The Birmingham office of national law firm Mills & Reeve has welcomed Jessica Wilkes-Ball as its new national sustainability manager, part of plans to drive forward its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activity in 2022 and beyond.
Jessica joins the ESG management/leadership team at Mills & Reeve as sustainability manager from financial services Mutual Wesleyan, where she previously worked as a social responsibility lead and spearheaded projects with the likes of Birmingham Children Hospital and partners where she had the opportunity to speak at the United Nations.
She has huge experience in helping businesses focus on more than the bottom line and a long track record for delivering positive change in communities across the UK and beyond.
In her new role, Jessica’s responsibilities will include the development and delivery of a firm-wide national environmental and sustainability strategy for Mills & Reeve. This will span energy and water usage, waste management, travel, and food, with the ultimate aim of reducing the environmental impact of the firm and contributing to it achieving its goal to be net-zero carbon in its operations.
Neil Pearson, partner and head of ESG and Social Value at Mills & Reeve, said: “Jessica has a great reputation in the ESG space for helping deliver on the responsible business agenda, with an impressive track record and an unrivalled passion for delivering positive change.
"We’re confident that she will be a valuable addition to the Mills & Reeve team and our ongoing focus on ESG and sustainability, as these issues continue to rise up the agenda for our own business and for our clients of all shapes and sizes.”
Jessica said:“Mills & Reeve is a firm deeply-rooted in delivering positive change across its own business and on behalf of its clients. At such a pivotal time for the ESG and sustainability agendas, helping to write the next chapter for the firm and work alongside the team of specialists is a hugely exciting prospect.
"For me, I wanted to work with a firm that has the same ethos as myself and we will be working together on our ultimate goal to deliver lasting change in society with the impressive work being carried out amongst the ESG team at Mills & Reeve it felt like a natural decision for me. I look forward to what we as a team are going to achieve.”
