The
National Forest Company is responsible for leading the creation of the National
Forest, working in partnership with landowners, businesses, public, private and
voluntary organisations and local communities to deliver and champion the
shared vision for the Forest.
In 2023:
The National Forest Company has provided EDI training to its Trustees and Senior Leadership Team and has identified opportunities for training for the wider team. We have expanded our diversity monitoring beyond recruitment to include applicants and recipients of our grant schemes, and those registering to take part in a new volunteer group launched this year. We have also undertaken a detailed assessment of the communities we serve so that we can better understand our reach and potential gaps. The National Forest website will be launched in 2024 and will be fully accessible to WCAG 2.2 AA compliance, and will be continuously updated annually to check for accessibility and good user experience for all users. The National Forest communications strategy has also highlighted a number of diverse trend days and engagement mechanisms to cover wider audiences throughout our communications activity; including working with LGBTQ+ writers, wellbeing practitioners and more.
In 2024:
The National Forest Company commits to offering specific and detailed EDI training to all its staff in the coming year. We will also establish a more formal process to ensure EDI is fully embedded in the initial development stage of any new projects. We will update our EDI action plan with specific targets for engagement and accessibility moving forward. We also commit to reviewing our recruitment process to ensure we are reaching the full range of potentially suitable candidates, and that the application process is fully accessible to all.