Sustainability West Midlands (SWM) was established in 2002 as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and for over 22 years has been striving to help the West Midlands become more sustainable, greener and fairer for everyone. We play our part by acting as a catalyst for change through our advice, developing practical solutions with our members, and sharing knowledge and success through our communications.
SWM has always recognised the importance of celebrating diversity in our approach, with ‘respectful’ forming one of our three core values. In 2021, we formally recognised our commitment to EDI by embedding it as one of the 10 goals in our Business Plan to 2030. However, we recognise that there is an issue when it comes to EDI in the sustainability sector. We hope to ensure that, through the implementation of our EDI Action Plan, we:
- Advance the equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- Minimise disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristic
- Meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people
- Encourage people from protected groups to participate in our activities where their participation is disproportionately low
Through implementation of our EDI Action Plan, these positive developments will support the delivery of our Sustainability Roadmap to 2030 ambition of ‘Social Equity and Health’ as well as delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, 10 and 17. The EDI Action Plan will be reviewed annually and refreshed as required. It will be reported on and discussed at team, board and External Advisory Committee meetings.