Jonathon Porritt

About

Jonathon is an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. He appears frequently in the media, writing in magazines, newspapers and books, and has appeared on radio and television. He is one of the leading authorities on ecological issues.

Jonathon Porritt (Jonathon Espie Porritt, CBE) was a prominent member of the Ecology Party in the 1970s and early 1980s.

As chair of the UK Ecology Party (now the Green Party) from 1978 to 1984, he presided over changes that made the party much more prominent in elections. Under his stewardship, membership grew from a few hundred to around 3,000.

In 1984 his first book, Seeing Green, was published. In this year he also gave up teaching to become Director of Friends of the Earth in Britain, a post he held until 1990. From 1993-1996 he chaired Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future then known as UNEP-UK.

With Sara Parkin and Paul Ekins he founded Forum for the Future in 1996, a sustainable development charity. In 1997 he was appointed the inaugural Chair of the incoming Labour government’s Sustainable Development Commission from which he retired in September 2009. Forum for the Future is now the UK’s leading sustainable development charity, with 70 staff and over 100 partner organisations including some of the world’s leading companies.

Porritt acts as advisor to many bodies on environmental matters, as well as to individuals including Prince Charles. He is a board member of Wessex Water and Willmott Dixon and advises Marks & Spencer on its forward strategy.

He is a former Chair and current President of sustainable development charity Sustainability South West. From 2000 to 2009, he was chair of the Sustainable Development Commission set up by the prime minister, Tony Blair.

Porritt has also supported the Forests Now Declaration, which calls for new market based mechanisms to protect tropical forests.

One of the most respected figures in politics and current affairs, Jonathon Porritt is in demand as an after dinner speaker for his anecdotes and memories.