Hope Solutions is a leading sustainability consultancy and solutions provider for international businesses, projects and events.
Hope Solutions is committed to improving diversity within the environment
and sustainability sector and among environment and sustainability
professionals.
In 2022:
Successful flexible working model - Implementation is ongoing as new starters join but feedback from employees during quarterly reviews is encouraging to hear that hybrid working and optional flexible hours allows them more flexibility in their day/week to manage their workload and our client’s expectations with success.
Company recently undertook an internal strategy and values meeting to review both our company and individual employee team members values, motivations, boundaries and expectations etc, to align on an agreed vision, missions and values.
On our last recruitment round candidates were screened and assessed on skills, experience and best fit for the job role requirements in order to reduce any unconscious bias. We would like to take this a step further in future recruitment to explore anonymised applications.
Reviewed all employee salaries to date and adjusted accordingly in line with experience, training undertaken and their position. There will also be continuous reviews as we onboard new staff and as individual staff knowledge develops to maintain pay equity. This is in addition to ensuring all staff and regular subcontractors receive the real living wage (as a minimum).
Begun to engage a handful of clients with ED&I and social sustainability alongside their carbon reduction targets. We would like to increase the reach of this this further this year.
All employees undertaken a unconscious bias training webinar, with 1 employee going further and completing a short CIPD course: Inclusion & Diversity Introductory Programme.
Helped developed a programme with an external colleague for a client to look at providing internships, by looking at ED&I from a grassroots level within their organisation and event. This would include engaging organisation's on best recruitment practices, as well as ensuring mental health and welfare support throughout for the successful applicants.
In 2023:
Hope Solutions is committed to improving diversity within the environment and sustainability sector and among environment and sustainability professionals.
We endeavour to maintain our commitments we made in 2022. In addition targeting some of the action points we didn't achieve and aim to improve on. We acknowledge that we are on a journey with ED&I and are developing our knowledge and continually learning to ensure a more equitable workplace and industry.
1. Complete an internal assessment of of our internal company structure, looking at core demographics to better understand our data and position in order to create an appropriate action plan
2. Developing a Company ED&I action plan through collaboration with diverse voices and experts.
3. Flexible working to support employees and working parents to strike the balance between work and home life.
4. Providing leadership opportunities for all employees with a focus on ED&I
5. Removing barriers to employment and exploring options for anonymised recruitment to reduce unconscious bias
6. Speaking up and providing a platform for colleagues to share their lived experiences as well as bringing in other voices
7. Working alongside others to introduce a mentoring scheme for female and non-binary professionals as well as those who identify within minority groups
8.All employees will receive the real living wage (as a minimum) from hire, reviewing all salaries annually to ensure we’re maintaining salaries in line with cost of living /inflation
9. Continuing to maintain pay parity for all staff according to position, by reviewing regularly and revising accordingly.
10. Embedding diverse practices into stakeholder engagement activities for clients to ensure an inclusive process from the beginning whilst consulting on their sustainability strategies.
11. Provide ED&I workshops and training for the team and increase staff competence around ED&I discussion