Diversity is not a competition but a goal that will only be achieved through combined efforts and partnership

Arup

In January 2019, we published our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy, “Total Inclusion”, which set out our four strategic aims to deliver clear and tangible objectives and targets for our entire organisation to achieve. In 2022, whilst we are still focusing and evolving our efforts around delivering against our four strategic aims contained within our Total Inclusion strategy, our immediate priority actions directly respond to our key findings in our employee Inclusion Survey, employee diversity data trends and consultation with our under-represented groups – these are as follows:

1. A new and more transparent approach to promotions
2. Investing in developing more BAME leaders
3. Investing in developing a Reciprocal Mentoring scheme
4. Setting ethnicity aspirational goals to improve representation at all levels
5. Leadership accountability for driving and delivering EDI across our organisation

Ashden

Ashden's mission is to accelerate transformative climate solutions and build a more just world. Our awards, events, networks and analysis support climate innovation in the UK and developing countries around the world.

Ashden can only create a fairer, better, low-carbon future if we improve diversity in our organisation and work for change in the wider climate sector. A broader range of views and experiences will help us understand the challenges different communities face, and support solutions that work for all. To achieve our goals we are working with fellow members of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust on a common diversity, equity and inclusion policy. In recent years we have taken practical steps such as improving the diversity of our board and awards judging panels, and introducing inclusive recruitment measures. But there is much more to do – so we pledge to continue investing in action, and to monitoring and sharing the results of our efforts.

Astutis

We are committed to driving positive change within our own business, our partner and customer community through the promotion and delivery of environmental and sustainability skills training.

Banka BioLoo Limited

Diverse Sustainability is not a mere Initiative at Banka BioLoo. We live and practice diverse sustainability every day, at all work sites – making it more of an attitude and a habit.

We shall uphold the diversity of age, class, caste, race, religion, ethnicity, immigration status, ability status, sexual orientation, and most importantly, gender in our policies and practices.

We commit to diverse sustainability internally and externally - in recruitment, promotion, pay and everything else; and very importantly, in our solution delivery to the varied users.

We, already, profess diversity in our work. We'll, further, strengthen it.

Bat Conservation Trust

Our objectives:

• Adding EDI to our risk register and for the issues to be considered at both senior management and trustee meetings.
• Undertaking a survey of staff, trustees, members and other volunteers to understand the current make-up of our workforce and supporters
• Reviewing our recruitment/induction processes and implementing changes to make them more inclusive
• Providing placements for three Kickstarters via the partnership Race 4 Nature
• Providing unconscious bias training for our staff
• Adding WCL anti-racism statement to our website and speaking out more about our work on diversity

Bluedotaug Ltd

Bluedotaug's Vision is 'Change Perception, Change the World' reflecting how all change needs us to rethink how we see things; it's time for the world to see sustainability as profession which represents the real population as how we are perceived right now is out of kilter with reality.

We will uphold this commitment by taking the opportunity to challenge behaviours which aren't inclusive, speaking up in support of diversity and encouraging clients to review recruitment and development policies in the work we do as a consultancy; acting as an ally through coaching and mentoring practice; and as we grow building a diverse culture. Our vision is 'Change perception, change the world' which means helping people to take a different view enables them to do things differently. Our values 'Survive, Hive, Thrive' incorporate diverse thinking to enable us to build an inclusive business. By recognising we don't have all the answers and embracing the opportunity to learn we will make a difference.

British Trust for Ornithology

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) would like to make a public commitment to improving diversity by working towards the following commitments:

• Make Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) more visible on our website
• Add EDI to our risk register
• Provide more EDI related resources to support managers with recruitment
• Introduce blind applications for short listing all jobs
• Provide unconscious bias training for all BTO staff
• Collate baseline information on diversity of staff and applicants
• Consider ways to capture baseline information on diversity of our supporters and volunteer surveyors
• Commit to hosting at least one Kickstart internship

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was established because of serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. In the last 80 years our bumblebee populations have crashed. Two species have become nationally extinct and several others have declined dramatically. We have a vision to create a world where bumblebees are thriving and valued ensuring our future food security.

On our website we have an EDI statement: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/how-we-are-run/

We are committed to improving diversity by continuing to listen and learn and build on our journey so far - Successfully achieved the Investors in Diversity for Charities Award ,Member of BEN Staff training and internal forum on EDI. EDI action plan and policy. Members of RN EDI Forum, mentoring young diverse students.

Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management

Working with our members to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion issues within our profession, identifying barriers to diversity and inclusivity and taking collaborative action to address them.

We will use the Professional Bodies Diversity and Inclusion Progression Framework to identify an action plan regarding our own D&I performance.

We have set up a staff and members working group on this issue and undertaken a members’ survey to gather some baseline data. We will use this survey to put more detail around the issues of exclusion and identify actions.

We will run some workshops focusing on issues relating to BAME access to our profession and what needs to change.

We will include addressing diversity and inclusion in our Strategic Goals and keep them visible on our governance agenda.

We will give members a voice on this issue.

We will be a part of change.

City to Sea

Our objectives:

• Increasing staff confidence and competence regarding diversity issues and creating the conditions to diversify our staff, board and volunteers by attending team-wide quarterly training sessions from EDI experts in the environmental sector. 2022 focus areas: Intersectionality, Decolonialising Environmentalism, Inequalities faced by LGBTI persons and persons with disabilities.
• Conducting quarterly monitoring of team satisfaction with our diversity & inclusion actions.
• Having annual diversity targets for our staff and board.
• Working with diversity experts and influencers to ensure our campaigns have the best reach to inspire and diversify the movement and sector at large.
• Considering diversity and inclusion in the identification and screening of all new partners to create awareness and shared commitment across the supply chain.
• Implementing a ‘guarantee for interview’ to all candidates who identify as having a disability or from a minority ethnic group.
• Sharing our learnings via the Diverse Sustainability Initiative, as well as pro-actively engaging and sharing our findings with other organisations in our sector (e.g., engagement with DSI, participation in The RACE Report and in Break Free From Plastic).
• Having an annual, ringfenced EDI consultancy budget.
• Participation in Bristol’s ‘Black and Green’ initiative providing pro-bono mentoring for ambassadors.

Climate Labs

Climate Labs is a multidisciplinary design consultancy focused on design for sustainability.

We understand in order to make the shift to a regenerative and equitable future, we need to look at ourselves, our organisations and our actions. We continue to work with and stand by sustainability leaders that are challenging the system!

We will uphold our commitment to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative by continuing to challenge the narrative and promote people of colour engaged in pro sustainability action.

Costain

Costain is a technology-based construction and engineering company operating across the aviation, defence, energy, highways, rail and water sectors. We deliver a broad range of innovative services across the whole life cycle of our clients’ assets through the delivery of integrated consultancy, asset optimisation, technology, and complex delivery services. Our purpose is to improve people’s lives by helping to connect and keep the nation moving; keep water clean and flowing; power communities sustainably and keep people safe. Being a responsible business underpins everything that we do.

Costain is an inclusive and family friendly employer: we believe that everyone matters, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities to be able to reach their full potential. We know that by being more diverse, we will be more innovative, have a greater understanding of our clients’ needs and will deliver smarter, more inclusive solutions for them. Our goal is to have a workforce that is representative of society and our inclusion strategy sets out the actions we need to take to achieve our goal. We commit to developing an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan for Environment and Sustainability staff to assess our current inclusivity and identify areas of improvement and actions to create a more inclusive culture.

Crowberry Consulting Ltd

We operate to ISO9001 Quality Management Standard and are a Lancashire Skills Pledge provider, as well as a Chartered Environmentalist Employer Champion. We are a women owned/LGBT business and work to ensure that our opportunities to join our team are promoted to BAME, women and LGBTQIA applicants consistently.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

We've been protecting wildlife and wild spaces in Derbyshire since 1962. As the leading conservation charity in Derbyshire, we work hard to support our local wildlife with the support of our wonderful volunteers and members. With 49 Nature Reserves across the county and countless conservation and wellbeing projects. Our purpose is to achieve our vision of a Wilder Derbyshire. We will achieve this by pursuing our mission to create nature recovery networks. We will deliver our mission by leading nature’s recovery, inspiring people and communities to care and mobilising people to act. We want to help nature to recover from the decline that for decades has been the staple diet of scientific studies and news stories. We believe passionately that wildlife and natural processes need to have space to thrive, beyond designated nature reserves and other protected sites. To achieve this it is vital that the richest wildlife sites are protected and sustained as a starting point from which nature can spread back into our wider landscapes. Despite being land locked Derbyshire Wildlife Trust must also protect marine areas for a future when our marine wildlife can thrive more widely. We believe that people are part of nature; everything we value ultimately comes from it and everything we do impacts upon it.

We will build awareness and foster an inclusive culture by listening, learning and being honest. -We will ensure everyone feels valued, accepted and enabled to reach their full potential without pressure to conform. -We will work to reduce the barriers that prevent people accessing nature. -We will ensure more people from diverse backgrounds are accessing and engaging with nature in Derbyshire. -We will ensure Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has a wide range of opportunities for people from all backgrounds to gain work experience and skills in nature conservation. -We will ensure we have a diverse workforce, Board, volunteer and supporter base that is more reflective of the communities that we serve.

Earthwatch Europe

Earthwatch Europe is an environmental charity with science at its heart. We drive the change needed to live within our means and in balance with nature. We do this by connecting people with the natural world, monitoring the health of our natural resources and informing the actions that will have the greatest positive impact.

Our commitments are to:

• Ensure Earthwatch is a place where individuality is embraced and everyone has the opportunity to thrive
• Identify and remove any barriers to greater equality and inclusion within our recruitment processes
• Put a plan in place to build a more diverse Board of Trustees
• Review equity within the organisation, starting with a gender equity plan
• Review our existing programmes and develop new programmes aimed at giving increased equity and increased diversity, starting with young minority ethnic people

ECIU

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit is a non-profit organisation that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK.

Climate change presents important challenges and opportunities to Britons in the decades ahead, while the choices we make on energy have implications for society, the economy and the climate system. We believe that debates on these issues should be underpinned by evidence, and involve the full range of stakeholders.

We support journalists, parliamentarians and other communicators with accurate and accessible briefings on key issues, and work with individuals and organisations that have interesting stories to tell, helping them connect to the national conversation.

We plan to:

• Institute a paid internship with ECIU for a recent graduate from a Black, Asian or other ethnic minority background
• Review our recruitment procedures, testing changes like removing names and other identifying data from applications for so that the recruitment process actively seeks to reduce unconscious bias.
• Broaden the diversity of our advisory board members to bring in more voices from Black, Asian or other minority ethnic backgrounds.
• Pursue training for the ECIU team, connecting with and learning from other organisations to understand better how we can build diversity and inclusion into our communications.
• Build equality, diversion and inclusion into our planning processes, risk management and personal development and review (PDR) processes, including building it into our purpose, setting ourselves a requirement to account for how we are building it into our work when we report to funders, and nominating a board member and a member of staff to champion and lead on diversity and inclusion.
• Communicate this commitment and work to other organisations in our sector with whom we work particularly closely, with a view to encouraging others to sign up to this initiative, and work with us on elements of these commitments.

Ecobirmingham

We are a sustainability charity, supporting greener, fairer and healthier communities in Birmingham. We deliver a range of activities from cycling, education, community gardening, and sustainability action planning.

Our Board approved our Diversity and Inclusion Approach in November 2021 - extract below:

Our agreed approach April 202-25: 4 Actions We become more intentional in how we are seeking to address diversity within the organisation, and therefore help staff become more confident in how we design and delivery our work to reach different audiences and areas.

1. Sign up to the sector IEMA Diverse Sustainability Initiative – this allows us to set out that we are up to the challenge with the rest of the sector to increase its ethnic diversity over the next 10 years. We are already implementing many of their recommendations around HR and recruitment. Also demonstrates clear transparency around goals and progress.

2. As part of our commitment set targets within our new 3-year strategy:

• Governance, Age, and links to more diverse communities should be in the future mix of criteria for new Board members, together with digital skills, and a different area of the city. Therefore: o Recruit a Board member that has access to a range of networks across the city that represent more diverse communities Recruit a young Trustee Board member (22-30) and provide mentoring from an existing Board member. Operations - Audiences
• Be aware of role of ‘power’ in relationships by seeking to provide opportunities for those who are often not in in positions of authority and power to be heard and contribute to decision making within the organisation and the services we deliver.
• Include diversity as one of future risks / performance indicators to ensure we develop better solutions that reach more people within Birmingham – and prioritise increasing our diversity in terms of ethnicity and areas, such as the inner wards of the city, and engage in several communities in Birmingham that have ethnic majority populations.
• Explore what we can do to engage more men in environmental change
• Commission research so we can understand the barriers and needs of the groups we are currently not reaching Operations - Training
• Discuss with staff how they can be supported to become more confident in engaging with different audiences. Operations - Communications
• Need to put up profile pictures of our staff and Board as open and transparent, together with our diversity approach, and a call for those who might criticise our representation to help us.
• Actively use partnerships with other groups and organisations with a reach into other groups to work with us and promote and promote our joint work e.g., “our staff worked with partner x to work with group y, which is new to us, we learned z and aim to do more of z in the future”

3. Within the new 3-year strategy explore a paid service for high income households to reduce their environmental impact and subsidise support for lower income households.

4. To report progress on implementing these actions as a standing item on the People Policy and Impact Monitoring Committee (Every 6 months) Responsible Staff Member: Director Responsible Board Member: Chair of PPIM Committee, Kathy Hopkin Adopted: ecobirmingham Board 18-11-21 (Next review date January 2025)

Energy Confidence with Phil Beardmore

I have oodles of experience in:

• energy saving advice to householders
• energy saving advice to small businesses
• strategic environmental consultancy
• helping to develop new environmental and energy saving projects.

I will mentor an environmental professional who identifies within a minority group, over a 12 month period.

Environment Analyst

The Sustainability Delivery Group aims to harness the environmental and sustainability consultancy sector’s potential to deliver sustainability.

The Group's objectives are to:

• Improve the value proposition of the environmental and sustainability consultancy industry
• Drive forward the industry's leadership role in providing innovative solutions to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crises
• Listen carefully to client sectors' needs and promote stakeholder dialogue with consultancy practice leaders

We also seek to:

• Inspire the next generation of sustainability leaders
• Promote diversity and inclusion
• Promote international business opportunities
• Represent the whole environmental consulting sector, large and small, specialist and multidisciplinary

As a Group, we are hoping to act as a point of liaison for the new initiative, to promote the involvement of environmental consulting firms.

Environmental Services Association

Our objectives:

• Promoting best practice diversity initiatives from across our industry in our annual reports
• Reviewing our recruitment processes
• Reviewing our equal opportunities policy

Fauna & Flora International

Our objectives:

• Reviewing FFI’s Values with a view to explicitly incorporating equality, diversity and inclusion
• Collating baseline data on our diversity within the UK to enable us to understand our current diversity, set transparent targets and measure our progress against those targets
• Transferring from unpaid internships to paid internships and advertising opportunities to reach under-represented groups, in order to improve access to the profession (recognising that unpaid internships create a barrier to diversity and inclusion)
• Creating safe spaces where those from under-represented groups can come together confidentially and share insights and experiences
• Adding Equality, Diversity & Inclusion considerations, both at Governance and Employee level, into our Risk Register
• Reviewing our recruitment and selection procedures to identify where we may be creating barriers to diversity and inclusion, including:

1. Embedding Equality, Diversity & Inclusion principles in our recruitment and selection processes
2. Reviewing our employer brand and redesigning our career site to attract a more diverse talent pool
3. Including positive action statements on our career site and in application packs
4. Ensuring application packs use inclusive terminology and do not overstate the skills/experience required for a role
5. Exploring mechanisms for anonymising job applications
6. Exploring a greater range of advertising media, and particularly social media, to reach a more diverse talent pool

Fit For Purpose Consultancy Ltd

Fit for Purpose is a boutique sustainability consultancy, and our mission is to help businesses to lead through purpose. We help businesses of all sizes identify the positive contribution they can make to people and planet, and then work with them to broaden and deepen those positive impacts, whilst also reducing or eliminating the negative impacts. Our role is to bring purpose to life through identifying key actions businesses can take, and helping them listen and respond to the needs and expectations of a broad range of stakeholders, from customers and staff to the communities where they operate.

Our aim is to build a business which is reflective of diverse society in which we operate. We specifically offer a pledge to diversity by offering mentorships or buddy schemes for professionals who identify as within minority groups within our business. In addition, we have added diversity to our risk register and this is now considered at the highest level of our organisation on a regular basis.

Frefort Consulting

Fredfort Consulting is a management consulting company providing corporate strategy development based on derived data- based business insights and research. Effective strategies are not only developed but implemented to ensure effectiveness through monitoring & evaluation activities. Fredfort Consulting is incorporated as a registered Nigerian company in December 2020. Fredfort Consulting is set up to provide the following services:

• Business Consulting

• Corporate Strategy Development & Implementation

• Data Analytics & Business Intelligence Services

• Business Development & Management Services

• Research & Advisory Services

• Learning & Development (LD) We will earn the trust of everyone impacted by our operations, demonstrating our commitment to ethics, diversity and human rights through our words and actions. This includes working to ensure the health and safety of our employees, and promoting societal benefit through community investment activities.

FSC UK

The Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC®) UK is a registered charity dedicated to promoting responsibly forestry and helping to ensure Forests For All Forever.

FSC UK would like to make a public commitment to work towards improving diversity within the environment and sustainability sector, and among environment and sustainability professionals.

We will initiate this work in our own organisation by:

• Adding the issue of diversity to our risk register
• Reviewing our recruitment processes
• Removing names from application forms
• Reviewing our Equal Opportunities Policy
• Learning from others

Future We Want

Future We Want is a female-led business, providing fun, engaging and science-based learning about carbon footprints to a variety of audiences. We're currently pivoting away from sustainability consultancy in HE in order to maximise our impacts in engagement in order to help businesses and individuals to hit their net zero targets.

They have committed to uphold this commitment by: Supporting positive initiatives such as BlackCodHERS and reviewing our HR approach to encourage more applicants from under-represented groups to apply to work with us.

Global Generation

Global Generation would like to make a public commitment to improving diversity within the environment and sustainability sector, and among environment and sustainability professionals.

We will uphold this commitment by improving our processes from an Equity and Inclusion angle, particularly focusing on:

• Recruitment: Ensure that our team of staff, trustees, volunteers, freelancers and contractors reflect London’s diverse population and actively seek to recruit to redress imbalances, as well as prioritise local recruitment
• Retention: Retain, develop and progress our staff through ongoing training, by encouraging curiosity, new learning and sharing perspectives and by designing safe channels for feedback
• Accessibility of our gardens: Improve our accessibility in language and layout of our physical spaces. Increase outreach to harder-to-reach groups, prioritise use of the gardens to respond to the needs of local communities. Ensure that our spaces reflect the diversity of our locations through inclusive codesign, made with local communities rather than for local communities
• Inclusive communications: Use of language on marketing materials (website, flyers, hoarding, etc), more use of visuals, translations, sign language, sensory for blind people, welcoming entrances to the gardens
• Global perspectives: Use an equity and inclusion lens when developing programmes, designing gardens, growing plants and in the stories we tell through educating ourselves and working in partnership with people from different backgrounds and with different lived experiences
• Partnership working: actively seek out partnerships from a wider network of local, national and global organisations to ensure we are aware of latest movements and ideas around racial, land and environmental justice

To show progress on these commitments, we will provide an update to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative every six months.

Green Alliance

Green Alliance is an independent think tank focused on ambitious leadership for the environment. We are committed to meaningful change to become are more diverse and inclusive organisation and to improve diversity in the wider environment sector. Over the next six months, we will:

• Integrate our commitment to diversity and inclusion into our upcoming 2021-2024 organisational strategy
• Develop an EDI action plan that we report to board on twice a year
• Review our recruitment procedures
• Review & improve representation in our external communications
• Ensure the presence of a D&I champion on the board

To show progress on these commitments, we will provide an update to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative every six months.

Greenheart Consulting

Greenheart is a Certified B Corporation full-service social & environmental impact consultancy dedicated to helping companies integrate regenerative thinking throughout their business model.

We specialise in B Corp certification and re-certification, impact strategy & governance and environmental & supply chain sustainability management.

We have committed to working to develop processes, particularly for recruitment, around the following core commitment: "The Greenheart ecosystem must ultimately represent as wide a range of backgrounds and characteristics as possible. Not because we feel we need to but because we want to and recognise the innate strength and resilience that comes from diversity."

Grown in Britain

Grown in Britain works at every stage of the forest product supply chain to support the use of UK timber.

We are determined to play a full role in highlighting the lack of diversity in the sustainability sector and leading change where appropriate. We need to change but first we need to understand and learn in order to act and lead with purpose and therefore we will be engaging with a ‘reverse mentor’ at the earliest opportunity to guide our journey.

GS2 Partnership | Global Sustainable Search

We are an executive search firm focusing on the sustainability profession. Led by a person of colour, we believe strongly in transforming the sustainability sector, by encouraging and supporting individuals from diverse backgrounds into the profession.

We will uphold our commitment by ensuring that all of the searches we conduct on behalf of our clients are diverse. We challenge the norm and hold our clients to account, to encourage diverse thinking within their recruitment processes. We train our clients in unconscious bias interviewing, along with working with them on their diversity goals. We established a mentoring programme for future leaders within the sustainability space, with a focus around diverse candidates and individuals pivoting into the space.

GuildHE

GuildHE is an officially recognised representative body for UK Higher Education. Our members are universities, university colleges and other institutions, each with a distinctive mission and priorities. They work closely with industries and professions and include major providers in technical and professional subject areas such as art, design and media, music and the performing arts; agriculture, food and the natural environment; the built environment; education; law; health and sports. Many are global organisations engaged in significant partnerships and producing locally relevant and world-leading research.

GuildHE and its members pride ourselves on our work to drive cultural, social and economic development throughout the UK. Our values are modelled on being ethical, inclusive and creative. Social justice is a key pillar of our values and a core part of our strategy and drives how we work. Higher education is transformative for individuals, beneficial to industry, local communities and wider society but the sector’s progress on tackling racial inequalities has been slow. The Black Lives Matter Campaign has highlighted just how much further we need to go as a society to address inequalities, and acknowledge that racism is still a significant social issue in all parts of the world, including in the UK. It is no longer acceptable for equality and diversity work to be confined only to discussions around HR and access and participation. For meaningful and lasting change to happen we must all take responsibility for being proactive in identifying barriers and prejudices and take action to create a more inclusive education environment.

Many of our members have made progress already, working in collaboration with schools and our local communities, but there is always more that can be done. We are acutely aware that many of the locations of our member institutions, and the industries they serve also have systemic barriers to equality. We want our approach to have a direct and positive impact on these communities and encourage swifter and more impactful action from other stakeholders. To create a fair society we need to ensure that everyone is doing their part to challenge and change systemic barriers, including in schools and employers.

GuildHE has developed Anti-Racism Programme for members that supports a more conscious and impactful approach to improving equality in UK HE, and provides resources, discussion groups and activity sharing across our diverse institutions. Stage one supports members to develop their own anti-racism strategy, provide educational opportunities on what barriers need to be overcome, and inspire all staff and students to be anti-racism champions. Stage two will connect our thinking and practice to the industries we serve.

All of our practitioner networks will be given allyship training and be encouraged to evaluate and develop a truly inclusive approach to their work. As part of this programme we are committed to reviewing our own internal processes and structures to ensure that we continue to live up to our values and are continually learning how we can be allies to make sustained change happen.

By approaching this work through the lens of anti-racism we are consciously realigning equality and diversity work to be more action focused, wide reaching and more impactful. We will be mindful of the complexities of the systemic barriers in regards to intersectionality and different ethnic communities, and use evidence and historical context to lead our work together with members of our higher education communities and beyond.

Hope Solutions

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.

We will uphold this commitment by:

• Developing an action plan through collaboration with diverse voices and experts
• Promoting flexible working to support employees and working parents to strike the balance between work and home life
• Providing leadership opportunities for all employees with a focus on ED&I
• Removing barriers to employment and exploring options for anonymised recruitment to reduce unconscious bias
• Speaking up and providing a platform for colleagues to share their lived experiences as well as bringing in other voices
• Working alongside others to introduce a mentoring scheme for female and non-binary professionals as well as those who identify within minority groups
• Embedding diverse practices into stakeholder engagement activities for clients to ensure an inclusive process from the beginning whilst consulting on their sustainability strategies.

To show progress on these commitments we will review every six months and make this a core part of our business sustainability monitoring and reporting. People are as important to us as the Planet so we strive to behave and operate in a way that enables everyone to be a part of the solution to the climate crisis.

ICEC-MCM-UKRI

The Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Mineral-based Construction Materials is a joint project with 25 world class academics from UCL, the Universities of Leeds, Loughborough, Lancaster and Sheffield, Imperial College London and BGS with the support of more than 50 industry partners. Together, we aim to develop the scientific and socio-economic understanding and technological basis for design and implementation of systems, processes and policy that will support the transition to a sustainable Circular Economy, particularly for built environment infrastructure, using case studies for mineral-based construction materials.

The Centre involves 3 employment sectors in which the staff composition is often not reflecting the UK population and has been criticised for its lack of diversity: Construction has a mainly white-male workforce, with under-representation of the Equality Act’s protected characteristic group, while the Sustainability/Environment sector and academia both have lower representation relating to social mobility and some ethnic minorities. As part of our strategy, we actively support and encourage applications from a wide range of people with the goal for the centre workforce to reflect the UK population. We actively seek a gender-balance across the different activities and groups within the Centre. We ensure diversity of speakers/presenters/guests in all of our external engagement activities and ensure we comply with all digital accessibility requirements across our channels. We have also created a fund to support disadvantaged groups (with accessbility needs, or with caring responsabilities) who need financial support to participate in the centre's activities .

IEMA

IEMA is the professional body for everyone working in environment and sustainability. They are committed to supporting, encouraging and improving the confidence and performance of all these professionals, helping them to enhance their profile and recognition.

They believe in changing perceptions and attitudes about the relevance and vital importance of sustainability as a progressive force for good.

IEMA’s Public Diversity Commitment

IEMA aims to create a diverse workforce and a diverse sustainability profession by engaging with partners of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative and reviewing internal practice. Our membership and corporate partnerships will be representative of our global community. We will do this under the three pillars of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative: educate, connect, and open.

Educate

IEMA will educate stakeholders on the experiences of different groups within society and how they can support in breaking down barriers for access and progression, which will lead to a more diverse workforce.

We will achieve this by:

• All IEMA staff undertaking a training programme to identify how they can make changes in their role to support all members by the end of 2022.
• Establishing reverse mentoring within IEMA for staff to learn about experiences of their colleagues and others within the sector by the end of 2022.
• Undertaking research, along with partners of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative, to gain a wider understanding of the challenges and barriers that limit access and progression by mid 2022.
• Using the findings from this research to generate actions for IEMA’s Diversity Strategy by the end of 2022.
• Working with partners of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative to develop an education programme to assist in creating systemic change by the end of 2022.
• Promoting opportunities to engage in the Diverse Sustainability Initiative education programme to all key stakeholders of IEMA by the end of 2022.

Connect

IEMA will work with partners of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative to create and support meaningful networks that provide a platform for and amplify voices of underrepresented communities.

We will achieve this by:

• Providing an opportunity for all IEMA members to join and engage in sector-wide professional networks that are hosted by the Diverse Sustainability Initiative by the end of 2022.
• Ensuring that the website development project enables members to better connect into relevant communities by the end of 2022.
• Working to increase number of members in different areas of the world, growing the opportunities for members to connect with all cultures and communities.

Open

IEMA will improve the transparency of our work to improve diversity to ensure that we can be held accountable, and we will ensure that systems and processes are accessible to all.

We will achieve this by:

• Adding diversity to the IEMA risk register, ensuring that progress is monitored at Board level, by the end of 2021.
• Attending and contributing to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative accountability group to report on progress every six months.
• Undertaking an Equality Impact Assessment of IEMA membership, including application and upgrade processes, costs, benefits, and standards by the end of 2022.

• Undertaking an Equality Impact Assessment of IEMA’s internal HR policies and practices by the end of 2022.

• Monitoring and improving the diversity of IEMA’s webinar panelists and event speakers to ensure that those given this platform are representative of different identities and cultures.
• Reviewing IEMA’s brand to ensure we are representative of the cultures and communities we seek to engage.

• Partnering with the Race for Nature kickstarter programme by 2021 and employing two new members of staff through this programme by the end of 2022.

Institute of Water

We will uphold our commitment by:

• Having a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Champion from within our Board of Directors.
• Having a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy and Action Plan, which is reviewed annually and reported at our Annual General Meeting.
• Ensuring that our staff, our Board, Area Committees and our volunteer communities understand their role in ensuring that our membership offering is fully inclusive to individuals and organisations irrespective of their size
• Benchmarking ourselves against other professional bodies and employers in the sector.
• Delivering initiatives which enable us to promote under-represented groups.
• Encouraging diversity among our volunteer communities, in particular our Area Committees.
• Supporting the principle of equal opportunities for our staff, by seeking feedback and taking action as needed.

It's Like This Studio

We are a multi-disciplinary studio helping our clients do good. We’ve spent over a decade helping organisations of all kinds create positive change, driven by a shared desire to make things better - more equitable, sustainable, and mission-focused - for every citizen to benefit from.

1. We will develop our YourFuture outreach model to involve more young people of colour in outreach and project promotion, ensuring the programme takes into account socio-cultural barriers to engagement.

2. We will ensure our recruitment and commissioning process has positive action at it's heart - and this includes mandatory anti-bias training online for the permanent agency partners (5x).

3. We will continue to work with our long-standing allies in Business in the Community's Race Equality Campaign to develop media narratives from academic research on structural inequality and progress.

4. We will continue to ring fence time to research, promote and connect to emerging creatives of colour, helping to increase diverse visibility in graphic design online.

5. We will continue to shape the local group for the Federation of Small Business to ensure a diverse business community is represented and gains a space at the political table for policy change.

ivity

​We provide data sensemaking for visibility, transparency and progressive outcomes. Be informed, build trust, put your energy where it matters most. We do data differently.

We help implement a “plan, do, review” mentality, continuously creating curiosity. This leads to a natural understanding of the business purpose, resulting in collaboration, inclusivity and transparency company-wide.

The way people work significantly impacts the trust and joy they experience whilst at work. Designing information flows to support inclusive, meaningful conversations is responsible. Creating safe environments for deep thought, fast action and long-term planning are critical to the future success of your business. Poor systems and poor ways of working lend themselves to blame culture, over-reliance on emails, silos, burnout, high churn of people, and wasted energy and resources. We help you with your cultural blind spots as well as help you protect what is already special about your business.

Jane Chico Mendes

I am an an independent PR consultant accredited by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, working the hospitality and sustainability sectors.

They have committed to uphold this commitment by: Increase the number of people from BAME / lgbtq+ backgrounds visible in my clients' campaigns & content. Increase the number of people from BAME / lgbtq+ backgrounds visible on my own channels, blog and website and in content I create.

Lou Chiu Coaching and Consultancy Ltd

Supporting those who make their public commitment to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative by:

• offering one complimentary one-hour support call to each committed company

• providing discounted services to best support these companies, which includes external facilitation, allyship training, full cultural analysis, staff scoping and engagement support, and implementing coaching and mentoring programmes

• celebrating and sharing their success stories and best practices to empower and encourage others

National Forest Company

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.

The NFC strives to be a diverse and inclusive organisation where every individual has equality of opportunity to progress and can apply their unique insights to the achievement of the National Forest’s objectives. This vision recognises equality of opportunity as a critical factor in moving us towards our aspiration of becoming more diverse and inclusive. It recognises that everyone needs support to thrive. It also links EDI in our workforce with our ability to achieve our wider objectives for the National Forest. We are committed to bringing different perspectives to stimulate innovative and creative solutions. We will achieve our vision by delivering actions against set strategic objectives and will track and report on progress. We will collaborate with stakeholders to develop our capability, capacity and confidence to deliver EDI in all we do. Our five priority areas are programme delivery, workforce and governance, culture and behaviours, data and evidence and communications.

Neutral Home Ltd

Neutral Home is an energy efficiency company dedicated improving sustainability in the residential housing sector. We specialise in helping homeowners reduce their energy use and carbon footprint. We work with social housing landlords as well as private individuals to design and implement net zero journeys by integrating the best technology available.

We will continue to maintain our commitment to diversity at the top of our organisation led by one of our founders as EDI Director. This is in both our engagement with the market and the development of our services. We will- Develop our website and marketing to promote EDI both in terms of representation of under represented groups and in terms of accessibility Contribute to raising the profile of EDI in the sustainability conversation, by participation in events and other thought leadership activities Commit that any recruitment that is undertaken, is in accordance with best practice and actively encourages applications from under represented groups.

Royal HaskoningDHV

A global business, Royal HaskoningDHV promotes a culture where all employees recognise the value that a diverse and inclusive workforce brings. We aim to ensure that no employee or applicant for employment is discriminated against, directly or indirectly, on the grounds of gender, marital status, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religious or political belief, age, social background, contract term, working hours, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristic. The Company commits itself to actively promote equality, diversity and inclusion and will offer fair treatment in every aspect of work life. We will regularly review policies, procedures and practices under regular review to ensure that people are not unjustifiably disadvantaged by conditions or requirements.

In the past couple of years, we undertook various initiatives towards these aims. We have expanded the remit of our current Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and are developing these towards a global policy and practices. Our global equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lead is heading a network of EDI ambassadors to ensure consistency of EDI practices while taking local knowledge, cultural differences and political and socio-economic considerations into account. Employee networks for disability, LGBTQ+ and diverse ethnic backgrounds have developed to inform and advance our practice and understanding of every individual’s lived experience. These networks are not exclusive, welcoming allies who help drive change to ensure inclusivity

Our corporate mentoring schemes and Future Leaders programme support the development of skills within all our teams. We have delivered unconscious bias awareness training, and are undertaking a deep review of our recruitment practices to ensure there are no invisible barriers for applicants. We are also actively developing a longer term strategy of developing an apprenticeship programme in the Environment field, challenging assumptions about traditional routes into the profession and with an aim to reach a greater number of applications from underrepresented people.

If you want to know what else we are doing on our EDI journey, please go to Equality, diversity & inclusion (royalhaskoningdhv.com)

RSPB

Passionate about nature, dedicated to saving it. Since we started on our mission in 1889, the threats to nature have continued to grow, but we've grown to meet them too.

We’re now the largest nature conservation charity in the country, consistently delivering successful conservation, forging powerful new partnerships with other organisations and inspiring others to stand up and give nature the home it deserves.

We’re pleased to commit to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative. We’re very clear that we need to take concerted action to improve the diversity of the RSPB if we are going to tackle the scale of the nature and climate emergency and deliver our vision of a world where everyone can live in harmony with a world richer in nature. Addressing the issue as a sector and holding each other to account on progress makes complete sense as a way to drive the action required.

Society for the Environment

We will work together with our Member Bodies to systematically remove barriers, enhance diversity and inclusion, establishing accessible pathways into the environment profession for everyone.

Students Organising for Sustainability UK

SOS-UK has three headline objectives, one of which is centered on making sustainability more inclusive. Our 2018 research with IEMA showed that the sustainability sector is massively underrepresented in racial diversity, and we are working to carry out this research again in 2021/22. Throughout 2021 we are co-managing Race for Nature, a Kickstart scheme that is placing young people of colour into nature organisations and supporting them to succeed. We are also working to being Green 2.0 over to the UK to concentrate the minds of sector leaders on diversity. We will strive to get more platforms for young people of colour through all of our campaigns and programmes.

Surfers Against Sewage

Surfers Against Sewage would like to make a public commitment to improving diversity within the environment and sustainability sector, and among environment and sustainability professionals.

We will uphold this commitment by:

• Adding diversity to our risk register
• Introducing a focused trustee committee, meeting bi-annually
• Introducing an Equality Impact Assessment for all new projects
• Anonymising our recruitment process
• Updating our website with details of work done

To show progress on these commitments, we will provide an update to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative every six months.

Sustrans

Sustrans is the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle. We connect people and places, create liveable neighbourhoods, transform the school run and deliver a happier, healthier commute. Sustrans works in partnership, bringing people together to find the right solutions. We make the case for walking and cycling by using robust evidence and showing what can be done. We are grounded in communities and believe that grassroots support combined with political leadership drives real change, fast.

Sustrans would like to make a public commitment to improving diversity within the environment and sustainability sector, and among environment and sustainability professionals.

We will uphold this commitment by delivering our vision to become a charity for everyone. Our programme of work includes:

• An end to end review of our recruitment processes to make them more inclusive
• A review of policies and business processes to ensure they are fair and equitable
• Raising up voices and providing a platform for colleagues to share their lived experiences and bringing in other voices.

To show progress on these commitments, we will provide an update to the Diverse Sustainability Initiative every six months.

TerraCycle

TerraCycle is a purpose driven company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. As we continually innovate to find ways to fulfil this mission we seek to do this in the most responsible way possible.

TerraCycle Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Commitments:

1. TerraCycle will guarantee recruitment & management practices are without unconscious bias by removing gendered wording (use they versus she or he in job descriptions), and having a structured interview process, including wherever possible, a diverse interview panel with the goal that we better represent the demographics of each market we operate in (national demographics).

2. TerraCycle will maintain an internal safe space where employees can raise challenges/concerns around DEI and controls to address in a timely manner via an anonymous Google Form.

3. Diversity is considered to be a commitment by the highest level of management as part of the company's overall commitment to Impact, notably:

i. To protect our community by ensuring that our entire supply chain delivers social safeguards and fundamental human rights to their workers.

ii. To prioritize inclusion, diversity, and safety for our own employees to maintain a positive and productive company culture.

The Coal Authority

We’re united in our passion and commitment to make a better future for people and the environment in mining areas. We carry out a wide variety of essential services from responding to coal mining hazards, to keeping people and the environment safe from mine water pollution. We are excited about what our future holds. Our work is helping to develop a new sustainable source of renewable energy for the UK. By harnessing the energy from mine water heat, we hope to play a key role towards helping the UK to meet net-zero emissions by 2050. We truly are a supportive organisation where we all live and breathe our values. We are inclusive, trusted and progressive in everything that we do.

The Coal Authority will make a public commitment to work towards improving diversity within the environment and sustainability sector through the following actions:

• Education: our Executive Leadership Team and Board members will be encouraged to self-educate, resources will be shared across the organisation, and we will consider the best way to incorporate anti-racism into EDI, leadership, induction and other training.
• Raising up Voices: our Race Equality Network will be empowered to use their voice to feedback to our organisation and its leaders, creating safe spaces where challenges, barriers and prejudices can be addressed.
• Collaboration: we will actively seek out partnerships from a wider network of local, national and global organisations to bring in new ideas and inform our decision making.
• Recruitment: we will review our recruitment and selection processes to identify where we may be creating barriers to diversity and inclusion and to ensure our workforce reflects the diverse communities we serve, including:

• Removing names from CVs and application forms
• Using anonymous shortlisting processes wherever possible
• Considering positive action to address underrepresentation of different groups
• Reviewing our career site to attract a more diverse pool of candidates
• Ensuring adverts use inclusive language
• Exploring a diverse range of advertising media to reach a wider pool of candidates

• Strategy: our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan will be reported on every quarter and reviewed annually to ensure we continue to make progress

The Conservation Volunteers

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a charity that connects people and green spaces to deliver lasting outcomes for both.

Our strategy for 2021-25 will include a strategic goal to support more diverse audiences to connect with green spaces, committing us to: year-on-year improvement in the diversity of our volunteers and workforce; working with other partners that enable us to reach diverse audiences; and developing and delivering projects which address specific barriers and using that learning to influence all our projects. We are investing in external expertise to support us with developing an implementation plan for this strategic goal.

The Institution of Environmental Sciences

As the representative body for environmental science, it is essential that the Institution of Environmental Sciences proactively seeks to enhance diversity and inclusion across the sector, act as agents for change, and lead by example for the betterment of our society and environment. We recognise the clear need for research, education and reform to identify and address the key barriers which result in low ethnic diversity across the sector. We are leading on a series of Diversity Initiatives to address the ethnic diversity gap, to amplify the voices of those who aren't being heard, and to embed sustainable solutions for a more inclusive, accessible profession. We believe in the strength of collaboration and are proud to become a partner of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative

The Orchard Project

The Orchard Project is the only national charity solely dedicated to the creation, restoration and celebration of community orchards. Our vision is to bring orchards into the heart of every urban community. We prioritise working with marginalised communities in areas of urban deprivation where people have poor access to quality greenspace.

The Orchard Project is committed to creating resilient biodiverse orchards teaming with wildlife as much as we are committed to creating diverse organisations. We need everyone’s voices, strengths and solutions to help create an equitable, resilient sustainable society.

Our EDI programme includes:

• Policies: review of our organisational policies to ensure that they are inclusive and fair
• Training: for all staff on the Equality Act, discrimination and positive action
• Recruitment: iteratively improve our anonymised recruitment system and introduce positive action into our recruitment processes
• Staffing: creating 2 internships for young people on universal credit to enter the sector
• Board: provide EDI updates every 4 months to our board of trustees
• Programme development: work to challenge structural racism in our partnership work; offer to pay development time for conversations around potential programmes with smaller BAME-led organisations.

Total eco Management Ltd. (TeM)

TeM is a leading provider of sustainability advice. We show organisations how to fully engage with sustainability and embed excellence to the highest recognised standard.

Total eco Management Limited are the first Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Certified training provider in the United Kingdom and the first GRI Certified Training course to be accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA): We are offering an internationally recognised comprehensive two-day GRI Certified Training Programme: Sustainability Reporting with the Global Reporting Initiative.

TEM work with national and multi-national enterprises across the globe, honing their processes to measure, manage, change, and transparently report their sustainability performance. This is about enabling businesses to be profitable and contribute to sustainable global economies. TEM were the official Corporate Sustainability reporting consultant to the London 2012 'Sustainable' Olympic Games.

UKELA

UKELA (UK Environmental Law Association) is the UK forum which aims to make better law for the environment and to improve understanding and awareness of environmental law. Our charitable objects include promoting, for the benefit of the public generally, the enhancement and conservation of the environment in the UK and advancing the education of the public in all matters relating to the development, teaching, application and practice of law relating to the environment. We encourage collaboration between those interested in environmental law, as well as advising and commenting on relevant issues.

Our Strategic Plans says that we will promote greater inclusion throughout the environmental law field, aiming for diverse speaker line-ups across our events portfolio; and continue to promote a diverse and inclusive board, voluntary and staff team. We will achieve this in the following ways:

• UKELA is committed to creating an inclusive environment where its membership can thrive through diversity.
• UKELA recognises it has a role to play in supporting legal professionals from all backgrounds, gender, and ethnicities to participate in its activities.
• Increase representation of those from underrepresented groups; as well as building partnerships with different organisations to support this
• Ensure that diversity and inclusion are integral to UKELA’s activities
• Promote and support the active participation of members from a range of backgrounds and provide a platform for diversity of issues
• Increase diversity of UKELA’s Council and Executive bodies

Verlander Walker Ltd

It’s high time for our profession to become a place where everyone can thrive, be listened to and have their skills and expertise recognised. I’m keen to learn and to do what I can.

I will uphold this commitment by:

• Mentoring at least one person of colour, via IEMA or SocEnv.
• Continuing to work with She is Sustainable / She is Still Sustainable to support women, including women of colour, disabled women and LBTQ+ women, who work in sustainability.
• Explicitly considering diversity and inclusion when designing and delivering work for clients.
• Including diversity topics in my Making the Path by Walking newsletter.
• Seeking out and amplifying the voices of people from marginalised and minority groups.
• Collaborating with others in the sustainability and facilitation professions to learn, to challenge and to improve.

Watts Sustainability Limited

Watts Sustainability provides advice on organisational sustainability strategy. We will use our platform to champion diversity as a key component of sustainable business on client projects we work on and ensure that it is reflected in training and education projects we work on. For our own business (and as an influence on the wider sustainability sector) - we are expanding and opportunities to join us will not prejudice in any way those from BAME, LGBTQ+, persons with disability or any other protected characteristic.

Wildlife and Countryside Link

Wildlife and Countryside Link (Link) is the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, bringing together 57 organisations for the protection of nature.

We are working to improve our own record on diversity and to support our members in doing so. We have set up a Equality, Diversity and Inclusion working group, which is developing a "state of the sector" report on ethnic diversity. We have set up a safe-space peer support network for people of colour in our membership. We are regularly reviewing our own practices at Board level. We fully support the purposes of the Diverse Sustainability Initiative and we look forward to working together on this essential agenda.

Woodland Trust

At the Woodland Trust, we believe everyone deserves to have their lives enriched by trees and woods.

We believe that all people, no matter their background, identity, ability or circumstance, should benefit from trees. We believe everyone deserves equal protection from climate change. Equal air, water and soil quality. Equal opportunity to feel the positive impact of trees and woods on our minds, bodies and spirits. But currently, this is not the case. Who we are and where we live determines how much we access, enjoy and benefit from woods and trees.

We also believe our own organisation should reflect and represent all voices within our communities. But again, currently this is not the case. For example, the environmental sector as a whole is one of the least ethnically diverse in the UK. We are no different.

But we are determined to change this and we are taking action.

You can read more in our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion - Woodland Trust

Working Well Matters

Working Well Matters are a black-led organisation that have been working in the wellbeing sector for some years, helping others to overcome the stigma of both racism and mental health. Our founder, Mike, proudly identifies as a black man and has numerous experiences from within the manufacturing, educational and wellbeing sectors of how institutional and structural racism work within UK society. Mike is our lead trainer and enjoys helping organisations encourage people of all identities to feel able to give of their best.

WRAP

WRAP is a charity, working with governments, businesses and citizens around the globe to create a world in which resources are used sustainably. We generate evidence-based solutions to protect the environment, build stronger economies and support more sustainable societies. Our impact spans the entire lifecycle of the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the products we buy, from production to consumption and beyond. We tackle sustainable product design, waste minimisation, re-use, recycling and waste management for food and drink, plastic packaging, clothing and textiles and waste management. We deliver change.

We’re on a journey towards equality, diversity and inclusion. We are actively listening and learning every day. Please follow this link to learn more.

Wunderkind Consulting Nigeria Limited

Wunderkind Consulting Nigeria Limited, registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)-Registration No: RC1553155 is into the provision of consultancy, auditing and training services on internationally recognized management system standards.

Our services include Management System Standards consultancy & training services on the following standards:

• ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management System;
• ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System;
• ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health & Safety Management system &
• ISO 22000:2018/FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management Systems.

We have extensive experience in ensuring that practices, processes, procedures and templates needed for the effective implementation and maintenance of environmental management systems and sustainability are established, implemented and maintained in accordance with requirements of ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems Standard and other compatible management system standards.

Our Principal consultant (Oluwafemi Adare) is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), a Chartered Quality Professional (CQP MCQI) with CQI/IRCA and recognized lead auditor with Exemplar Global and PECB.

We will uphold this commitment by provision of expert advice and guidance to client organization(s) towards ensuring that practices, processes, procedures and templates needed for the effective implementation of environmental management systems and sustainability are established, implemented and maintained in accordance with requirements of ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems Standard.