From Businessman To Business Activist: A Conversation With Ben Tolhurst Of Business Declares

I was introduced to Ben Tolhurst by my good friend Charmian (Char) Love. I interviewed her last year after COP 26 to get her reflections on this event in her role as an “Activist in Residence” at B Lab UK. Mr. Tolhurst may also be considered an activist, although a rather unexpected one given his very traditional corporate life until he joined Business Declares as a volunteer. Its purpose is “to inspire, encourage, and accelerate action within organisations to address the climate, ecological, and social emergency.” This is now his full time commitment for which he is earning no salary. I’ve been in touch with Ben for the past year. As COP 27 approaches I asked him if he’d agree to do an interview with me and he kindly agreed.

Eccles: Hi, Ben, good to see you again. Please tell our readers a bit about your background

Tolhurst: I have spent 25 years working in corporate organizations in the outsourcing sector (Andersen Business Consulting, BT, Serco, Capita, and JLL). I have held senior roles in strategy, business development, organizational design & change, and IT transformation, as well as managing director roles for large contracts and business divisions. I have worked in many sectors including government, energy and utilities, retail, telecommunications, and commercial real estate.

Before quitting corporate life, I was the MD for the UK property and asset management division and UK board member for JLL (one of the world’s largest corporate real estate organizations).