Resilience for tomorrow

stakeholder engagement • strategy development • consensus building • delivery

Where pragmatism meets purpose:

Purpose:
looking to build climate resilience into your business?

In a fast-changing global landscape, expectations from customers, employees and investors are rising. Turning ambition into credible, practical action can be challenging.

I support organisations where:

  • in-house sustainability resource is limited

  • a clear, commercially grounded sustainability strategy is still taking shape

  • an independent view is needed to assess current position and identify opportunities

I work with leadership teams to build alignment and momentum, combining expert facilitation with deep subject knowledge to deliver tailored, durable solutions that help manage risk, create value and position you for tomorrow.

I understand the practical realities of running a business, and so can blend strategic insight with a healthy dose of pragmatism to help you move forward with confidence.

Pragmatism:
need experienced resource, without the long-term costs?

Periods of change - whether restructuring, recruitment gaps or transformation programmes - demand both strategic clarity and immediate action. That’s where interim or fractional support can make the difference; someone who understands the strategic landscape yet can deliver at pace from day one.

I support medium-sized businesses that:

  • need short-term leadership or resource to maintain momentum

  • want to advance their sustainability agenda without the cost or commitment of a permanent hire

Bringing a blend of senior-level perspective and hands-on delivery, I step in quickly to provide stability, direction and measurable progress.

You gain the benefit of experienced general management and sustainability expertise (without long-term overhead), ensuring your business continues to move forward with confidence during critical periods.

“This is a communication challenge rather than a scientific one.”

—David Attenborough

  • "Stephen you have been an indispensable member of the wider team. Thank your for your massive contribution in such a short time."

    —Martin Chilcott, Founder and CEO, Manufacture 2030

  • "I have had the privilege to know and work with Steve over a number of years. He is a very knowledgeable and experienced expert across the entire ESG spectrum, cares deeply about his work and is a highly committed professional. This together with his personal values make him a trusted and respected individual who I wholeheartedly recommend to any business."

    —Wolfgang M Neumann, Chairman Sustainable Hospitality Alliance

  • "Stephen worked with our teams during February and March 2026. Stephen brings deep knowledge of sustainability and environmental best practice, and he communicated this expertise in a way that was both clear and encouraging. His approach created a positive environment for collaboration and learning. His balanced, solutions-oriented mindset and commitment to high-quality work make him a trusted and effective professional to work with."

    —Michelle Devlin, Vice President of Sustainability, and Samantha Wilson, Sustainability Program Lead at Red Carnation Hotels

  • "Stephen worked with us in 2025 (on a part-time interim capacity) to help set up a new customer team during a fast-paced period of change in the sustainability space. He brought clarity, positivity, and thoughtful leadership, which helped us to stay focused and navigate complex organisational and market shifts. Stephen was highly committed and always approached challenges with a can‑do attitude. He adapts his leadership style well, operating effectively at both strategic and tactical levels. I really enjoyed working with Stephen and would highly recommend him to any business for leadership roles."

    —Adam Brain, Secaro

  • "Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has engaged the services of Stephen on a number of occasions. Every piece of consultancy has been characterised by the very highest level of professionalism and industry expertise, resulting in quality deliverables."

    —Philip Halanen, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts

  • "Stephen provided the British Retail Consortium with expert insights on the business case for adopting net zero strategies, as well as advice on governance structures for running a membership initiative on climate change. These have been hugely valuable in shaping our Climate Action Roadmap for the retail industry."

    —Peter Andrews, British Retail Consortium

  • "As a result of Stephen’s direction and guidance, we have really started to change how we think and how we do things. One great benefit that has come out of this is that we have actually saved lots of money in certain areas as we have worked through the process. I would like to thank Stephen for his ongoing guidance, calm nature and methodical approach to steer us in unknown waters."

    —David Fagg, Etesian Technologies

Clients

 
Photography by Annabel Moeller

Case Studies

British Standards Institution

Between March and October 2023, I was embedded 2-3 days a week within the strategy consulting team at BSI to work on the development of a new framework of national standards for nature investment. This involved identifying and engaging with hundreds of stakeholders (ranging from landowners and the NFU through to leading charities such as the RSPB, as well as multinationals in food, finance, insurance and utilities).

I then helped develop BSI’s strategic approach to a new standards framework, defining the focus, content and hierarchy of standards while running stakeholder workshops to stress-test our hypothesis and prioritise delivery.

My assignment concluded with a keynote presentation on behalf of BSI at the annual conference of the Ecosystems Knowledge Network in Edinburgh. The resulting framework of national standards continues to grow and is now an exemplar for other countries.

Legal Sustainability Alliance

Over 18 months, I chaired the Legal Sustainability Alliance’s climate and nature working group. The group (comprising some 18 multinational law firms) met every two months to share best practice, identify solutions to shared challenges and ultimately to develop a playbook for the industry (Decoding the Disclosure, published in June 2025).

The key challenges in this assignment were mobilising busy executives (who were acting in a voluntary capacity) to commit time and knowledge into a shared industry initiative, while keeping the group focused on the timely delivery of a quality output.

Blunomy

Between April and July 2025, I acted as a strategic adviser to the consulting team at Blunomy in Paris. Blunomy had been commissioned by a leading global hospitality group to deliver a range of credible climate scenarios, and then use these to identify the strategic implications for the group’s portfolio of managed and franchised hotels worldwide. I provided external scrutiny, challenge and insight to the Blunomy team, drawing on my in-depth knowledge of the hospitality industry and climate scenarios.

The work was presented to the global CEO and executive team and approved by them. They are now taking the key recommendations forward and embedding the work within the new business plan.

About

Stephen Farrant provides Board-level advisory, business consultancy, interim and fractional management services to help organisations navigate the environmental sustainability and responsible business agendas.

He has a record of nearly 20 years delivering sustainability best practice via board engagement and stakeholder management in numerous sectors across goods and services, and went independent to establish Farrant Advisory in 2019.

Drawing on well over 3 decades of senior and general management experience across the private and public sectors as well as leading not-for-profits, he helps leadership teams align sustainability priorities with business strategy, stakeholder expectations, and long-term value creation. Key sectors include hospitality, legal, manufacturing, membership organisations and industry partnerships.

Stephen started his career at British Airways before spending a decade in the public sector, followed by a decade leading business-led sustainability coalitions. For 6 years, he led the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, after which he served as Director of Sustainability and Innovation at Business in the Community (the King’s responsible business network), where he established the Circular Economy Taskforce, the Responsible Business Tracker, and the purpose-driven brands toolkit.

He currently serves on the Board of the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and the Environmental Advisory Panel at SGN, and also chairs the Legal Sustainability Alliance’s climate and nature risk working group. He is a Partner at EarthCheck, a Senior Adviser with Blunomy, and an Ambassador for the Western Front Way.

Stephen is known as a problem solver, clear communicator, and honest broker. His work combines strategic insight, expert facilitation and practical solutions to drive measurable impact. A linguist by training, he thrives in multi-stakeholder contexts and sector-based coalitions.

He holds both British and French citizenship and lives in London. Outside of work, he enjoys singing with a west London choir, playing the guitar, hill walking, and cycling.

“I love helping businesses and organisations to make progress wherever they are on the journey.”

Photography by Annabel Moeller

“It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent that survive. It is those who are most adaptable to change.”

—Charles Darwin

Get in touch

Curious to know what we could achieve together? Need some outside perspective? Let’s talk!

Whether you’re already leading from the front on sustainability or wondering where to begin, it all starts with a conversation. Needless to say, there is no charge for an exploratory chat or for testing an initial idea.

“If you want to go fast, travel alone. If you want to go far, travel together.”

—African Proverb