A EUROPEAN MISSION. STARTING IN THE NETHERLANDS.Independent by design · Founding stage
About / Founding stage

A serious idea.
An honest beginning.

We are developing a lean European non-profit initiative focused on reducing harmful air-pollution exposure and assessing the health difference it makes.

Our mission

Help close the gap between clean-air knowledge and healthier daily environments through practical interventions and rigorous evaluation.

The founding story

The initiative grew from a local Dutch question about residential air pollution: when health concerns and evidence are raised, how do they lead to effective action? The wider ambition is to develop a method that can help other communities and decision-makers.

The proposed organisation is broader than any one pollution source. Our priorities should change when evidence shows a better opportunity to protect health.

Where we stand

European Healthy Air Foundation is a working name for an initiative in formation. A Dutch foundation with a European mission is the intended legal structure. Incorporation, charitable or tax status, an independently governed board, scientific review arrangements and a validated operating budget are not yet presented as complete.

There are no announced institutional partners, donors or advisory appointments. We will publish verified details as arrangements are established and disclosure is agreed.

Three capabilities, not a large bureaucracy

Strategy & impact

Choose opportunities, set decision gates and judge additional benefit.

Science, health & law

Review evidence, design measurement and assess legitimate routes to action.

Partnerships & funding

Build delivery relationships and fund an independently evaluated programme.

These are capabilities to establish, not filled posts. The founder will initially coordinate the direction. External scientists, physicians, lawyers and economists can support bounded projects; governance should provide independent oversight of strategy, spending and conflicts.

Independence is a design requirement

The following are founding commitments to formalise before accepting programme funding:

Funding transparency

Publish institutional funders, amounts, purposes and material restrictions. Set and disclose a proportionate policy for individual donor privacy. Report expenditure and commissioned work.

Donors do not buy conclusions

Funding agreements must protect study design, analysis and publication, including negative results. No donor veto over conclusions, corrections or publication timing.

Conflicts of interest

Require declarations from decision-makers, reviewers and advisers. Record recusals and how conflicts were managed. Decline support when a conflict cannot be credibly managed.

Scientific scrutiny

Arrange independent review with relevant expertise before important project claims. Share methods, uncertainty and responses to review wherever permissible.

Corrections and open learning

Maintain dated corrections and explain changes to conclusions. Publish unsuccessful interventions as well as successes, subject to ethical and privacy requirements.

Responsible corporate philanthropy

Assess the donor’s activities, incentives and restrictions. Reject funding that compromises independence or creates a misleading endorsement. Donations must never imply that a donor’s products are harmless.

Governance to establish

An independently constituted board, documented financial controls, a conflict register, founder remuneration approval independent of the founder, and proportionate external review. Names and appointments will appear only when confirmed.

How founding support enables this