‘We can utilise our skills to make Bristol a greener city’

Rosemary Jago is a partner at the top law firm, Bevan Brittan, and has over 20 years experience of advising clients on the procurement, funding and delivery of new facilities in the health and local government sector.

Their experience includes advising on the delivery of Southmead hospital, south Bristol community hospital, the Nightingale Hospital in Exeter and more recently key worker accommodation. Rosemary is also head of the Bristol office and actively involved in the part they play as a responsible business in Bristol, for staff, clients and the community.

What’s the one thing that inspires you to get up in the morning?

I thoroughly enjoy what I do and manage such a talented team. I get great pleasure from working with them individually as they amaze and inspire me every single day. Even more so during the pandemic as they’ve shown greater resilience over the last 18 months.

I am truly inspired by my clients, especially when it comes to advising the NHS on their ever-changing legal requirements and challenges they face. They’ve had an extremely tough time during the pandemic and I’m glad I have been able to support them as a trusted legal partner.

If you could pick one thing to change in Bristol, what would it be?

Greater open spaces in the centre of Bristol. Thankfully, we are seeing continued support for a greener agenda that will make way for more accessible and sustainable spaces. With the impending closure of Bristol Bridge, it will be lovely to see more pedestrianised areas expanding into the city centre.

What does a Better Bristol mean to you?

A greener Bristol – greener in many ways! The ability to work more collaboratively with the business and wider community to achieve a more sustainable city. We are lucky to have such a thriving business community across the city who are equally as passionate about making improvements that will have a positive impact on our local environment and climate change. By working together, we can utilise our skills to make Bristol a greener city to ensure it continues to become a city of choice for people considering moving and working here.

What one action could you as an individual take? And what action could your company take?

We all need to take responsibility as sustainability and climate change quite rightly continue to be at the forefront of everyone’s agenda. From a personal perspective, I will be looking to reduce my travel by car and train to commute to work, and to our other offices and clients, to reduce my own personal carbon footprint. Before the pandemic, I would have commuted three to four days a week to the office, to London or elsewhere in the country, but since the pandemic, I believe we all have achieved the same outcomes by reducing the amount of travel we do.

From a company perspective, we are already working hard to reduce our carbon emissions. We already have a low carbon footprint, but that’s not good enough for us and we want to go a step further. We will be certified carbon neutral to the UN Gold Standard before 2022, attained ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) accreditation and are forming a carbon reduction plan committing to using renewable energy and taking steps to further reduce our footprint. With the aid of our volunteer Bevan Brittan Green Ambassadors, we will be identifying ways we can help colleagues be aware of sustainable choices in their daily lives to make a difference in the world we live in.

What do you want to see from the Bristol business community in the next five years?

I’d like to see a greater sense of shared objectives with the city’s best interests at heart. Through networking groups and collaboration, it feels like the business community has a real passion to make Bristol a great choice to invest in, to work in and to grow. The city centre seems to be becoming a real hub of excitement too as we are witnessing large, well-established businesses, such as the BBC relocating from their historic building on Whiteladies Road to enjoy a city-centre location.

In terms of networking, we encourage all members of the team, from junior to senior level, to actively get involved with the business community. This allows them to be great ambassadors for Bevan Brittan, as well as supporting local businesses, their growth and the wider community. Through our involvement as lead partner of the Bristol Life Business Club, for example, we feel part of the exciting business community Bristol has to offer.

Bristol has always stood out as a diverse business community, and we see this through our own client relationships, as well as in new businesses that are starting up. If we make every effort to keep this momentum going it will give us the chance to showcase the diverse range of businesses we have right on our doorstep, and to support the growth of the city.

Main photo courtesy of Bevan Brittan

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