies and laws, create more supportive policies and laws, and ensure adequate funding and implementation. Among these files, 34 were at EU-level and 23 at national level.

Achievements and performance in 2024 – highlights

In 2024, we continued to deliver groundbreaking litigation, advocacy, and capacity-strengthening work across the globe to achieve systemic change.

Our 2024 notable highlights include:

Detailed performance review

ClientEarth is a holistic environmental organisation, working on issues related to, and often at the intersection of, Climate, Health, Justice, and Nature, all around the globe. In doing so, we take a systems-change approach, working to achieve far-ranging impacts that will protect people and the planet.

This section of the Report provides an overview of the work delivered in 2024 against the charitable activities set in the Strategic Framework and the 2030 Global Impact Strategy, namely: legal systems and rule of law; financial and economic systems; energy, transport, and materials systems; and food systems, ocean, and land use.

1. Legal Systems and Rule of Law

OBJECTIVE 1A: Strengthen environmental rule of law, fundamental rights, and ecosystem governance and empower others to use legal tools to tackle climate change and protect ecosystems.

The European Court of Human Rights delivered a ruling against Switzerland that found that the country had breached its human rights obligations by failing to take adequate climate action. ClientEarth’s third-party intervention was to assist the Court by providing information on 1) present and future effects of global temperature increases on human health, 2) the duties of States under international climate change law and, 3) the implications for climate policy and legislation and the due diligence standard under the European Convention on human rights.

Later in the year, ClientEarth and a Polish citizen who we supported to assert her right to climate protection in the Polish courts relied on the European Court ruling in an appeal pending before Poland’s Supreme Court.

The General Court of the EU ruled that the Council of Ministers of the EU must make the opinions of its legal service on legislation public, following joined cases brought by ClientEarth and Päivi Leino-Sandberg, a law professor at the University of Helsinki. The ruling clarifies that people have the right to access the information they need to participate in EU legislative processes.

We celebrated ten years of specialised environmental adjudication in China. We marked this moment by co-organising a forum on rule of law at the annual meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), where leaders of the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate spoke and presented progress. Visible results have been achieved, with air, water, and soil pollution much reduced across the country, ecosystems enjoying much better protection, and a cultural shift towards government and business compliance with environmental laws. We also conducted a high-level workshop with the Supreme People’s Court and UNEP attended by over 300 senior environmental judges and lawmakers. One workshop focused on the drafting of the Environmental Code, which provides an opportunity to make important systemic improvements in environmental rule of law and will form China’s first climate legislation.

Several key points made by ClientEarth were included in the annual policy recommendations of CCICED to the State Council that were published in December 2024. These included; climate litigation by prosecutors, drafting climate legislation, strengthening disclosure in BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) projects, expanding marine protected areas in accordance with the 30 x 30 goals, and avoiding trade protectionism in green products.[1]

We hosted the 2024 Asia-Pacific Judicial Convening on Environment and Climate Law Adjudication, co-organised with the Indonesia Supreme Court and the Indonesia Center for Environmental Law. It was attended by 50+ Asia-Pacific participant judges with two Chief Justices (Indonesia and Singapore) delivering keynotes and speeches. The six-day training delved into climate change, climate justice and human rights, nature and the just transition, use of climate science as evidence, developments in international environmental law principles and their application in climate cases, and judicial tools and methodologies in environmental adjudication and remedies.

Our Philippine law school clinic collaboration continued in 20 law schools and resulted in high impact. The green legal clinics delivered 49 capacity-building trainings, such as enforcement of environmental regulations, to local government and law enforcement officials and employees.

Objective 1b: Strive for ambitious and effective environmental and climate laws and legal precedents that align with scientific consensus.

Following a challenge brought by Environmental Action Germany (DUH) and ClientEarth in 2020, the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin and Brandenburg ruled Germany’s National Air Pollution Control Programme unlawful and that it had relied on old data to claim the country would meet legal targets on time. The case was brought under the EU National Emissions Reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive, which regulates emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, fine particulate matter, and non-methane volatile organic compounds.

Following ClientEarth advocacy, the European Union adopted a revised Industrial Emissions Directive, a crucial piece of legislation regulating environmental and health impacts from the most polluting industrial activities. For the very first time in EU environmental legislation, the Directive includes the right for victims whose health has been affected by illegal pollution to be compensated.

In addition, and again following ClientEarth advocacy efforts, the European Union adopted a new Ambient Air Quality Directive, recognising the vital need to reduce air pollution in line with scientific recommendations. The legislation also empowers people to go to court when authorities fail to protect their health from dirty air.

We continued to press for the adoption of framework climate laws to protect the rights of future generations. This included events and a presence at key international fora including New York Climate Week and COP29. Ambitious, progressive, and science-driven framework climate laws are vital to creating a clear and binding legal foundation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to ensure national commitments to address climate change are kept.

2. Financial and Economic Systems

OBJECTIVE 2A: Strive for robust corporate and financial laws and precedents that contribute to the rapid emergence of new models of corporate governance and investment that operate within planetary boundaries, ensure accountability for environmental harm and stop greenwashing.

We launched our first-ever financial greenwashing complaint against Blackrock, which built on analysis by Reclaim Finance, and was sent to the Financial Markets Authority in France. The “sustainable” funds we targeted funnel over $1 billion to fossil fuel companies.

The District Court of Amsterdam ruled that some claims by the airline KLM in its advertising were unlawful, following a claim brought by Dutch campaigners Fosseilvrij and Reclame Fossielvrij, supported by ClientEarth. The judge ruled that KLM’s claims suggesting flying can be or is becoming sustainable, as well as advertising suggesting its “offsetting” products reduce or compensate for the climate impact of flying, are misleading. Later in the year, the three NGOs sent a legal letter to 71 airlines warning them not to promote similar industry claims.

We launched a Guide on Climate Action for Boards in Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which sets out the legal framework for board accountability for mismanagement of climate risk. We co-published the Guide with Climate Governance Malaysia and Earth on Board, and it was supported by Bursa Malaysia, FIDE FORUM and the Securities Commission Malaysia.

In China, we have cooperated on green finance with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and China Securities and Regulation Commission and engaged with financial institutions and prosecutors for several years. This work contributed to a series of policy documents and regulations being issued on green finance in late 2023 and throughout 2024, including a guiding opinion on finance supporting green and low carbon development, a ESG reporting framework, a draft sustainable disclosure guideline, and a policy document on controlling capital market risks, which mandates prosecutor's environmental public interest litigation in the securities market.

Objective 2b: Strengthen and enforce trade, investment, competition, subsidy, and supply chain laws to ensure financial flows are directed to achieving clean and sustainable energy, transport, and materials and regenerative food, ocean, and land use.

During Japan’s 2024 Annual General Meeting season our partners filed a total of 11 climate-related shareholder proposals at six companies. The average shareholder support rate for climate-related proposals was c. 22.4%, a significant increase on c. 17% in 2023 (a rate of above 20% is considered “ significant shareholder dissent ”).

Long term engagement started by our partner ACCR at Japanese utility J-Power (Japan’s largest listed operator of coal plants) resulted in J-Power announcing closure of up to five domestic coal plants by FY2030 (see ACCR analysis here ). The President of J-Power himself announced it as the company “ deemed it necessary to demonstrate to shareholders our strategy for coal power plants on a site-by-site or unit-by-unit basis ”.

ClientEarth published a paper – “Guardrails to Address Transition-Washing and Scale Up Transition Finance” – which identified the absence of clear policy guardrails as a key factor enabling the proliferation of “transition-washing” (a form of greenwashing in finance). The paper emphasised the need for countries to establish differentiated standards for climate leaders to foster a more inclusive and globally coordinated transition.

The European Union adopted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. ClientEarth worked alongside partners for years to support the law’s adoption.

ClientEarth published a paper - "State aid control in the EU - a state aid guide for civil society", which provided a global overview of what state aid is, how important it is, and how state aid control in the EU works.

3. Energy, Transport, and Materials Systems

OBJECTIVE 3A: Accelerate the global transition to clean and sustainable energy systems including the phasing out of fossil fuels (including subsidies and financing) and unlocking energy efficiency, sufficiency, renewables, smart technologies, and sustainable storage

We worked in partnership with TransitionZero, a climate analytics non-profit, to support policymakers and regulators in the shift to clean and affordable energy in Southeast Asia.

ClientEarth, TransitionZero and Aurora Research co-hosted an event with the Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission where TransitionZero presented our joint study on “Assessment of the Competitive Selection Process in the Philippines”. This highlighted how fossil power plants are prone to shut down and how emerging hybrid contracts increase availability, and the need for risk evaluation metrics to incentivise proper risk management for generation companies and utilities.

In Japan, we published a report in Japanese and English about incompatibilities with Japanese law of the staffing process of the bodies in charge of discussing and drafting the Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). This report was used by our partners to engage with legislators and corporations. One of the outcomes is an increase of engagement of proclimate stakeholders in preparing the SEP.

Following a case brought by ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth, and the Good Law Project in the High Court of England and Wales, the UK Government was once again found to have breached the Climate Change Act when it adopted the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. The High Court gave the Government 12 months to draw up a revised plan.

OBJECTIVE 3B: Accelerate the phase out of hydrocarbons in transport, materials, and industrial processes along with a global shift in mobility behaviours and transition to a fully circular economy

We continued our work on plastics by publishing legal analysis shedding light on the legality of plastic recycling claims under consumer protection law. EU and UK consumers who see plastic recycling symbols on packaging often believe that means they are making a positive choice for the environment, when the reality is that most of the plastic packaging cannot and will not be recycled. This complemented our ongoing work challenging the INEOS permit for a gas-fed plastics facility in the Port of Antwerp, including court proceedings in Belgium.

To complement our legal work on plastics, we ran a targeted campaign during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The campaign highlighted the misleading recycling claims of the main sponsor, Coca-Cola, and the incongruity of the ambition to make the Paris Olympics the greenest ever.

Our ongoing work following the Dieselgate scandal contributed to the UK Department for Transport opening investigations into 11 manufacturers across 20 brands, with as many as 47 models suspected of having employed defeat devices in emissions testing.

In 2024, the European Union adopted the Ecodesign Regulation, setting out requirements for the sustainable design of products. The Regulation could be a game-changer for product design in the circular economy, with the potential to provide clarity on the chemicals present in everyday products. ClientEarth and partners pushed for the legislation, as a first step towards eliminating toxic products from the lives of people living in the EU.

4. Food Systems, Oceans, and Land Use

OBJECTIVE 4A: Establish binding governance systems to protect and restore 30% of land and ocean by 2030 that also recognise and reflect the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities

We worked with the ASEAN working group on Social Forestry and national stakeholders to strengthen social forestry laws and IPLC (Indigenous peoples and Local Communities) rights. We conducted a legal gap analysis on forest governance laws and their implementation in Indonesia, using the ASEAN Guiding Principles for Effective Social Forestry Legal Frameworks (AGP), and delivered a workshop to Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry to align national practices with the AGP.

ClientEarth supported HuMa (Perkumpulan HuMa Indonesia) on the IKN (Ibu Kota Nusantara) capital relocation project in Indonesia, contributing legal and policy expertise to a draft Regulation on the Recognition of Local Wisdom in Environmental Protection and Management. In Cambodia, our efforts focused on analysing and revising the Community Protected Areas Guidelines and the Environment and Natural Resources Code, to better integrate community perspectives and ASEAN Guiding Principles.

Following a complaint ClientEarth filed with WWF Greece and Greenpeace Greece, the European Commission undertook to seek clarifications from the authorities in Greece about oil and gas projects to which it has given the green light, despite the threats they pose to protected marine sites and endangered species. We allege allowing this drilling without fully assessing the impacts breaches EU and national laws.

ClientEarth supported Legambiente, LIPU-Birdlife Italy, WWF Italy, and Greenpeace Italy to challenge the Italian government’s approval to drill for gas in an iconic UNESCO heritage site adjacent to a Marine Protected Area off the Po Delta. The Teodorico Project was cancelled in 2024 after the courts ruled in our favour.

Following a successful ruling from Italy’s Council of State, finding that the Lazio Region was in breach of EU drinking water laws, ClientEarth and Lipu-BirdLife Italy appealed to the same body to secure enforcement of the ruling. We claim the Region failed to take the steps required to protect the site, which is a source of drinking water, from catastrophic pollution caused by intensive hazelnut farming.

During Ocean week in September-October 2024, ClientEarth, alongside Seas At Risk, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, Oceana, Surfrider Foundation Europe, and WWF, launched our Blue Manifesto, advocating for an ambitious EU Ocean Deal that would put ocean health at the heart of EU-decision making.

We pleaded at a hearing in the General Court of the EU directly challenging the Council of the European Union about fishing catch limits set by the Council. The EU missed a 2020 deadline to ensure all fish stocks were fished sustainably. We expect the outcome in the latter half of 2025.

We launched legal action to push the German government to implement the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive to limit pesticides in farming. Germany is 13 years late in transposing the directive, and the country’s flying insect population dropped by 76% between 1989 and 2014.

ClientEarth published a report providing an interim assessment of how effectively Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are safeguarding their rivers by incorporating key EU laws related to hydropower into their national legislation. While there was some progress, the report highlighted specific systemic failures.

The European Union adopted the Nature Restoration Law, a huge win for Europe’s nature and climate action. ClientEarth was part of the #RestoreNature Coalition, which campaigned for years for the law to become reality.

Nature was also at the centre of our advocacy efforts for COP16 in October 2024 in Colombia, where we pushed for mechanisms to track progress towards the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, together with adequate finance.

Following a long-running legal case brought by ClientEarth, BirdLife Portugal, and eight Portuguese NGOs, the Portuguese government announced it would abandon plans to build Lisbon’s new airport on an internationally protected nature site. The airport was planned to be built on the Tagus Estuary, Portugal’s most important wetland and a crucial safe haven for millions of migratory birds.

We cooperated with the Public Interest Litigation Department of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China on tackling the problem of bird-killing ‘mist nets’. These invisible nets are used to intentionally trap birds or inadvertently kill birds to keep them away from crops or aquaculture ponds. We made them aware of this issue in September 2023 and followed up with joint research and legal recommendations in 2024, as they intensified a campaign to restrict the production, sale, purchase, and use of these nets. The prosecutors are working with the e-commerce platforms, with several provinces and cities, with communities where lots of migratory birds come to feed, and with a senior lawmaker to propose a regulated standard for legal vs illegal bird nets. This bodes well for our joint work on ocean conservation, which is the next big priority for our cooperation.

OBJECTIVE 4B: Catalyse regenerative food systems and agriculture and eliminate deforestation, unsustainable fishing and seafood, GHGs, waste, single use plastics, and toxic chemicals from global supply chains and the food system.

Through our work in Africa, we continued to provide legal support to national stakeholders (especially civil society, Indigenous peoples and Local Communities) to engage in law reform processes to strengthen forest governance in tropical forested countries.

Two notable examples in the past year stem from West Africa: Ghana and the European Union signed a deal making Ghana the first African country to issue Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licences, to ensure the legality and sustainability of Ghana’s timber industry. ClientEarth and our local partner provided 10 years of legal and advocacy support to this process.

Secondly, Liberia holds the vast majority of the remaining Upper Guinea Forest and is therefore of interest to players on the carbon market. ClientEarth supported civil society and local communities to engage in a national climate change policy reform process, to advocate on their concerns about carbon credit deals that do not establish community benefit-sharing mechanisms, or other safeguards for communities and forests. This led to civil society and community representation on the committee leading the next phases of this important law reform.

In Europe, after Birdlife and ClientEarth raised serious concerns about an “emergency” amendment to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, the European Ombudsman wrote to the European Commission President asking questions and seeking a meeting. The amendment, which was adopted, raised major democratic issues and posed a threat to the future of farming by weakening environmental protections. The Ombudsman’s inquiry into the matter remains open.

Following a complaint by ClientEarth over the UK government’s approval of Cruiser SB – a pesticide, which has the potential to cause harm to pollinators – England’s Office for Environmental Protection announced it was investigating repeated authorisation of the pesticide.

Alongside the Pesticides Action Network Europe (of which ClientEarth is a member), and fellow members Générations Futures, GLOBAL 2000, Pesticide Action Network Germany, and Pesticide Action Network Netherlands, we lodged proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union, challenging the European Commission’s decision to reauthorise glyphosate in violation of their own guidelines and international protocols.

After the United Kingdom and Scottish governments put in place conservation measures to ban sandeel fishing in

English waters in the North Sea and all Scottish waters, the European Union objected, forcing the UK into arbitration. We submitted legal arguments to the tribunal hearing the case, to support the sandeel closures.

We published a report exposing failures by companies to comply with their legal duties to respect EU “authorisation” decisions concerning toxic chemicals. The failure of companies to ensure that chemicals identified as being “of very high concern” are only used in accordance with the Authorisations they have been given potentially exposes workers, communities, and the environment to the most harmful chemicals.

ClientEarth, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), and Mighty Earth wrote to Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export, urging them to investigate three of the country’s biggest meat producers, as new research indicated that the soy used to feed their livestock was exposed to a high risk of human rights abuses and deforestation in Brazil. The submission was based on research tracking soya from the Brazilian Cerrado, where human rights abuses are rampant, via the Netherlands, to terminals in Germany, and ultimately to Germany’s biggest animal feed facilities.

The European Ombudsman agreed with us that EU officials broke the law by delaying bans on dangerous chemicals over the course of nearly two decades. The Ombudsman concluded that taking 14.5 months on average to decide whether to allow companies to continue using banned chemicals amounted to maladministration on the part of the Commission.

England’s Office for Environmental Protection urged the Government to take immediate action on river pollution, following a 2022 complaint by ClientEarth and WWF. The watchdog determined that the Government may have broken environmental law by watering down critical regulations on nitrogen pollution.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning

In 2024, ClientEarth’s impact monitoring and evaluation had notable highlights:

Both tools and processes were piloted in 2024 in support of our theory of change and action and will continue to be refined on an ongoing basis. Insights generated through impact monitoring will be complemented going forward by an impact evaluation approach, contributing to a robust evidence base to inform decision making, planning, and strategy development and adaptation.

We are particularly paying attention to how our tools and system support our collaborative work with partner organisations, ensuring we listen, learn and act together. Our theory of action is collaborative at its core: we succeed together with our partner organisations and strive for excellence in our relationships.

ClientEarth is a member of formal and informal networks and coalitions such as the European Environmental Bureau (and its Council); Wildlife and Countryside Link (UK); the European Pesticides Action Network; the MedSea Alliance; the Break Free From Plastic movement (global); the Climate Action Network (Europe); the Aarhus Convention EcoForum; and NGOs that litigate before the European Court of Human Rights. Our worldwide partners include Heritage Partners & Associates, LLC (Liberia), the Philippine Earth Justice Center, and the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change.

Innovation lab

Internally, the Lab is a catalyst for ClientEarth’s whole-organisation approach to Innovation and creativity. Externally, it scouts the fringes and the unexpected, to support the attuning of our relationships and actions to systemic risks and

opportunities. This last year, it opened new relationships in the Earth Law movement and with social innovators in the new economy field that directly enriched Lab Venture and ClientEarth’s projects. It also identified relevant capacitybuilding practices (see below). Together, these efforts aim to boost the capacity and opportunities of ClientEarth’s staff, partners and, ultimately, the sectors in which we operate, to deliver the social innovations needed to transition to societies that are good for people and planet.

Capacity

In 2024, the Lab made progress on the dissemination of skills critical to innovation thinking and practices. Future thinking (horizon scanning, visioning tools and 3 Horizon frameworks) spread to a critical mass within the organisation and was progressively integrated into our teams’ routines. An increasing number of teams across our geographies have integrated system-change methodologies, innovation practices, and design-thinking practices into their strategysetting gathering and design. The Lab is now considering how to disseminate what we have learned about activating legal innovation for system change further in the legal field.

Opportunities

In addition to building new relationships with social innovators, which opened new avenues of action for ClientEarth, the Lab has tested how it can best support staff and partners to experiment and explore. Two explorations, one on AI and another on the financial system, led to key learnings for the Lab and the teams involved. The Lab is now embedding this practice further into the organisation, connecting the “Impact Accelerator” to the strategic and organisational milestones of the year. In 2025, three to six projects will be launched, concerning our programmatic work and to inform the organisational structure that determines how our work is delivered.

Challenges in 2024

In 2024, ClientEarth faced several internal and external challenges:

Such elections demand time and effort to make sure that we work with NGO partners to set out clearly, for future elected officials, what is needed legally to achieve the transition to net-zero that is scientifically necessary. For example, we developed manifestos for the EU and UK elections. The elections also create the political context in which all of our work operates; the presidential campaign and outcome in the US had impacts on our work around the world.

In the EU we saw a significant shift from the European Green Deal environment in which we operated for the five years up to 2024, to one which is much more orientated towards competitiveness and defence, as well as a shift towards deregulation.

We saw the continued trend towards increased scrutiny of NGOs. In particular, there was political and media scrutiny of NGOs receiving funding from the European Union’s LIFE Programme, which funds some of ClientEarth’s work in Germany.

need.

Future plans

In 2025, we will continue to work on delivering our systems change objectives under our strategy. We will do this by consolidating and refining our impact in Europe, growing our impact and presence in China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and our collaboration with ClientEarth USA, and building on and expanding our work with partners in Africa and South America.

Legal Systems & Rule of Law:

Financial and Economic Systems:

Food Systems, Ocean, and Land Use:

Energy, Transport & Materials Systems:

Structure, governance and management

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its memorandum and articles of association. The trustees, also the directors for the purpose of company law, who served during the period are listed on page 1. None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up.

ClientEarth Ltd.’s governance is undertaken by the trustees, who meet at least four times a year and met five times in 2024. There are five board committees covering (1) Finance, Audit, and Investment, (2) Governance and Risk, (3) Remuneration, (4) Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and (5) Nominations. The committees generally meet three (EDI) or four times a year ahead of board meetings, except for the Remuneration and Nominations Committees which meet on an ad hoc basis. There is also a Global Impact Forum, which is comprised of all ClientEarth entities’ governance board members globally and meets to consult on strategic direction.

The Charity Governance Code recommends that large charities commission external reviews of their governance every three years. In late 2021, the Board commissioned an external review of governance and board effectiveness against the Charity Governance Code. The recommendations from this report were approved by the Board and are intended to ensure that ClientEarth operates under the highest standard of governance. An ongoing implementation plan to deliver the recommendations is being overseen by the Governance and Risk Committee. As of the end of 2024, only one of 21 recommendations remains outstanding, and is currently in-progress anticipating completion in mid-2025. (Another external review of governance is currently being planned.)

While the external consultant concluded that the Board largely met the recommendations of the Code, recognising that the Code enhanced the principles on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, the Board agreed that further attention was needed in the areas of term limits and diversity, which is being addressed through a 5-workstream Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy (adopted in July 2023), with Workstream 1 focused on active trustee succession planning and recruitment of new trustees with more diverse experiences and perspectives.

ClientEarth had a heavy year of trustee recruitment in 2024, seeing the appointment of five new trustees, including its new chair, Emma Howard Boyd. Another round of recruitment was commenced in late 2024, and more trustee appointments are anticipated in 2025.

The trustees are responsible for setting the overall programmatic and financial strategy of the charity and for approving the annual budget but delegate the day-to-day management to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Laura Clarke, who is supported by an Executive Team and a Global Leadership Group (GLG).

ClientEarth offices

ClientEarth has its Group headquarters in London. The headquarters accommodates most of the core functions of the charity such as the CEO’s office, finance, development, communications, human resources, administration, and IT teams. ClientEarth also has a number of additional offices throughout the world, and it operates in many countries throughout Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Western Africa, and Asia Pacific through staff, partners, and sub-grantees.

ClientEarth Trading Ltd is a trading subsidiary of ClientEarth in the UK. ClientEarth is the sole member of the company. The subsidiary only carries out small-scale non-primary purpose trading activities.

ClientEarth in Europe

Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation
~~eee~~		 Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation
~~eee~~		 Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation
~~eee~~		 Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation
~~eee~~
Belgium ClientEarth AISBL International non-profit
association		 2018
France
~~a~~		 ClientEarth France French Foundation 2011 (currently inactive)
Germany
~~a~~		 ClientEarth gGmbh Limited Liability Company 2018
Luxembourg ClientEarth ASBL Non-profit association 2017
Poland Fundacja ClientEarth Prawnicy
dla Ziemi		 Polish Foundation 2016
Spain Fundación ClientEarth
Delegación en España		 Delegation of Foreign
Foundation		 2023
UK ClientEarth Trading Limited Trading subsidiary of
ClientEarth Limited		 2020

There is also an independent not-for-profit entity in Germany, ClientEarth e.V. – ANWÄLTE DER ERDE, which operates as a Registered Association. The board of chairpersons, which is the management body of this Registered Association, is comprised of senior staff of ClientEarth gGmbh and ClientEarth AISBL (Belgium), while the members (governance board) include ClientEarth ASBL (Luxembourg), staff of various ClientEarth entities, and a handful of external German citizens. The members together form the general assembly of the association, which provides guidelines and oversight to the Board of Chairpersons.

ClientEarth in Asia and the Pacific

Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation		 Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation		 Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation		 Country

Legal Form
Year of Formation
China ClientEarth (UK) Beijing
Representative Office		 Representative Office of
ClientEarth Limited		 2017
Japan IPPAN SHADAN HOJIN
ClientEarth		 Non-profit general incorporated
association		 2023
Australia ClientEarth Oceania Limited
and ClientEarth Oceania Trust		 Charitable trust, with a
corporate trustee incorporated
in the form of a public company
limited by guarantee, with
ClientEarth Limited (in the UK)
as its sole member.		 2022
(currently dormant)

ClientEarth Americas

There is an independent ClientEarth entity in the US, ClientEarth USA, Inc., d/b/a ClientEarth Americas, which operates as a 501(c)(3). Two directors who sit on the board of ClientEarth USA, Inc. are also trustees on the board of ClientEarth Ltd. Operations of this entity are not included in this report.

Compliance with Trustees’ duties under Section 172(2) Companies Act 2006

Trustees must act in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote ClientEarth’s success to achieve its charitable purposes. In doing so, the Trustees have delegated day-to-day management and decisionmaking to the CEO and the Executive Team, as well as other members of the Global Leadership Group, who are required to act to further ClientEarth’s adopted Strategic Framework and 2030 Global Impact Strategy, and to ensure that activities are carried out in compliance with agreed plans and policies and in accordance with ClientEarth’s objectives and values. The Trustees receive regular reports on ClientEarth’s performance and plans at each Board meeting and at the various Committee meetings overseeing specific areas of work and governance.

In carrying out their duties, the Trustees have regard (among others) to the following matters:

In making all its decisions, the Trustees consider the financial and operational sustainability of the organisation, as well as the importance of long-term results of the organisation’s work, in line with the Strategic Framework and 2030 Global Impact Strategy.

• The interests of the organisation's employees

The Trustees recognise that attracting and retaining talented staff is critical to the success of the organisation’s strategy. To that end, through regular reporting by senior management at Board meetings, the Trustees have oversight of internal initiatives to promote a positive working environment and culture. In 2023, the Board also adopted an organisational strategy to promote equity, diversity and inclusion. For more information, see the ‘People’ and ‘Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’ sections of this report.

• The need to foster the organisation's relationships with suppliers, partners, and others

The Trustees recognise that building strong and lasting relationships with all stakeholders will help to deliver the organisation’s strategy to achieve its mission and vision. The Trustees and senior management have a strong risk management policy and process, and the organisation promotes a culture of upholding the highest standards of operational and regulatory conduct. For more information on suppliers, see the ‘Financial and professional providers’ section of this report.

• The impact of the organisation's operations on the community and environment

In line with our core values of acting courageously and opposing injustice, the Trustees ensure that the organisation has adopted strong internal policies and procedures relating to safeguarding of communities and individuals the organisation works with and the environmental impact of its operations. Matters of safeguarding are regularly covered in internal staff trainings and incorporated into agreements with partners that ClientEarth collaborates with. For more information about the organisation’s environmental impact, see the ‘Climate change and environmental policy’ section of this report.

• The desirability of the organisation maintaining a reputation for high standards

ClientEarth’s core values are embedded in the organisation’s policies and procedures, employee induction and training programmes, and its risk management framework. The External Affairs department enables the organisation to present its work effectively to all types of external stakeholders and to protect and promote the reputation of the organisation. In line with the Trustees' commitment to the highest standards of transparency, integrity and accountability, in 2023 ClientEarth launched a whistleblowing channel so that anyone can voice concerns or complaints that relate to the organisation.

The Trustees’ regard to these matters is embedded in their decision-making processes, through the organisation’s mission and vision, values, culture, governance framework, information flows, and stakeholder engagement processes.

Trading company activity

No trading activity to report in 2024.

Climate change and environmental policy

ClientEarth is committed to reducing energy consumption and waste by encouraging staff, trustees, and board members to adopt sustainable practices and behaviours while working on behalf of ClientEarth. We plan to halve our carbon emissions from our operations by 2030[1] and to eliminate emissions by 2050.

Our Environmental Policy sets out guiding principles to help the organisation reduce emissions, consumption of

1 Compared to a 2019 baseline.

resources, and waste by ensuring that, where relevant, environmental impacts are considered fundamentally when making decisions in our operations and programmatic work. The policy includes guidance in facilities management, recycling waste management, use of technology, procurement, and travel. ClientEarth’s Environmental Policy and the principles are endorsed by the Executive Team and can be found on the Transparency page of the ClientEarth website. The CEO is accountable for the policy, and it is subject to periodic review.

In 2024 our total global emissions were 13% lower than in the previous year.

Carbon emissions

This is the third year that ClientEarth has reported on its energy consumption and carbon emissions. We have followed best practice based on HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines (March 2019), the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) Reporting Protocol – Corporate Standard and from the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting document for calculating carbon emissions.

In 2023, we carried out an internal audit of our carbon emissions across other aspects of our global operations and activities to help support our reporting and are expanding the emission types that we are reporting on in 2024 to increase transparency and hold ourselves to high account. We present our report on energy consumption and carbon emissions under the Government’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework below. Our methodology includes use of the following guidance:

UK emission
scope summary		 Calculated
emissions
(tCO2e)
2023
(UK Operations
Only)		 Calculated
emissions
(tCO2e)
2023
(Global
Operations)		 Calculated
emissions
(tCO2e)
2024
(UK Operations
Only)		 Calculated
emissions
(tCO2e)
2024
(Global
Operations)		 Calculated
energy
usage (kWh,
unless otherwise
stated)
2024
(Global
Operations)
Scope 1 (direct
emissions)
Refrigerant leak
Data Servers		 2.03
-		 2.03
-		 -
0.01		 -
0.01
Scope 2 (indirect
GHG
emissions)
Office electricity
and gas)
Data Servers		 22.12
-		 29.86
-		 17.71
0.01		 36.3
0.01		 135,099.8
Scope 3 (other
indirect
GHG emissions)
WFH – electricity
WFH - gas
**Waste water **		 6.1
9.97
616.22		 16.14
18.72
1,243.07		 7.45
12.19
531.56		 19.84
22.24
1084.8		 73,798.6
128,479.8

2https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850130/Env-reportingguidance_inc_SECR_31March.pdf

3 https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/ghg-protocol-revised.pdf

4 Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

5 carbonfootprint.com - International Electricity Factors

6 https://info.eco-act.com/en/homeworking-emissions-whitepaper-2020

7 https://www.ciria.org/CIRIA/Resources/Free_publications/KPI_water_offices.aspx

Vehicle use
Courier
Waste
Electrical waste
Use of
technology
Business travel
Data servers		 3.85
0.06
0.13
-
-
206.49
-		 7.2
0.06
0.13
-
-
574.90
-		 0.61
0.02
0.05
5.69
18.74
128.31
1.22		 1.52
0.02
0.05
5.69
24.68
450.3
1.22
Total 866.96 1,892.11 723.55 1646.67 337,378.2

For several of our operations outside of the UK, ClientEarth is often a subtenant in offices where it is a challenge to obtain data on energy consumption.

Generally, ClientEarth does not emit Scope 1 type emissions[8] . However, as part of our data servers, Microsoft provides information on ClientEarth’s emissions, breaking it down to include Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. We therefore have a reportable 0.01 tCO2e emissions for 2024 for Scope 1.

Scope 3 travel data is captured from ClientEarth’s own internal tracking systems.

We are required to report emissions against an intensity of output measure (or normalising factor), so that decreases or increases in output in future years do not disguise changes in energy efficiency/emissions reductions and valid comparisons can be made over time. We have chosen to report tonnes of CO2 equivalent per member of staff.

Intensity ratio 2023 (UK only) 2023 (Global) 2024 (UK only) 2024 (Global)
tCO2e / per
member of staff		 5.8 6.3 4.85 5.49

To support our plan to halve our carbon emissions from our operations by 2030, and to hold ourselves to high account, we have extended our reporting to include as much data as possible from all locations in which ClientEarth employ staff. During 2024 we have:

8 ClientEarth’s Scope 1 emissions in 2023 relate to an air refrigerant leak in our London office

9 Cloud emissions provided directly by Microsoft, hardware emissions calculated used data available from DitchCarbon - Scope 3 Emissions Data Platform | DitchCarbon

Recognising that business travel is the single largest contributor to our global emissions, the Executive Team set a target of reducing overall business travel emissions by at least 15% year on year. In 2024, the reduction in business travel emissions was 21.7%.

Financial and professional providers

ClientEarth recognises its responsibility to carry out its procurement activities in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner and this includes its choice of financial and professional providers, including banks, pension providers, and external investment managers. In choosing the provider and default fund for our pension scheme and our external investment manager, we have been able to find options that satisfy our environmental criteria (see Investment Policy below). The options available to us for our banking services, however, are rather more limited.

We are aware that our bankers finance companies that are responsible for climate change, biodiversity loss, and toxic pollution and so are not aligned with our values, but we have not at this time been able to find alternatives that are so aligned.

We regularly engage with our banks on their environmental shortcomings through the work of our legal programmes. This has included some of the following:

We also keep under review whether there are alternative options that meet our needs for international banking services.

Risk management

The Trustees are responsible for oversight of the risks faced by the organisation.

The operative Risk Management Policy was approved by the Board in 2024 and provides a framework to guide the organisation’s decision-making on risk management. ClientEarth maintains a comprehensive insurance portfolio, including coverage for professional liability (both for its lawyers and miscellaneous other professional work), errors & omissions, directors & officers, cyber, and premises.

At the start of 1 January 2023, ClientEarth formed a new Governance & Legal Services Department, which manages ClientEarth’s governance, risk and compliance, legal services, and litigation approvals and management. The Governance & Legal Services Department maintains the organisational risk register, which identifies the major financial, regulatory, governance, external, operational, and reputational risks to ClientEarth (globally and nationally for each entity). For each risk, the relevant member of the Executive Team with primary responsibility assesses the likelihood and severity of impact with input from the national entities, the Governance & Legal Services Department, and the Global Leadership Group. The risk register includes a mitigation tracker by risk category, which includes for each risk details of all mitigation measures that are in place and all mitigation actions that are in progress or need to be implemented.

The Trustees of the Governance and Risk Committee review changes to this risk register on behalf of the Board at each committee meeting and consider any further steps that may be necessary to manage the risks, highlighting key issues to the full Board as relevant. Then once a year, the Governance and Risk Committee and the full Board will examine the full risk register in detail.

The trustees consider the most serious risks to which the charity is exposed to be:

lawsuit, but intellectual property claims and business torts are increasingly common, as is the risk of regulatory complaints that can lead to investigations. SLAPPs are intended to divert time and attention from the work of the charity, and thus are often pursued regardless of their legal or factual merit. ClientEarth has received multiple SLAPP threats over the past five years, but none have resulted in any legal claims being made against it.

Other risks:

Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

During 2024 we stepped up work on our EDI Strategy commitment to building a ClientEarth that is an inclusive, values-driven organisation, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive to help achieve our mission and vision for a healthier planet. We made progress on our EDI Strategy roadmap, organised around five key workstreams such as recruitment and career progression, data transparency, and supporting an inclusive workplace, with activities planned in phases from 2023 to 2025.

After thoroughly reviewing the data protection laws in all the regions where we operate, we analysed our data in a more robust way, boosting our ability to create a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. To support this goal, we developed an Annual Staff Diversity Survey set to launch in Q1 2025. This survey will capture the demographics of our global workforce and measure representation across the organisation, helping us identify gaps track our progress and target our EDI initiatives to where they are needed most. We have also made progress on Trustee recruitment,

building EDI into our annual planning and an approach to measure how we are addressing EDI within our programme delivery and external impact.

We are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and full inclusion for disabled persons across all aspects of employment. In accordance with The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2008.

We give full and fair consideration to all applications for employment from disabled persons, assessing each candidate on their individual aptitudes and abilities in relation to the requirements of the role. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to ensure that no applicant is disadvantaged on the grounds of disability.

Where an employee becomes disabled during their employment, we will make every effort to continue their employment. This includes making reasonable adjustments to their role or working environment and offering alternative duties where appropriate. We also provide tailored training and support to enable disabled employees to perform effectively and thrive in their roles.

We actively support the ongoing training, career development and promotion of disabled employees. Opportunities for advancement are made available based on merit and capability, and appropriate accommodations are made to ensure that disabled employees can fully participate in learning and development programmes.

Through these measures, we aim to foster an inclusive working environment that recognises and values the contributions of all employees, including those with disabilities.

People

In 2024, we reinforced our commitment to organisational effectiveness, development, and our people’s professional engagement and mental wellbeing. This year, we developed our first People Strategy, which strengthens our approach to employee engagement and wellbeing and puts a sharper focus on career progression, pay talent management, performance and leadership skills. We also proposed a new People and Culture Committee which builds and integrates the work of the EDI Committee into a wider remit of people and organisational developments.

As part of our leadership development, we introduced, a new 360-degree feedback tool for our senior leadership, to assess our current leadership climate alongside other internal improvements to empower ClientEarth’s leaders to cultivate workplaces where team members feel inspired, motivated, and encouraged to step out of their comfort zones to achieve their best.

Looking ahead, we are launching a program to support our line managers with blended leadership initiatives, boosting our ability to plan and execute strategic projects. We remain dedicated to ensuring every staff member has access to continuous development and wellbeing support, enhancing our overall efficiency and fostering an effective working environment.

Additionally, we started the process of refreshing our competencies and our values and developed a new set of accountability commitments in line with key organisational changes and revised our operating model to unlock potential through global collaboration.

Another project of the year is the Job Architecture initiative, which began in Q4 and is slated for completion in Q2 2025. This project aims to create a new framework for organising roles, aligning them with our business strategy, operating model, and laying the foundation for our compensation strategy.

Remuneration

Attracting, retaining, and motivating employees is invariably critical to delivering ClientEarth's mission. Reviews and pay awards for all staff, including the Executive Team (Key Management Personnel) and the Global Leadership

Group, are conducted in accordance with the policy framework previously agreed by the Board Remuneration Committee (in future, the People & Culture Committee) and within the salary budget agreed annually by the Board, pursuant to the organisation’s Remuneration Policy. We benchmark our salary scales against similar roles within the charitable sector in the countries in which we work (most recently benchmarked in 2022, and in 2023 in Japan as a new location). In 2024, ClientEarth’s People & Culture team initiated a comprehensive Job Architecture project, which will be followed by a remuneration review project and Remuneration Policy update. The projects are currently planned to be completed in Q3 2025. The aim of these projects is to create a robust reward strategy incorporating performance and recognition, employee development, and career opportunities.

The CEO's salary is evaluated and recommended by the Remuneration Committee and is approved by the Board. The Committee includes specialists with significant management expertise and knowledge, including in the charity sector.

Fundraising

Our restricted grants fundraising activity in 2024 focused on building strong relationships with private trusts and foundations, predominantly based in the UK, Europe, and the USA. In 2024 we secured renewals on many of our grants from large foundations. Some key grants will come to an end in 2025 and a key focus is on ensuring these funding partnerships are renewed.

Our efforts to raise funds from governments and multilateral funders is growing but remains a relatively small part of our programme at 8% of total income, up from 5% in 2023. This is all reflective of our strategy to invest in philanthropic fundraising sources and we remain on track to deliver growth across the fundraising streams.

Income from unrestricted sources remains an essential part of our long-term income-generating strategy. Philanthropic giving from major donors continues to be our predominant source of unrestricted income with a total of £3,596K raised in 2024, a 4% growth on 2023.

Income via online fundraising from the public, still a relatively new source of funds for ClientEarth, continues to grow well, with an increase of 9% above 2023 income figures (which were 26% above 2022), and growing numbers of regular supporters.

Fundraising statement

ClientEarth employs an in-house Development team that specialises in philanthropy, grants, and online fundraising. ClientEarth also hosts events throughout the year, typically targeted at stewarding and soliciting funding from funders and prospects. ClientEarth does not employ any third-party professional fundraisers (either individuals or organisations) and has no commercial partners contributing to fundraising efforts. ClientEarth is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and follows the guidance and recommendations from the Regulator, as well as the standards contained in the Code of Fundraising Practice, to ensure that our fundraising activities meets the expectations of the public and respect the rights of all individuals. ClientEarth has a statement of Donor Care in place that reiterates principles of donor care, accountability, transparency on use of funds, and data use. ClientEarth also has a clear complaints policy to ensure concerns or breaches are tackled efficiently and quickly. In 2024, the charity has not received any complaints about fundraising activities.

Financial review

In 2024, we secured income of £26,499k (2023: £29,449k). Income year-to-year can fluctuate depending on timing, with some donations and grant receipts at the end of 2024 being for activities in 2025. As in previous years, most of our income (79%) is in the form of restricted funding, and we continued to focus on raising a strong mix of unrestricted and restricted funds.

Total expenditure decreased to £29,188k (2023: £35,153k) driven by one off costs in 2023, programmatic spend delayed until early 2025 and the impact of the budget reset.

We ended the year with a deficit of £1,750k, including a net gain on investments of £938k.

We continued to invest Designated Funds in strategic legal initiatives, to ensure continuation of key work during the transition to our new 2030 Global Impact Strategy, and to cover temporary funding gaps between specific grants, spending a total of £1,612k. Using these funds results in a planned deficit as no further unrestricted income was designated by the trustees in 2024.

Managing key financial risks

Financial resilience: Over recent years, we have focused on diversifying our funder base, income streams, and income mix (between unrestricted income and restricted grants) to further strengthen financial resilience and support organisational growth. While income secured was not as high as originally planned for 2024, we had sufficient Restricted and Designated funds to cover all programmatic costs, and our financial resilience key indicators are tracking well year-on-year.

Economic environment: In 2024, like many organisations, we continued to feel the combined impact of higher cost inflation and a challenging fundraising environment. We monitored this through our in-year forecasting process, to ensure costs throughout the year remained within the approved budget. We have used our 2025 budget process to ensure our cost base over the medium term is affordable, aligned to our strategy, and to provide scope for impact growth in target regions in future years. The budget reset (which included a small number of redundancies) has brought costs back in line with our 5-year financial strategy.

Foreign exchange volatility, led to unrealised losses on exchange of £67k in 2024. We mitigate against exchange risk by holding non-GBP funds in the currency it is received, up to a point that exceeds our expenditure requirement. The excess is exchanged to other operating currencies according to entities cash flows needs. In addition, we look to hold sufficient GBP cash in bank to meet our short-term obligations and avoid a situation of forced currency exchange.

We continuously look to improve our cashflow forecasting across our key currencies (GBP, USD, EUR) for improved cash management and risk mitigation.

Financial regulatory compliance: As ClientEarth increases its global presence, expert advice is taken on specific governance and local regulatory compliance relevant to the jurisdictions in which we operate. In addition, accountants are appointed in these jurisdictions to file financial returns and provide advice.

Donor financial compliance and working with partners: We recognise the importance of compliance with donor financial reporting requirements and specific financial regulations. Our dedicated programme finance business partner team works closely with our grants management team to ensure compliance. See below for further details of how we manage grants and sub-grants to partners.

Managing grants and sub-grants to partners (grant making policy)

At ClientEarth, we actively work either directly or through partners, collaborators, and networks to achieve our charitable objectives. We are not a grant-making organisation (we do not hold a fund to which organisations can apply for grant funding), but our work through partners may include the provision of funding in the form of grants or subgrants, which in 2024 totalled £2,441k (2023: £2,290k) of our charitable activity spend.

Grant and sub-grant partner selection is determined by our programme objectives and complementarity of skills, expertise and location; and is implemented in the spirit of our values of embracing collaboration and prizing diverse experience.

We use a structured approach to ensure mutual accountability including:

Partnerships are the cornerstone of our work, especially as we seek to grow our impact and presence in Asia and North America, and build on our work with partners in Africa and South America.

Investment policy

The primary investment objective is to maintain, and if possible, enhance, the value of the invested funds to allow ClientEarth to effectively carry out its purposes in the future. A secondary objective is to provide ClientEarth with supplementary income to carry out its purposes effectively in the short term. As such, ClientEarth seeks the best financial return within an agreed level of risk and consistent with its charitable objects, values, and programmatic objectives. Both capital and income may be used at any time for the furtherance of the charity's aims and therefore the portfolio is managed on a total return basis.

As a charity with broad environmental objects, we ensure that we act within the guidance of the Charity Commission on investment of charitable funds (updated on 1 August 2023). ClientEarth therefore excludes from its investment portfolio businesses that cause significant harm to the environment or are detrimental to public health, as this would be in conflict with its charitable objects.

ClientEarth's core expertise is not in investments, so in March 2020 we appointed external investment managers Sarasin & Partners LLP (an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000), who are delegated a discretionary mandate, in accordance with the charity's Articles of Association and the Trustee Act 2000. The investment manager is contractually bound to follow the instructions in the policy statement set out in our Investment Policy.

Key staff and trustees who are members of the Finance, Audit, and Investment Committee receive monthly reports on the performance of the investment portfolio, which are summarised in our Management Accounts. The Committee carries out an annual review of performance against market benchmarks with Sarasin & Partners LLP, with interim reports to the Committee throughout the year. The original investment of $16m in March 2020 and a further $3.5m invested in November 2022 increased to $22.9m by the end of December 2024 ($21.4m as at December 2023 - an improvement of 6.6%). We have not benefited as much from recent market improvements, as these have largely been driven by sectors that have been excluded from our portfolio. The trustees are satisfied that our investment managers adjusted the portfolio to mitigate against the risks of a more volatile investment market.

The investment is carried at a fair value of £18.2m in the Balance Sheet (2023: £16.8m), due to unrealised gains on exchange of £37k (2023: unrealised gains: £175k), and realised and unrealised gains on investment of £938k (2023: losses of £305k). At the end of December 2024, of the total investment with Sarasin & Partners LLP £3m along with an additional £2m in bank short-term deposits was held in liquid assets in line with our Investment policy, which requires a minimum of 20% of total investments to be held as liquid assets, should these be required for cash flow purposes.

Reserves policy

The charity's reserves policy considers the financial risks that the charity is exposed to and sets the target level of free reserves accordingly at 25% of annual operating expenditure (defined as total annual expenditure, less sub-grant and litigation costs, one-off provisions, and unrealised gains and losses), this target at the end of 2024 amounted to £6,358k (2023: £6,935k). Actual free reserves (general unrestricted funds minus fixed assets) at the end of 2024 were £9,753k (2023: £8,774k). Reserves are held to cover unexpected falls in income, provide bridging funding between grants, provide rapidly deployable seed funding for new initiatives, and to cover cash-flow needs. As the organisation grows, we closely monitor our projected future target free reserves as well current requirements, to ensure financial stability over the medium term.

Overall Funds at the end of 2024 were £28,284k (2023: £30,035k), made up of:

Unrestricted Funds

Reserves review

Unrestricted reserves

At the end of 2024, a small net unrestricted surplus and a lower net book value of Fixed Assets together increased free reserves to £9,753k (2023: £8,774k). The charity continued to meet its minimum free reserves target, meeting current requirements and ensuring financial stability over the medium term.

Designated funds

At the end of 2019, the trustees resolved to designate part of the generous unrestricted Gilmour-Samson gift, to be used over the following five to seven years to fight climate change and build the capacity of the organisation. During the year, £1,612k (2023: £4,359k) was invested in tackling the most pressing environmental challenges including the transition to clean and sustainable energy systems in Europe, strengthening laws that protect marine ecosystems, forests, and wildlife, and organisational strengthening.

In 2021 and 2022, trustees voluntarily designated unrestricted income raised from the Artists for ClientEarth campaign, a series of auctions in collaboration with the Gallery Climate Coalition and Christie’s. These funds are being invested to support strengthening of public awareness of ClientEarth's work, income generation and the delivery of our strategy including new interventions in South America.

Over the period of our 2021-2026 financial plan that accompanies our strategic framework, total expenditure exceeds total income, as these funds are used according to the agreed designation.

Restricted funds

We spent down restricted funds received in prior years, and secured new funds, finishing 2024 with a total balance of restricted funds of £10,996k (2023: £11,851k). This was a higher balance than planned due to some programmatic expenditure being delayed to 2025.

Based on the healthy reserves position and fundraising pipeline, the Trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties in relation to going concern.

Trustees’ responsibilities statement

The trustees (who are also directors of ClientEarth for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report (including the Strategic Report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Disclosure of information to the auditors

Insofar as each of the trustees of the charity at the date of approval of this report is aware, there is no relevant audit information (information needed by the charity’s auditor in connection with preparing the audit report) of which the charity’s auditor is unaware. Each trustee has taken all of the steps that they should have taken as a trustee in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditor is aware of that information.

In approving the Trustees' Annual Report, we also approve the Strategic Report included therein, in our capacity as company directors.

The Trustee's Annual Report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by

17 July 2025

E Howard Boyd, Trustee

Brussels

Beijing

Berlin

London

Warsaw

Madrid Los Angeles Luxembourg

ClientEarth is an environmental law charity, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, company number 02863827, registered charity number 1053988, registered office The Joinery, 34 Drayton Park, London, N5 1PB, a registered international non-profit organisation in Belgium, ClientEarth AISBL, enterprise number 0714.925.038, a registered company in Germany, ClientEarth gGmbH, HRB 202487 B, a registered non-profit organisation in Luxembourg, ClientEarth ASBL, registered number F11366, a registered foundation in Poland, Fundacja ClientEarth Poland, KRS 0000364218, NIP 701025 4208, a registered 501(c)(3) organisation in the US, ClientEarth US, EIN 81-0722756, a registered subsidiary in China, ClientEarth Beijing Representative Office, Registration No. G1110000MA0095H836. ClientEarth is registered on the EU Transparency register number: 96645517357-19. Our goal is to use the power of the law to develop legal strategies and tools to address environmental issues.

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of ClientEarth

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of ClientEarth (‘the charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Consolidated statement of financial activities, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, Company Balance Sheet, Consolidated statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustee's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement [set out on page 25], the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members including internal specialists. We then designed and performed

audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company and group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be necessary to the charitable company’s an the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were employment legislation, taxation legislation and anti-fraud, bribery and corruption legislation. We also considered compliance with local legislation for the group’s overseas operating segments.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing of recognition of grant income, contract income and significant, one-off donation income, and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management and the Finance, Audit and Investment Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing of funding received in the year and post year end to underlying documents, sample testing of year end balances for accrued and deferred income, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Dipesh Chhatralia Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor London

22 July 2025

CLIENTEARTH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Unrestricted Unrestricted
Restricted Endowment
funds
General
funds
Designated
funds
funds
2024
2024
2024
2024
Notes
£
£
£
£
Income and
endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
5,057,637
-
3,086,698
-
Charitable activities
4
97,771
-
17,688,838
-
Investments
5
463,125
-
-
-
Other income
6
42,506
-
62,890
-
Total income
5,661,039
-
20,838,426
-
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
2,667,431
253,626
1,227,076
-
Charitable activities
3,215,084
1,358,219
20,466,455
-
Expenditure
8
5,882,515
1,611,845
21,693,531
-
Net gains/(losses) on
investments
938,207
-
-
-
Net movement in funds
716,731
(1,611,845)
(855,105)
-
Fund balances at 1
January 2024
9,720,846
8,344,116
11,850,991
118,660
Fund balances at 31
December 2024
10,437,577
6,732,271
10,995,886
118,660		 Total
2024
£
8,144,335
17,786,609
463,125
105,396
26,499,465
4,148,133
25,039,758
29,187,891
938,207
(1,750,219)
30,034,613
28,284,394		 Total
2023
£
7,889,416
20,980,826
501,041
77,867
29,449,150
4,382,392
30,770,764
35,153,156
(305,106)
(6,009,112)
36,043,725
30,034,613

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

CLIENTEARTH

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

2024 2023 2023
Notes £ £
£		 £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 14 - 13,198
Tangible assets 15 685,073 933,932
Investments 16 17,675,848 15,689,825
18,360,921 16,636,955
Current assets
Debtors 17 1,823,481 1,823,481 1,569,932
Investment cash 498,650 498,650 1,149,601
Cash at bank and in hand 10,077,222 10,077,222 15,230,502
12,399,353 12,399,353 17,950,035
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year (2,314,961) (4,391,458)
Net current assets 10,084,392 13,558,577
Total assets less current liabilities 28,445,313 30,195,532
Provision for other liabilities 19 (160,919) (160,919)
Net assets 28,284,394 30,034,613
Capital funds
Endowment funds - general 23 118,660 118,660
Income funds
Restricted income funds - general 21 10,995,886 11,850,991
Unrestricted funds - designated 22 6,732,271 8,344,116
Unrestricted funds - general 10,437,577 9,720,846
28,284,394 30,034,613
~~i~~
The financial statements were approved by the trustees on ......................... The financial statements were approved by the trustees on .........................
17 July 2025

Zl .............................. mW E Howard Boyd (Chair) Trustee

Company Registration No. 2863827

CLIENTEARTH

COMPANY BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

2024 2023 2023
Notes £ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 14 - 13,198
Tangible assets 15 362,063 526,628
Investments 16 17,657,972 15,689,825
18,020,035 16,229,651
Current assets
Debtors 17 1,615,442 1,341,375
Investment cash 496,890 1,149,601
Cash at bank and in hand 8,752,095 13,782,564
10,864,427 16,273,540
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year 18 (1,524,452) (4,327,830)
Net current assets 9,339,975 11,945,710
Total assets less current liabilities 27,360,010 28,175,361
Provisions for liabilities 19 (160,919) (160,919)
Net assets 27,199,091 28,014,442
Capital funds
Endowment funds- general 23 118,660 118,660
Income funds
Restricted income funds - general 21 10,915,358 11,605,623
Unrestricted funds - designated 22 6,732,271 8,344,116
Unrestricted funds - general 9,432,802 7,946,043
27,199,091 28,014,442

A separate statement of the financial activities and income & expenditure accounts are not presented for the charity itself following the exemptions permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

The total income for the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 was £25,579,418 (2023: £28,511,097). With the negative movements in funds being £815,351 (2023: positive £6,358,856).

17 July 2025 The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board on .........................

Zen .............................. ARC<A Fey E Howard Boyd (Chair) Trustee

Company Registration No. 2863827

CLIENTEARTH

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash absorbed by operations
28
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Proceeds from disposal of tangible fixed
assets
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from disposal of investments
Investment income received
Net cash used in investing activities
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 2024
£
£
(5,170,137)
(41,451)
2,375
(3,679,008)
2,620,865
463,125
(634,094)
(5,804,231)
16,380,103
10,575,872		 2023
£
£
(4,955,375)
(414,036)
-
(5,667,789)
3,645,759
501,041
(1,935,025)
(6,890,400)
23,270,503
16,380,103

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

ClientEarth is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Joinery, 34 Drayton Park, London, N5 1PB. The principal place of business is The Joinery, 34 Drayton Park, London, N5 1PB.

1.1 Accounting convention

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with “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)” (published October 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity 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 financial statements.

The trustees have reviewed the following to assess the going concern position of the charity:

Based on this review, the trustees have reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. The charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds which have been voluntarily set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. Restricted funds are classified in the notes to the accounts under the purpose for which they will be used.

Endowment funds are expendable endowment funds which are invested through our investment partner, and income generated is used to further charitable activities. The funds are invested through our investment partner, and income generated is used to further charitable activities.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.4 Income

Income from grants and contracts are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

The charity is partially exempt for Value Added Tax and only charges VAT on income deemed business activities.

Grants received with both a restricted and unrestricted purpose are allocated on receipt directly into the correct fund.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Expenditure is recognised in the period in which they are incurred.

Expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity.

Support costs comprising the salary and overheads costs of the central function are apportioned to each activity.

The charity is partially exempt for Value added tax and only claims VAT on expenditure relating to business activities.

Governance costs include all costs of compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including legal, audit fees and the costs of board meetings.

1.6 Intangible fixed assets other than goodwill

Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.

Amortisation is recognised so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Software

20% straight line

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.7 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Assets above the value of £1,000 are capitalised. Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Leasehold improvements 20% straight line Fixtures, fittings & equipment 20% straight line Computers 20% straight line

1.8 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits with banks, other investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts.

1.9 Financial instruments

The charity has applied 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 charity's balance sheet when the charity 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

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 unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

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.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.10 Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the charity has a legal or constructive present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the charity will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

1.11 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which that entitlement is earned.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

The charity operates a defined contributions pension scheme. Contributions are charged in the accounts as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

1.12 Foreign exchange

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. All gains / losses are recorded in income or expenditure as appropriate.

1.13 Donated goods and services accounting policy

Donated goods are recognised in the accounts as a donation received and recorded at their market value. Donated services are recognised in the accounts as a donation received and expenditure incurred. These are valued at the discounted rate that the charity would have paid for the service.

1.14 Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements incorporate those of ClientEarth and all of its subsidiaries (ie entities that the group controls through its power to govern and obtain benefits). Their results are consolidated on a line by line basis from the date that control passes.

All financial statements are made up to 31 December 2024. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with those used by other members of the group.

All intra-group transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated on consolidation.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CLIENTEARTH

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’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 fr om 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.

Critical judgements

Judgement is required in applying the charity's policy on income recognition below and in estimating VAT provisions:

Income recognition

Income from grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred. Income from contracts are recognised in line with the expenditure against that contract as this is deemed the most accurate proxy for the performance conditions being met. Where such income is received in advance of delivering the goods or services required, the income is not recognised. Instead it is recognised as a liability (deferred income) until performance can be measured (based on spend).

Donated good and services

Donated goods are recognised in the accounts as a donation received and recorded at their market value. Donated services are recognised in the accounts as a donation received and expenditure incurred. These are valued at the discounted rate that the charity would have paid for the service.

3 Donations and legacies

Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
2024
£
2024
£
Donations and legacies
5,057,637
3,086,698
For the year ended 31 December 2024
5,057,637
3,086,698
2023
£
2023
£
Donations and legacies
5,027,126
2,862,290
For the year ended 31 December 2023
5,027,126
2,862,290		 Total
2024
£
8,144,335
8,144,335
2023
£
7,889,416
7,889,416

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

4 Income from Charitable Activities

**Unrestricted funds ** Restricted funds Total funds
2024 2024 2024
£ £ £
Analysis by Impact Area
Legal Systems and Rule of Law 8,157 3,535,954 3,544,111
Financial and Economic Systems 3,325 841,134 844,459
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems 71,029 7,340,173 7,411,202
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use 15,260 5,971,577 5,986,837
97,771 17,688,838 17,786,609
**Unrestricted funds ** Restricted funds Total funds
2023 2023 2023
£ £ £
Analysis by Impact Area
Legal Systems and Rule of Law - 4,510,065 4,510,065
Financial and Economic Systems - 1,652,628 1,652,628
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems 3,171 9,895,815 9,898,986
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use - 4,919,147 4,919,147
3,171 20,977,655 20,980,826

5 Investment income

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
£ £
Income from listed investments 381,562 384,428
Interest receivable 81,563 116,613
463,125 501,041

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

6 Other income

Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
2024
2024
£
£
Rental income
14,400
-
Litigation awards
-
62,890
Other income
28,106
-
42,506
62,890		 TotalUnrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
2024
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
£
14,400
15,473
-
15,473
62,890
-
22,370
22,370
28,106
40,024
-
40,024
105,396
55,497
22,370
77,867

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

7 Top Donors

Included within income are the following top ten donors:

Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Undisclosed Donor
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery
AKO Foundation
Arcadia
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) -
Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI)
Undisclosed Donor
European Climate Foundation (ECF)		 2024
£
3,900,000
2,498,510
1,900,401
1,500,000
1,333,333
1,000,000
886,344
867,700
800,000
558,160
15,244,448

Income from top 10 donors equated to 58% (2023 - 56%) of total income.

Income from Grantham Foundation and Trust is represented by donations from Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust. It also includes income received from Grantham Trust via ClientEarth US.

Income from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors are made up of:

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

8 Expenditure

Direct costs Allocation of Allocation of Total
without support support costs governance expenditure
and governance costs
costs
2024 2024 2024 2024
£ £ £ £
Raising funds 3,588,133 560,000 - 4,148,133
Legal Systems and Rule of Law 4,266,435 568,321 65,117 4,899,873
Financial and Economic Systems 1,693,605 338,238 38,754 2,070,597
Energy, Transport and Materials
Systems 8,017,804 1,224,378 140,286 9,382,468
Food Systems, Oceans and Land
Use 7,385,173 1,167,839 133,808 8,686,820
24,951,150 3,858,776 377,965 29,187,891
2023 2023 2023 2023
£ £ £ £
Raising funds 3,859,912 522,480 - 4,382,392
Legal Systems and Rule of Law 6,880,040 844,007 70,995 7,795,042
Financial and Economic Systems 1,528,113 160,763 14,791 1,703,667
Energy, Transport and Materials
Systems 10,870,022 1,406,678 118,325 12,395,025
Food Systems, Oceans and Land
Use 7,700,176 1,085,152 91,702 8,877,030
30,838,263 4,019,080 295,813 35,153,156

The comparatives have been reclassified which has resulted in an increase in support costs of £857,908. Allocation of these additional support costs has resulted in an increase in raising funds and a decrease in charitable activities of £855,049.

9 Trustees

No trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year or the prior year. During the year £3,668 (2023: £nil) of expenses were reimbursed to trustees for travel expenses incurred while carrying out their duties. All expenses were reimbursed in accordance with the charity's expenses policy.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

10 Grants/Sub-grants to partners

Charitable Activities
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grants /Sub-
grants to
partners
Support
costs (incl
Governance
costs)
2024
2024
2024
£
£
£
Legal Systems and Rule of Law
3,658,038
608,397
633,438
Financial and Economic Systems
1,664,784
28,821
376,992
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems
7,340,964
676,840
1,364,664
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use
6,258,536
1,126,637
1,301,647
18,922,322
2,440,695
3,676,741
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
Legal Systems and Rule of Law
5,891,377
988,663
915,002
Financial and Economic Systems
1,386,243
141,870
175,554
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems
10,325,260
544,762
1,525,003
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use
7,085,819
614,358
1,176,853
24,688,699
2,289,653
3,792,412		 Total
2024
£
4,899,873
2,070,597
9,382,468
8,686,820
25,039,758
2023
£
7,795,042
1,703,667
12,395,025
8,877,030
30,770,764

All of ClientEarth's sub-grantees are Nonprofits. For most cases ClientEarth applies for funding with its partners as named partners on its funding applications, working jointly together implementing the work and meeting the deliverables of the head grantor. During the financial year no grants/sub-grants were made to individuals and none of the grants/sub-grants were individually material.

The comparatives include a reclassification as explained in note 8.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

11 Other expenditure

The results for the year are stated after charging:

Depreciation
Amortisation
Rent payable under operating leases
Land and buildings
Equipment
Fees payable to the charity's auditor and associates:
Audit of the charity's annual accounts		 2024
£
2023
£
288,641
256,540
13,198
13,198
849,639
823,885
3,792
4,931
38,240
33,340

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

12 Employees

Number of employees

The average number of employees during the year was 291 (2023: 292) The average FTE employees employed during the year was:

Raising Funds
Charitable activities
Legal Systems and Rule of Law
Financial and Economic Systems
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use
Support
Governance
Employment costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Other employment related costs and temps
Holiday pay accrual		 2024
Number
40
33
20
71
68
47
1
280
2024
£
16,585,965
925,459
667,851
655,503
(124,235)
18,710,543		 2023
Number
37
51
10
83
65
43
1
290
2023
£
16,884,683
935,933
660,912
921,693
57,529
19,460,750

During the year termination or redundancy payments of £100,323 (2023: £170,886) were recognised in accordance with the charity's accounting policy.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

12 Employees

(Continued)

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more were:


were:
2024 2023
Number Number
£ 60,000 - £ 70,000 25 31
£ 70,001 - £ 80,000 18 14
£ 80,001 - £ 90,000 10 10
£ 90,001 - £100,000 2 2
£100,001 - £110,000 1 1
£110,001 - £120,000 2 1
£120,001 - £130,000 - 3
£130,001 - £140,000 1 -
£140,001 - £150,000 1 -
£150,001 - £160,000 - 1
£190,001 - £200,000 - 1
£210,001 - £220,000 1 -
£220,001 - £230,000 - 1

Pension contributions for employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more amounted to £239,211 (2023: £277,204).

Remuneration of key management personnel

The key management personnel of ClientEarth is comprised of the Executive Team: CEO, CFO, Chief External Affairs Officer (until February), Chief Programmes & Impact Officer and Chief People & Operations Officer (2023: CEO, Deputy CEO (to end of June), CFO, Chief External Affairs Officer, Chief Programmes & Impact Officer and Chief People & Operations Officer (from July)). The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows:


personnel is as follows:
Salary
Employers national insurance
Pension contributions		 2024
£
667,679
84,520
51,916
804,115		 2023
£
728,773
91,486
48,921
869,180

The remuneration of the Founder and President in 2024 was £48,904 (2023: £250,656) until stepping down in February 2024. This role was not part of the Executive Team, so is not included in key management personnel.

13 Taxation

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

14
Intangible fixed assets
Cost
At 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024
Amortisation and impairment
At 1 January 2024
Amortisation charged for the year
At 31 December 2024
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023		 Software
£
118,738
105,540
13,198
118,738
-
13,198

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

15
Tangible fixed assets
Leasehold
improvements
GROUP
£
Cost
At 1 January 2024
1,169,445
Additions
-
Disposals
-
At 31 December 2024
1,169,445
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 January 2024
412,321
Depreciation charged in the year
226,097
Eliminated in respect of disposals
-
At 31 December 2024
638,418
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024
531,027
At 31 December 2023
757,124
PARENT CHARITY
£
Cost
At 1 January 2024
839,187
Additions
-
Disposals
-
At 31 December 2024
839,187
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 January 2024
384,054
Depreciation charged in the year
160,046
Eliminated in respect of disposals
-
At 31 December 2024
544,100
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024
295,087
At 31 December 2023
455,133		 Fixtures,
fittings &
equipment
£
104,467
15,850
(5,139)
115,178
44,250
20,617
(4,197)
60,670
54,508
60,217
£
22,991
-
-
22,991
10,445
4,409
-
14,854
8,137
12,546		 Computers
£
208,678
25,601
(2,232)
232,047
92,087
41,927
(1,505)
132,509
99,538
116,591
£
125,362
25,601
-
150,963
66,413
25,711
-
92,124
58,839
58,949		 Total
£
1,482,590
41,451
(7,371)
1,516,670
548,658
288,641
(5,702)
831,597
685,073
933,932
£
987,540
25,601
-
1,013,141
460,912
190,166
-
651,078
362,063
526,628

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

16 Fixed asset investments

GROUP
Cost
At 1 January 2024
Additions at cost
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments
Disposals at opening market value
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023
PARENT CHARITY
Cost
At 1 January 2024
Additions at cost
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments
Disposals at opening market value
At 31 December 2024
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023
17
Debtors
Amounts falling due within one year:
GROUP
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
PARENT CHARITY
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 Listed
investments
£
15,689,825
3,679,008
893,813
(2,586,798)
17,675,848
15,689,825
15,689,825
3,665,044
889,901
(2,586,798)
17,657,972
17,657,972
15,689,825
2024
2023
£
£
284,196
245,520
1,539,285
1,324,412
1,823,481
1,569,932
215,786
174,810
1,399,656
1,166,565
1,615,442
1,341,375

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

18 Other creditors falling due within one year

GROUP
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Other taxation and social security
PARENT CHARITY
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Other taxation and social security
19
Provisions
VAT provisions		 2024
£
214,792
400,881
1,176,453
522,836
2,314,962
184,640
580,888
556,166
202,760
1,524,454
2024
£
160,919		 2023
£
786,788
404,456
2,290,224
909,990
4,391,458
607,174
1,838,010
1,433,147
449,499
4,327,830
2023
£
160,919

ClientEarth registered for UK VAT on 16 September 2021. As the charity should have registered sooner due to the impact of reverse charges a VAT liability provision was added to 2021 accounts. The VAT due and penalties were paid in 2023. The remaining provision is for any eventual interests applied by HMRC.

20 Retirement benefit schemes

ClientEarth operates defined contribution pension schemes for staff in the UK and Belgium. These schemes match employee contributions up to a maximum of 5% of pensionable salary and staff are automatically enrolled into the relevant scheme in line with government legislation. No employees receive benefits under a defined benefit pension scheme. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the charity in independently administered funds.

The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £611,768 (2023: £660,912).

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CLIENTEARTH

21 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

Group
Legal Systems and Rule of Law
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Undisclosed donor
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
European Climate Foundation (ECF)
European Union via Gesellschaft für Organisation, Planung
und Ausbildung mbH (GOPA)
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive
Agency (CINEA)
Other restricted funds
Financial and Economic Systems
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Other restricted funds
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Undisclosed donor
European Climate Foundation (ECF)
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Other restricted funds
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Arcadia
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
- Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI)
AKO Foundation
Undisclosed donor
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
NIRAS - Darwin Initiative
Agence Française de Développement via The Rainforest
Foundation (UK)
Other restricted funds
Sub total		 Movement in funds
Balance at
1/1/2024
Income
Expenditure
£
£
£
1,576,197
2,834,512
3,475,270
-
790,467
772,732
715,313
797,984
1,513,297
-
111,371
111,371
36,124
-
36,124
-
41,615
-
-
213,849
213,849
112,021
197,377
139,149
-
28,066
28,066
712,739
653,783
660,682
713,328
796,053
1,011,231
-
179,358
179,358
713,328
616,695
831,873
4,347,919
5,973,493
6,793,337
1,402,150
513,419
1,915,569
878,995
904,705
1,366,584
1,110,279
2,387,139
1,366,802
11,594
516,545
504,798
-
225,562
225,562
944,901
1,426,123
1,414,022
2,387,268
5,816,773
6,022,100
110,176
197,711
307,887
500,000
1,000,000
899,244
408,719
867,700
865,688
-
333,333
216,304
-
200,000
-
-
660,782
451,482
-
105,256
107,701
(15,209)
29,671
20,625
1,383,582
2,422,320
3,153,169
9,024,712
15,420,831
17,301,938		 Balance at
31/12/24
£
935,439
17,735
-
-
-
41,615
-
170,249
-
705,840
498,150
-
498,150
3,528,075
-
417,116
2,130,616
23,341
-
957,002
2,181,941
-
600,756
410,731
117,029
200,000
209,300
(2,445)
(6,163)
652,733
7,143,605

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

21
Restricted funds
Brought forward from previous page
Global Impact (redistributed across all
charitable activities above)
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery
Undisclosed donor
Other restricted funds
Restricted core grants (redistributed across all
charitable activities above)
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Other restricted funds
Total		 Balance at
1/1/2024
Income
£
£
9,024,712
15,420,831
2,207,632
5,040,373
1,103,556
2,356,755
610,737
1,500,000
-
623,303
493,339
560,315
618,647
377,222
(60,000)
60,000
678,647
317,222
11,850,991
20,838,426		 (Continued)
Expenditure
Balance at
31/12/24
£
£
17,301,938
7,143,605
3,810,168
3,437,837
1,932,767
1,527,544
1,540,074
570,663
23,303
600,000
314,024
739,630
581,425
414,444
-
-
581,425
414,444
21,693,531
10,995,886		 (Continued)
Expenditure
Balance at
31/12/24
£
£
17,301,938
7,143,605
3,810,168
3,437,837
1,932,767
1,527,544
1,540,074
570,663
23,303
600,000
314,024
739,630
581,425
414,444
-
-
581,425
414,444
21,693,531
10,995,886
10,995,886

Income from Grantham Foundation and Trust is represented by donations from Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust. It also includes income received from Grantham Trust via ClientEarth US.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CLIENTEARTH

21 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

Group
Legal Systems and Rule of Law
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Undisclosed Donor
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Players of People's Postcode Lottery
European Union via Gesellschaft für Organisation, Planung
und Ausbildung mbH (GOPA)
Sequoia Climate Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The Waterloo Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Other restricted funds
Financial and Economic Systems
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Undisclosed donor
Other restricted funds
Energy, Transport and Materials Systems
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
The Tilia Fund via ClientEarth USA Inc
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Undisclosed Donor
Players of People's Postcode Lottery
European Climate Foundation
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Climate Imperative Foundation
Other restricted funds
Food Systems, Oceans and Land Use
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
The Tilia Fund via ClientEarth USA Inc
Grantham Foundation and Trust
Arcadia
Players of People's Postcode Lottery
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
- Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI)
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Agence Française de Développement via The Rainforest
Foundation (UK)
Other restricted funds
Sub total		 Movement in funds
Balance at
1/1/2023
Income
Expenditure
£
£
£
3,124,553
3,261,172
(4,809,528)
425,577
778,935
(1,204,512)
937,003
1,258,631
(1,480,321)
142,028
(103,838)
(38,190)
139,544
236,245
(339,665)
67,061
36,797
(103,858)
(5,555)
167,546
(161,991)
989,356
576,535
(989,356)
184,124
(184,124)
40,000
(40,000)
18,486
-
(18,486)
186,929
310,321
(249,025)
165,768
1,718,627
(1,171,067)
3,455
283,205
(286,660)
-
879,778
(464,260)
162,313
555,644
(420,147)
4,824,317
8,273,125
(8,749,523)
1,251,101
2,229,465
(2,078,416)
367,863
411,811
(399,908)
1,268,449
1,923,844
(2,313,299)
973,150
1,759,995
(1,622,866)
178,101
(16,607)
(161,494)
(15,762)
618,829
(591,472)
-
227,921
(227,921)
-
93,246
(93,246)
801,415
1,024,621
(1,260,901)
2,757,007
4,719,463
(5,089,202)
839
962
(1,801)
390,486
393,831
(476,300)
(11,458)
402,821
(281,187)
492,471
500,000
(492,471)
244,560
(123,064)
(121,496)
656,283
1,031,789
(1,279,353)
61,310
-
(61,310)
-
18,680
(33,889)
922,516
2,494,444
(2,341,395)
10,871,645
17,972,387
(19,819,320)		 Balance at
31/12/23
£
1,576,197
-
715,313
-
36,124
-
-
576,535
-
-
-
248,225
713,328
-
415,518
297,810
4,347,919
1,402,150
379,766
878,994
1,110,279
-
11,595
-
-
565,135
2,387,268
-
308,017
110,176
500,000
-
408,719
-
(15,209)
1,075,565
9,024,712

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

21
Restricted funds
Brought forward from previous page
Global Impact (redistributed across all
charitable activities above)
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Players of People's Postcode Lottery
Other restricted funds
Restricted core grants (redistributed across all
charitable activities above)
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Players of People's Postcode Lottery
European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive
Agency (CINEA)
Other restricted funds
Total		 Balance at
1/1/2023
£
10,871,645
1,561,050
1,114,449
-
446,601
842,802
14,999
46,984
-
780,819
13,275,497		 (Continued)
Income
Expenditure
Balance at
31/12/23
£
£
£
17,972,387
(19,819,320)
9,024,712
5,069,512
(4,422,930)
2,207,632
1,818,158
(1,829,051)
1,103,556
1,499,953
(889,216)
610,737
1,751,401
(1,704,663)
493,339
820,416
(1,044,571)
618,647
24,707
(39,706)
-
202,921
(249,905)
-
304,242
(304,242)
-
288,546
(450,718)
618,647
23,862,315
(25,286,821)
11,850,991		 (Continued)
Income
Expenditure
Balance at
31/12/23
£
£
£
17,972,387
(19,819,320)
9,024,712
5,069,512
(4,422,930)
2,207,632
1,818,158
(1,829,051)
1,103,556
1,499,953
(889,216)
610,737
1,751,401
(1,704,663)
493,339
820,416
(1,044,571)
618,647
24,707
(39,706)
-
202,921
(249,905)
-
304,242
(304,242)
-
288,546
(450,718)
618,647
23,862,315
(25,286,821)
11,850,991
11,850,991

Income from Grantham Foundation and Trust is represented by donations from Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust. It also includes income received from Grantham Trust via ClientEarth US during the year.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CLIENTEARTH

22 Designated funds

Gilmour-Samson gift

During the year, the previously designated funds were spent on initiatives to support work tackling the most pressing environmental challenges including supporting the transition to clean and sustainable energy systems in Europe and Asia, strengthening laws which protect marine ecosystems, forests and wildlife, and organisational strengthening. The intention is to use the remaining funds over the period to December 2026 for similar purposes.

Lottery income

The balance on this fund was set aside for an iconic case launched in 2023, which has now concluded. As that case did not require the full balance, the remaining funds will be assigned to strategic litigation work.

Artists for ClientEarth

During the year, the previously designated funds were spent on initiatives to support strengthening of public awareness of ClientEarth's work, income generation, delivery of the new strategy including changes to structure and programmes, and programmes overall. The funds will be spent over the next 4 years on charitable activities to fight climate change.

Balance at
1 January 2024
£
Gilmour-Samson gift - targeted projects
5,749,777
Artists for ClientEarth - targeted projects
2,354,339
Lottery income - targeted projects
240,000
8,344,116
Balance at
1 January 2023
£
Gilmour-Samson gift - targeted projects
8,106,693
Artists for ClientEarth - targeted projects
4,095,981
Lottery income - targeted projects
500,000
12,702,674		 Expenditure
£
(1,424,493)
(187,352)
-
(1,611,845)
Expenditure
£
(2,356,916)
(1,741,642)
(260,000)
(4,358,558)		 Transfers
£
Balance at
31 December
2024
£
-
4,325,284
-
2,166,987
-
240,000
-
6,732,271
Transfers
£
Balance at
31 December
2023
£
-
5,749,777
-
2,354,339
-
240,000
-
8,344,116

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

23 Endowment funds

ent funds
Balance at 31 Income Expenditure Balance at 31
December 2023 December 2024
£ £ £ £
118,660 - - 118,660

During 2022 ClientEarth received its first endowment gift, enabling the Board to create an expendable endowment fund to which future gifts may be added. The funds are invested through our investment partner, and income generated is used to further charitable activities.

24 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
funds
Designated
funds
At 31 December 2024:
2024
£
2024
£
Tangible assets
685,073
-
Investments
13,231,904
4,325,284
Current assets/(liabilities)
(3,318,481)
2,406,987
Provisions
(160,919)
-
10,437,577
6,732,271
Unrestricted
funds
2023
Designated
funds
2023
At 31 December 2023:
£
£
Intangible fixed assets
13,198
-
Tangible assets
933,932
-
Investments
9,821,388
5,749,777
Current assets/(liabilities)
(886,753)
2,594,339
Provisions
(160,919)
-
9,720,846
8,344,116		 Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
2024
£
2024
£
-
-
-
118,660
10,995,886
-
-
-
10,995,886
118,660
Restricted
funds
2023
Endowment
funds
2023
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
118,660
11,850,991
-
-
-
11,850,991
118,660		 Total
2024
£
685,073
17,675,848
10,084,392
(160,919)
28,284,394
Total
2023
£
13,198
933,932
15,689,825
13,558,577
(160,919)
30,034,613

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

25 Operating lease commitments

At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Between two and five years		 2024
£
899,541
908,040
1,807,581		 2023
£
907,938
1,816,679
2,724,617

26 Related party transactions

Organisation
Related Trustee
Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Sonia Medina
EarthPercent
Bian Eno
The McIntosh Foundation
Winsome Dunn McIntosh
Global Returns Project
Sarah Butler-Sloss
The Savitri Waney Charitable Trust
Devika Waney
The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
(SFCT)
Sarah Butler-Sloss
Foundation for International Law and the
Environment
Sonia Medina		 2024
£
3,900,000
65,000
38,569
57,273
-
638,040
-
4,698,882		 2023
£
5,135,432
50,000
39,383
-
151,325
123,332
1,415,339
6,914,811

During the year the charity received no donations from trustees (2023: £247,729). There were no conditions attached to these which would, or might, require the charity to alter significantly the nature of its existing activities.

During the year grants and sub-grants of $467,464 (2023: $172,251) were given to ClientEarth USA Inc. During the year the charity also received income of £2,755,264 (2023: £4,260,556) from ClientEarth USA Inc., which represents direct grants or grants and donations from foundations and major donors via the US entity. Three trustees of the charity are also members of the board of ClientEarth USA Inc.

Upon his resignation in 2024, a gift of value £1,362 was purchased for the former chair Howard Covington.

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

27 Subsidiaries

The following subsidiaries are all charitable entities with no share capital, and are all consolidated in these accounts.

Details of the charity's subsidiaries at 31 December 2024 are as follows:

**Name of undertaking ** Registered Nature of % Held
office business
ClientEarth France 86, boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris, France Dormant 100.00
ClientEarth AISBL 1050 Bruxelles, Rue du Trone 60, Belgium Charity 100.00
ClientEarth gGmbH Objekt Albrechtstrasse 22, 10117 Berlin, Charity 100.00
Germany
Fundacja ClientEarth Zurawia 45 (staircase B, 2nd floor), 00-680 Charity 100.00
Prawnicy dla Ziemi Warsaw, Poland
(ClientEarth Poland)
ClientEarth ASBL 17 Route d'Arlon, L-8009 Strassen, Charity 100.00
Luxembourg
ClientEarth Trading Ltd The Joinery, 34 Drayton Park, London, N5 Trading 100.00
1PB
ClientEarth Oceania 48 Warrimoo Avenue, St Ives, New South Dormant 100.00
Limited Wales, 2075
Ippan Shadan Hojin C/O Mazars Japan K.K., Akasaka Intercity 5F, Charity 100.00
ClientEarth 1-11-44 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo,
107-0052

ClientEarth Trading Ltd is exempt from audit under section 479A of the Companies Act 2006.

The results of the non dormant subsidiaries are as follows:

Name of undertaking Company External Funding from Expenditure Surplus/ Reserves
number income head office Deficit
Client Earth AISBL 0714.925.038 165,079 4,419,202 (5,313,831) (729,549) 276,977
ClientEarth gGmbH HRB 202487 B 752,291 784,931 (1,757,123) (219,901) 421,783
Fundacja ClientEarth KRS
Prawnicy dla Ziemi 0000364218
(ClientEarth Poland) 2,494 1,353,177 (1,461,997) (106,326) 229,922
Client Earth ASBL 20176102110 - 111,830 (122,297) (10,467) 28,894
ClientEarth Trading Ltd 13,095,280 - - (8,605) (8,605)
(14,644)
Ippan Shadan Hojin 6010405022079
ClientEarth 186 484,634 (344,841) 139,979 142,368

CLIENTEARTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

27 Subsidiaries (Continued) (Continued)
Comparatives for 2023
Name of undertaking Company External Funding from Expenditure Surplus/ Reserves
number income head office Deficit
Client Earth AISBL 0714.925.038 240,741 5,977,992 (6,225,815)
(7,082)		 1,006,526
ClientEarth gGmbH HRB 202487 B 695,990 1,500,920 (2,035,271)
161,640		 641,684
Fundacja ClientEarth KRS
Prawnicy dla Ziemi 0000364218
(ClientEarth Poland) 1,321 1,904,912 (1,716,384)
189,849		 336,248
Client Earth ASBL 20176102110 - 151,126 (145,816)
5,310		 39,361
ClientEarth Trading Ltd 13,095,280 - - (2,363)
(2,363)
(6,039)
Ippan Shadan Hojin 6010405022079
ClientEarth - 88,768 (86,379)
2,389		 2,389
28 Cash generated from operations 2024 2023
£ £
Deficit for the year (1,750,217) (6,009,112)
Adjustments for:
Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities (463,125) (501,041)
Fair value gains and losses on investments (938,207) 305,106
Foreign exchange differences on investments 10,325 44,432
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets 301,839 269,738
Loss on disposal of fixed assets (706) 13,449
Movements in working capital:
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (253,550) 1,346,262
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (2,076,496) 857,873
Increase in provision - (1,282,082)
Cash absorbed by operations (5,170,137) (4,955,375)