Commemorating 30 years of innovation, impact and people at JBA
On 1 September 2025, JBA Consulting celebrated its 30th anniversary – three decades of technical excellence, collaborative partnerships, and a commitment to making a difference.
Founded in 1995 by Jeremy Benn, Craig Robson, Derek Hawley and Jen Thornton, JBA began with a simple idea shared over a curry and a beer: to do things differently. That vision still defines our culture today - collaborative, inclusive, and always curious.
Looking back: Projects that shaped our path
Over the last 30 years, we’ve delivered thousands of projects, and here are a few pivotal ones.
Mapping flood risk for the nation
In the wake of severe flooding in 1998, JBA was asked to produce national flood risk maps for England and Wales - a task others believed would take six years and £100 million. We delivered them in nine months, pioneering the use of our JFlow software. It was a defining moment of technical ambition and innovation. Incidentally, we had also, to run 66 plotters around the clock to meet the request for printed outputs! How times change.
Supporting resilience through litigation
Following the 2009 flood in Cork, JBA was appointed expert witness in a major legal case that reached the Irish Supreme Court. Our team provided hydrological, engineering, and meteorological expertise over more than a decade, reinforcing our role as trusted technical advisors.
Designing strategy at national scale
From the Isle of Man’s national strategy for flood and coastal resilience, to ongoing decarbonisation work with the Environment Agency, we’ve helped shape long-term, high-impact plans. Our work blends data, insight, and policy - grounded in stakeholder needs and delivered with care.
Looking forward: The next 30 years
As we look ahead, we remain:
- Independent and employee-owned
- Rooted in the delivery of water, environmental, and climate resilience, driven by scientific endeavours
- Open to change, embracing new technologies, partnerships, and challenges.
We’ve launched new ventures like JBA Bentley and JBA Global Resilience and we’re exploring new ways to combine science and the arts to help our work connect with more people.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more reflections, interviews, and an art meets science collaboration via LinkedIn and our Knowledge Hub. We invite our clients, partners, and peers to celebrate with us - and to help shape the next chapter of JBA.
To everyone who’s worked with us, challenged us, supported us, or simply believed in the value of doing things properly - thank you.
Here’s to the next 30 years!
