BILL WRIGHT

MA,Chartered Engineer

Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology

After taking early retirement from the John Lewis Partnership in 2009, Bill Wright is now an independent consultant on energy and sustainability matters. He is Chairman of the Electrical Safety Council,  and is a Director of Summitskills, the sector skills council associated with Building Services Engineering. He is also on the Institution of Electrical Engineers committee which produces the IEE Wiring Regulations.

He was previously the Corporate Energy and Environment Manager of the John Lewis Partnership, covering both Waitrose supermarkets and John Lewis Department stores. He was responsible for the procurement and efficient use of all utilities, with a budget of over £40M. He was directly involved in the planning, building and engineering design to ensure new buildings and refurbishments incorporated sustainability in their construction. He worked with ‘Forum for the Future’ on the production of the ‘John Lewis Framework for delivering sustainable construction in the retail sector’. This was one of the first publications produced for retail sustainable construction and was used a guidance document by all those involved in the design, construction and operation of the John Lewis buildings.

Prior to this he was Chief Electrical Engineer for the group for over 10 years after joining Waitrose as Engineering Manager.

His early career was spent with the MoD at various research establishments including the National Gas Turbine Establishment where he was Head of Test Services Section.

He has an MA in engineering from Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IET.