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Commitment and collaboration

Organisations that are explicit, clear and engaged with their EDI strategy have a greater chance of succeeding and have a better reputation among stakeholders. Commitment also brings a sense of accountability, which is critical to the overall success of any strategy. This section outlines practical steps you can take to represent and execute your commitment to EDI. Whether your organisation is only a few people, or a global player with several offices, declaring the organisation’s intention to consider EDI in all it does can be powerful.

The close relationship between EDI and sustainability was recognised in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development cited as “A historic global agreement to eradicate extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and leave no one behind”. Find out more information about the UK’s commitments to Sustainable Development Goals.

EDI can help the green sector identify new ways of thinking, creativity and innovation that may lead to new insights and solutions to the climate crisis.

Learn about EDI and how it applies to your sector

The starting point for any size organisation will be learning about EDI and how it applies in your sector; consult and share your findings with your organisation’s board members and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

Learn about EDI in the green sector in London.

There are many specific reports available, which will help give you a solid grounding in the concerns facing your particular sub-sector.

Embed EDI into your business plan as a strategic priority

Having an EDI policy is a critical aspect of positive employee engagement and provides the perfect platform to outline your organisation’s commitment to ensuring an inclusive workplace that is equitable and diverse. Ensuring that your organisation is inclusive and supports all employees to thrive at work, regardless of their background requires practices and processes in place that value difference and break down barriers.

An EDI policy is also the place to outline the organisation’s commitment to safeguarding those who may face inequality or harassment due to one or more of the nine protected characteristics, and set out procedures for dealing with these should they arise. However, a pioneering approach to developing an EDI policy would look to go beyond legal requirements, for example, by considering social mobility and/or intersectionality. Take a look at this example from the British Council.

To create your EDI policy:

  1. Before embarking on creating an EDI policy it is crucial to first set a specific vision on what your EDI policy is and its impact on your company and its customers. 
  2. Review existing resources, such as this one from High Speed Training, which includes guidance and a free template.
  3. Outline the behaviours expected from the workforce and ensure they align with the organisational and EDI values.
  4. Clearly state that any form of discrimination, victimisation, harassment or bullying is unacceptable, in the form of a zero tolerance approach and statement. Set out procedures for dealing with complaints and reporting. Take a look at this resource from Acas.
  5. Be clear about how to access support in general, or when reporting concerns.

An effective EDI strategy should detail how the organisation seeks to improve its EDI outcomes over a defined period of time, typically with specific and measurable actions. 

Set a clear EDI vision that articulates what EDI means for your organisation. Be specific about the type of culture you want your organisation to uphold;

Engage key stakeholders (senior management, board members, employees and trade union representatives) to create your EDI strategy - EDI strategies work best when they have the buy-in of senior leadership, and any Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). You can find more information on ERGs in the ‘Building an Inclusive Culture’ section. (Link to Building and Inclusive Culture section for Green Medium orgs once webpage created)

Collect and analyse both quantitative and qualitative data (i.e. surveys, focus groups and interviews) to assess your current workplace demographics, staff experiences and identify any gaps specific to your organisation's needs and situation. This will help set appropriate EDI goals and provide a baseline to benchmark improvements against;

Set an EDI budget - it is important that your organisation has the resources to deliver on any commitments built into the EDI strategy. This budget must be proportionate to the gaps identified across your organisation as well as your EDI ambitions;

Identify the internal / external resources needed to deliver against your EDI strategy and upskill your teams on EDI best practice. Consider creating an EDI team or an EDI Committee to help engage employees across the organisation and work with senior management;

Put your plan into action and communicate progress regularly. Be transparent with your employees about areas where improvement is needed, and how you will go about this. Be sure to regularly consult and share your findings with your organisation’s board members and ERGs;

Senior leadership should visibly lead EDI and revisit the strategy on a regular basis in order to monitor and deliver progress. Agreed goals should be regularly measured and assessed against results, and any necessary changes put in place.  The acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound) can be useful in setting goals.

This process can reinforce the EDI policy and support the wider intended culture of the organisation. By reviewing existing policies, it can also open opportunities for addressing how well the policy supports the organisation, where it is, and where it is planning to go.

When reviewing existing policies employers must consider the accessibility needs of their employees and clients. When reviewing existing policies, consider asking:

  • Where is the office? 
  • Is the built environment accessible as well as sustainable? 
  • Does your website explain how to reach the office by public transport?
  • Does it also explain how to reach the office if you are disabled?

Take a look at policies for HR, career progression, recruitment, and leadership development. Analyse how accessible these policies are to various departments within your organisation. This includes carrying out research, focus groups or using spotlights, as seen below, to consider the most inclusive and equitable practices. Consider working with a professional organisation to conduct a policy review to help you identify  and close policy gaps in your organisation.

A flexible work schedule is a great way to make your organisation more attractive to potential candidates, particularly if they have caring responsibilities. Reasonable adjustments ensure your organisation is inclusive to all, by meeting their specific needs. They typically will involve adapting working methods, procedures, or the physical work environment to mitigate against any potential disadvantage. 

Flexible working can improve employee well-being and morale, reduce sick leave, protect against burnout and ill-health, and increase productivity and career longevity. It is also a crucial way to support parents and carers, and help retain neurodiverse and disabled employees. 

It is important to note that employers have a legal duty to deal with requests for flexible working in a reasonable manner, and offer an appeal process should the request be denied.
 

In 2022, Laing O’Rourke launched an industry-leading global parental leave policy, which reflects an equal parenting approach for all. Read more about the policy Any Gender, Any Birth, Any Child.

Senior leadership support for your organisation’s EDI ambitions is critical as they have influence over organisational priorities and can ensure the EDI vision is effectively communicated. Equally important are middle leaders and managers; without their buy-in, EDI is very difficult to embed.  Spending time ensuring they understand the organisation’s vision, values and expectations on EDI is critical to how the strategy is received and implemented.  

A maturity matrix is a helpful tool to assess your organisation on EDI, review progress, and consider next steps. You can see an example of a maturity matrix. While there is no ‘right-way’ to publicise your EDI progress and future milestones, sharing metrics is a great way of building transparency and accountability for yourself and other organisations in the sector. Inviting feedback from both internal and external stakeholders can provide further opportunities for honest reflection and building on key successes. Equally EDI is an ongoing process of improvement, so it is important to be honest about any challenges, admit mistakes, and be open to constructive criticism.

Regular internal communication on your organisation’s commitment to EDI is crucial to keeping employees engaged with your strategy. Making your EDI commitment public ensures accountability of senior leadership, encouraging stakeholder buy-in. Communication around your EDI strategy should also invite views and feedback from both internal and external stakeholders. Where feedback isn’t positive, it is important to be honest about any challenges, admit mistakes, and treat EDI as an ongoing process of improvement.

Many organisations communicate their commitment to EDI by signing a pledge. This can be helpful in raising industry standards and encouraging open dialogue across organisations.

Explicit commitments, or ‘pledges’, can be made as part of a focused and targeted campaign to achieve desired outcomes within a workforce community.

  • The Diverse Sustainability Initiative is a collaborative programme which has made a public commitment to transform diversity within the sustainability and wider environment sector.
  • Green 2.0 is an annual league table of staff racial diversity in the top 40 environmental not-for-profits and top 40 environmental foundations in the USA. The # is a UK version planned for 2022.
  • The WISE Campaign aims to improve representation of women and girls in science, technology, engineering, manufacturing, construction.
  • The Construction Industry Council has a range of commitments and data for you to consider including a Roadmap for Change, various diversity and inclusion commitments, and Inclusive Environments Recognition Certification.
  • The Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering Pledge is a joint initiative from Construction News and New Civil Engineer.

Collect data on the diversity of your workforce

Data is fundamental to any successful EDI initiative. Without understanding the breakdown of who is in your workforce, it is difficult to identify where particular interventions will successfully improve EDI outcomes. You can find information and resources to help you collate your organisation's data.

As a starting point, consider the method you will use to collect data - a short survey can be a useful tool. Begin with asking about the nine protected characteristics and consider any qualitative information you would like to gather from your workforce. Once you have collected demographic data, ensure that you analyse the results through an intersectional lens.

The Construction Leadership Council has developed an industry-wide approach to EDI measurement, data collection and monitoring to provide better information to construction employers about their workforce and improve future action for diversity and inclusion.

Energy and Utilities Skills are developing an Inclusion Measurement Framework to create a comprehensive benchmark on EDI, which can then provide clear evidence of where the sector and individual employers can take action to progress diversity and inclusion.

A new data drive has been set up by Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK), Nature Youth Connection and Education, and South Asians for Sustainability and Hindu Climate Action, asking environmental NGOs and charities to report publicly on the racial diversity of their workforce on an annual basis.

Green 2.0 released a guide to best practice in demographic data collection.

Engage with other industry organisations and trade unions to access advice and support on EDI

For Priority Group individuals not currently working in the sector, seeing a whole industry committed to positive change may help alter perceptions that the industry is not for them. Engaging with other industry organisations can help organisations access advice and support, whilst also sharing lessons learnt and best practice. It provides an opportunity for the industry to evolve into a sector committed to inclusion.

Trade unions are also an authoritative source of guidance on equality issues in the workplace. If your employees are members of a union, their representatives will be an important stakeholder in consulting on and developing your EDI strategy. Whether your employees are members or not, the Trades Union Congress has a range of helpful resources on EDI issues.

If you are a larger organisation, consider the ways in which you can take an active role in sharing information with smaller organisations. This provides your organisation with an opportunity to demonstrate leadership on relevant EDI topics.

Here are some of the ways that your organisation can start to think about engaging and collaborating:

  1. Encourage and support employees to speak on external industry panels and publicise these events explicitly via all appropriate channels;
  2. Share green sector EDI best practice with other organisations, as well as obtaining guidance on how best to facilitate a robust EDI strategy and culture. Share collaborations publicly to bolster accountability;
  3. Consider cross sector mentoring and reverse mentoring; 
  4. Take part in research within the sector to improve data disclosure, data gathering, and data analysis in relation to EDI.

Organisations of any size can use resources targeted at micro-enterprises to consider what actions they could be taking to support micro-enterprises in the sector (Link to Industry Specific Research Page for green once webpage created).

London Sustainable Schools Forum - A collective of teachers, local authority officers, third sector workers, private sector workers, governors and others who volunteer their time to aid schools in becoming more sustainable.

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) is the leading professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in the UK, Ireland and abroad. They have introduced a range of initiatives to create change towards EDI in the industry.

CIEEM also created an initiative to inspire the next generation and highlight the variety of roles available within the sector, and how they can be accessed and applied for.

RCU conducted a valuable research piece after being commissioned by the GLA to explore how the demand for green skills is met by the Adult Education Budget (AEB).

The Mayor of London has established Academies Hubs in key sectors, including for the green economy, to help Londoners gain skills to access good work and to help employers fill vacancies with skilled employees. Each hub brings together employers, education and training providers and sector bodies to work together to develop clear pathways into employment and ensure a coordinated offer of training, work experience and advice and guidance for Londoners. See here for more information on the hubs in the Mayor’s Green Academy, each of which focus on particular areas of London and particular sectors, such as construction, energy, transport and waste.

Publish pay gap reports

While high-level data reporting is necessary, you should also gather data on pay, to understand if there are any major disparities. Do not limit this to gender alone, but research potential discrepancies of pay by ethnicity, disability or within departments and teams.

We recommended that organisations are transparent with their data and any steps for action that result from the findings. This helps build trust among staff and shows accountability. In March 2022, the UK government launched a Pay Transparency pilot with the aim of removing barriers for women in the workplace.

Host, sponsor or attend outreach events to Employee Resource Groups and underrepresented networks in your location

Individuals from the Priority Groups told us they were unlikely to enter the green sector, often because they didn’t have a full understanding of it. Furthermore, interviewees not in the sector generally wouldn’t know where to look for job vacancies in the green sector. This was typically attributed to not knowing what type of job website these roles would be advertised on, or how to search for roles. This lack of transparency and visibility on what green economy roles are, and what careers they can lead to, provides a great opportunity to advance awareness.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are small networks in which individuals who share a particular characteristic band together to support and engage with one another. These groups are rooted in creating safe spaces to discuss the challenges they come across, the strategies that work for them, and how to progress in their careers. Developing strong relationships with these groups enables employers to network with diverse members of the workforce and collaborate with them for events. Through this collaboration, employers and ERG’s can develop mutually beneficial relationships that enable employers to gain insight into the lived experiences of those from underrepresented backgrounds and demonstrate their commitment to robust and authentic EDI best practices. 

Black Geographers is a collective of Black geography students and graduates with the shared experience of isolation and exclusion within the field.

Black Professionals in Construction is a built environment network that works alongside businesses in the sector to improve ethnic minority representation and retention.

Muslim Hikers are an outdoor initiative founded by mountaineer Haroon Mota with the focus on diversifying the outdoor world and 'inspiring Muslims to get outdoors’.

Below you can find further information on some non-green sector specific community groups: