Eden structure and team

The Eden Trust

The Eden Trust is dedicated to breaking down the barriers to communication, encouraging the sharing of information and ideas with the widest possible audience. The Trustees catalyse collaboration in science, arts, technology and commerce, creating a constituency for change and then putting it into action.

Eden Project Limited is managed by a Board of Executive and Non-executive Directors. Click on the links below to read profiles.

Eden Project International Ltd (EPIL) is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Eden Trust, created to drive development activity and the establishment of Edens around the world. At the helm of the company are Co-Founder of the Eden Project Sir Tim Smit, who has been appointed Executive Chair, alongside Helen Owers as Non-Executive Chair, and David Harland, who fulfils the role of Chief Executive of the international company. EPIL also undertakes consultancy services for new and existing projects in a range of areas. Find out more about our projects.

As we enter our 20th year and look ahead to the massive global challenges of a new decade, we have appointed three world-renowned leaders as the first-ever Eden Ambassadors. Our co-founder Sir Tim Smit assembled the team as part of a bold new plan for an Eden Life Systems Academy of our outer estate.

The Eden Teams

In the early days there was a handful of us, now there are more than 500. We do all kinds of stuff: art, science, horticulture, education, management, retail, catering, philosophy, maths, economics, design, construction, publishing, research, housekeeping, stewarding, guiding, fundraising, storytelling, marketing, media and lots more. Meet some of the individuals who work at Eden.

The Eden Project site

Our site is an international visitor attraction with a difference, and not only because it’s in a hole in the ground. Our mission is to provide a stage on which we entertain and communicate both our work and that of others. Most importantly we want to give you a good day out by taking you on a journey that is memorable and inspiring. Everything links together – from what we grow, to what we cook and what we sell.

The social enterprise

The Eden Project is not only a charity, but a social enterprise. So, while the physical infrastructure of our site (the buildings and Biomes etc) was paid for by grant money – the biggest contributors being Millennium Commission and European economic regeneration funds – its maintenance and all our running costs are covered by earned income. 

Because we’re a social enterprise, we reinvest our profits into the charity’s educational projects. Just like conventional companies, social enterprises compete to deliver goods and services, but social and environmental purposes are at the heart of what they do, and the profits they make are reinvested towards achieving these. Find out more about our ethos.

Eden Project International Ltd 

Eden Project International Ltd (EPIL) is an entity formed as part of the Eden Trust, created to drive the establishments of Edens around the world. At the helm of the new company are Co-Founder of the Eden Project Sir Tim Smit, who has been appointed Executive Chairman of EPIL, and Eden Project Executive Director David Harland, who has taken up the role of Chief Executive of the international company. EPIL also undertakes consultancy services for new and existing projects in a range of areas. Find out more about our projects.