Q&A: Sarah Charlesworth, Group Head of D&I at Inchcape

Inchcape is a global automotive distributor that operates in over 40 markets and territories and whilst you may not have heard of the company before, chances are you've seen or used one of its products within the last week. 

Inchcape represents some of the world's leading automotive brands, such as Jaguar, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and many more top car companies. Inchcape is responsible for the entire lifecycle of a vehicle, from launch to used vehicle sales.

The British company places a huge value on sustainability, with some of its major goals including: improving mobility for all, supporting economic growth and contributing to mitigating climate change. Each of these missions fall under the umbrella of ESG, an area the team is always looking to strengthen.

Sarah Charlesworth is Group Head of Inclusion & Diversity at Inchcape, responsible for creating and maintaining an equitable corporate ethos. During her keynote speech at Sustainability LIVE London 2024, Sarah discussed how inextricable D&I is from sustainability and Sustainability Magazine spoke with her afterwards to get the inside track.

What inspired you to get involved in sustainability and ESG?

So I was inspired to get involved in sustainability. I trained to be a lawyer, so I've always been interested in fairness and justice. And I started working in inclusion, diversity in the legal sector.

I think what's been really exciting to see is how inclusion, diversity and sustainability has evolved. I think in the beginning a lot of the focus was around philanthropy, corporate, social responsibility, and I think when it came to sustainability it was all about recycling and that's about it.

What's been amazing to see over the past 10 years or so is how much it's transformed. Now, we're talking about the diverse talent we need in the business in order to have a more sustainable future. The conversation has really shifted and I think that's fantastic to see.

Are there any trends or innovations you're excited about in sustainability?

I think there's a lot to be excited about. At Inchcape, we're really excited about how the mobility transition will unfold and how this will be done at different speeds across our diverse range of markets and countries. A key part of our sustainability agenda is how also access to vehicles and mobility solutions can improve social inclusion.

We know that climate change is going to disproportionately impact social inequalities and the ability for individuals to access mobility could help things like access to employment, healthcare, education and these are all areas that we're looking to measure in the future and really show how our business is having a positive impact on the societies in which we operate.

What are your biggest takeaways from Sustainability LIVE so far?

Well, of course I enjoyed the inclusion and diversity panel yesterday. I think the biggest takeaway is that many companies are still at the start of their sustainability journey. Particularly when we look at inclusion and diversity as well and how it looks across a number of business areas.

Five or 10 years ago D&I was largely in HR or a more standalone area, but now there's a kind of growing understanding that we can't have a sustainable business without inclusion and diversity. I think that's fantastic.

Can events like Sustainability LIVE contribute to the broader sustainability movement?

I think events like this can be a platform for learning and collaboration. It's really fantastic to meet people from a wide range of sectors and as well as here the latest thinking. I think a lot of us are all in the same boat as well.

When you think about topics such as the corporate social due diligence directive, the EU reporting standards as well, we're all still figuring it out and it's really nice to kind of collaborate and get to know people from different companies and see how they're tackling it.

How do you see your own sustainability practices evolving over the coming years?

There is significant change happening in the automotive industry and the need for sustainable mobility has never been more urgent. We are key enablers of the global mobility transition at Inchcape, but we also recognise the transition is uniquely local in nature too often shaped by the specific needs in each of the communities where we operate.

We build an inclusive culture and grow a diverse talent base as well and I think by achieving that, we will have the understanding, the perspectives on the ground to really help create a long-lasting mobility transition and shift towards a more sustainable future for everyone. So yeah, I think that's what we're excited to see in the next few years.

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