About Us
OUR VISION
The Tuscany Environment Foundation APS (TEF) will aim to protect and enhance the natural beauty, biodiversity and eco-systems of the much loved Tuscan environment for the benefit of all by:
Raising funds from people and businesses with strong connections to Tuscany, to support the best local organisations working to sustain the diverse natural assets of the region.
Supporting projects which bring both economic and social renewal to local communities, and which can be scaled up and replicated across the territory.
Building a strong network of people across Tuscany, united in boosting the work of local environmental champions.
Our people
A Steering Committee (SC), comprised of founding & actively involved donors, direct the strategy. They analyse & approve grants & use their personal networks to broaden the base of supporters. SC members have a wide array of backgrounds & interests, but all share a passion for protecting & restoring the outstanding natural beauty of Tuscany.
Our local team consists of the local Executive Director in charge of day-to-day management & coordination of work on the ground, assisted by advisors & the SC.
LOCAL TEAM
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Ed Cutler
President
Ed Cutler is the President of TEF. He was born, raised and schooled in Britain but developed a passion for Italy at a young age which grew into a full-blown love affair through art history and jobs in Venice and Rome, then marriage to a Roman before moving permanently to the country in 2009. From 2014 he worked in environmental technologies and also became an organic farmer in the southern end of Tuscany known as the Maremma, where he continues to produce extra virgin olive oil. Having known Ben Goldsmith for years, he was moved to set up the Tuscany Environment Foundation in 2020 while on lockdown with the family on the farm, the close contact with the landscape forcing the need to find a way to give something back to the territory which has become his home. Ed brings with him years of experience working in Italy in both private and public realms, an undying passion for nature and a constant curiosity for new technologies and initiatives that help shift us towards better, more respectful behaviour as custodians of the planet. He is based between Rome and Tuscany and as duel citizenship.
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Riccardo Mastini
Executive Director
Riccardo Mastini is the Executive Director of TEF. He was born and raised in Milan but he obtained his university degrees abroad: he has a BSc in environmental management from The University of York in the UK, an MSc in human geography from Lund University in Sweden, and a Ph.D. in ecological economics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. In 2018 he worked as a campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe where he led the NGO’s work on the concept of ‘well-being economy’. In 2019 he advised the Minister of Public Education, Dr. Lorenzo Fioramonti, on introducing environmental education modules into Italy’s school curricula. In 2021 he worked as an expert reviewer for the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Riccardo also has several years of experience as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. In his free time he enjoys hiking, volunteering at animal shelters, and reading about environmental anthropology.
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How we work
Channelling funds from businesses & philanthropists to grassroots nature regeneration projects:
Seeking to build local coalitions that catalyse systemic change.
Tapping into our network of experts to ensure we support the projects offering the largest returns for nature.
Providing projects with vital funds to scale their impact.
Attracting new sources of environmental funding by showcasing what can be achieved by nature regeneration.
Helping donors achieve net zero emissions by coupling their carbon reductions with our nature regeneration projects.
Filling a gap by being agile, unbureaucratic, and ‘getting stuff done’.
Pooling funds and creating leverage for each donor to share in the successes generated by total TEF funds raised.