Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

READY, STEADY, STOP AT BIG YELLOW (Jan21)

I was excited to join the board of the Big Yellow in March 2020 to ‘provide oversight regarding their strategic environmental objectives, with deliverable targets’.  Sadly, my approach does not chime with the executive board and I’ve decided to resign.

Perhaps I was too ambitious in hoping to help Big Yellow become an exemplar in sustainable warehouse development, creating a model that others could follow. The company is run with tremendous efficiency and I very much hope that, despite my departure, they will continue down the environmental path we started. In particular, I’ll be very interested to see the expansion of solar panels on Big Yellow rooftops. 

My time on the board was predominantly spent on Zoom, so I’m sorry that I won’t be able to develop a more personal relationship with the other board members.  

What next?  Hopefully, I’ll find another company that will embrace my committed approach!