BITC Alumni Spotlight: Jonathan Garrett Drives Sustainability

Business in the Community

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In this Business in the Community (BITC) Alumni Spotlight interview, we reconnect with Jonathan Garrett, former Head of Sustainability at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), as he reflects on his impactful journey with BITC. From championing sustainability efforts to spearheading initiatives like JLR’s employability programs for veterans, Jonathan shares the highlights of his time working with BITC, including winning the Company of the Year Award in 2013. His experiences continue to influence his work today as Health and Safety and Sustainability Director at Tyman Group.

Tell us about your time working with BITC

My first engagement with BITC was whilst I was working with Balfour Beatty in 2012 and I was responsible for completing our CR Index submission. Then in 2013 I had moved to Jaguar Land Rover as Head of Sustainability and was introduced to Alan Knight, who was then BITC’s Sustainability Director and was briefed on the 9 Billion Challenge.

This engagement kicked off our entry and successfully winning BITC Company of the Year 2013. I will forever be grateful for the experiences, opportunities and memories BITC gave me and JLR.

What were some of the highlights of that time?

JLR had been inspired by the previous Company of The Year winners M&S and its report Fortune Favours the Brave. We looked at all aspects of our sustainability journey and we found a special connection with the Veteran Community and the opportunity to inspire our future workforce.

Working with the legendary Les Ratcliffe, in the West Midlands we developed employability programmes which looked to harness the talent of the wounded, injured and sick former military personal; after interviewing 18 Veterans in our first programme cohort, we realised just what talent was available and it made sense for our business, the result – we offered all 18 a job.

This coincided with JLR sponsoring the very first Invictus Games and a really special moment at the BITC Awards Dinner at The Royal Albert Hall, not only had we managed the logistical challenge of getting two of our premium vehicles on stage – with the help of the amazing BITC team we managed to get not one, but three Prince’s on stage – TRH’s Charles, William and Harry, all to highlight the immense talent of military personnel.

Our journey and impact continued, with a series of Seeing is Believing visits across the West Midlands and London, focusing on employability, skills and harnessing the company’s sponsorship partners to be part of the solution in regeneration of an area and workforce.

Through engaging with BITC and other member companies we learned so much about accelerating our own sustainability journey and inspiring others, with JLR’s then UK MD Jeremy Hicks leading the ‘Big Boardroom Agenda’ a campaign which inspired companies such as Easy Jet and 3M to think about their mega trends, their legacy and unique contribution their business could make for the environment and society more broadly.

As an Alumni I still think about what’s my unique contribution and it continues to guide my work today, the learning has stood the test of time.

Jonathan Garrett

What made working with BITC so unique

As someone in a member company working with BITC, what stood out for me was the partnership approach of the teams we engaged with; led by Stephen Howard, with people such as Gail Greengross, Joey Tabone, Alan Knight, Catherine Sermon, in fact everyone was motivated and committed to making a difference, people wanted to get something done and that stays with you. 

After leaving JLR, Jonathan went on to work for Prudential and is now Health and Safety and Sustainability Director for Tyman Group. Jonathan continues to engage with BITC as a much-valued member of the BITC Alumni Network.