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The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has published the results of its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) survey.
The primary purpose of the survey was to gather insights for the CIWM EDI strategy published in 2022, but the results are now being shared by the CIWM as they provide some insights that could be useful for the wider sector.
Although the survey response rate did not allow CIWM to gather sufficient data to provide a baseline for the sector, it says the information gathered provides a broad insight into the experiences of those working in the UK waste, recycling and resource management sector.
As part of the comprehensive survey, respondents were given the opportunity to express their personal experiences in relation to EDI. Sixty per cent of those surveyed believe the sector provides an environment that encourages the free and open expression of ideas, opinions and beliefs with 70 per cent believing that there are policies and procedures to promote diversity and inclusion in their own organisations.
Only 16 per cent however feel there is a good level of diverse representation at senior management level in the sector with 40 per cent indicating they had seen, heard or witnessed comments or behaviour that has made them uncomfortable within their own organisations in the last 12 months.
Commenting on the results CIWM CEO, Sarah Poulter, said: “Poor EDI practices have a negative impact on all of us. They reduce the pool of talent from which we can recruit, make our industry less attractive, reduce input from a variety of voices and make us less successful as a sector in general. Addressing the issues and concerns that were shared will allow us to achieve our wider goals of attracting new skills into the sector and creating the diversity of thought that is needed to support the move to a world beyond waste.”
Click here to download the full survey results and read more about CIWMs EDI work and strategy.
FMJ in conjunction with Grundon Waste Management is pleased to launch the 2023 waste management and recycling survey which examines the ways in which FMs approach their waste management responsibilities.
In this, the sixth year for the annual appraisal, we know there is a greater opportunity than ever for FMs to reappraise their waste and recycling operations and help their organisations meet the growing pressure to achieve ESG goals.
We want to learn how FMs have adapted to the legislative, economic and societal changes of the past year and how they plan to meet the latest waste and recycling targets.
In this survey we’ve posed a series of questions which include insights into FMs’ waste management strategy and targets, how they’re moving towards zero waste targets, and the importance of not just meeting compliance targets but also ESG goals.
The results of the 2023 survey will be published in FMJ magazine and form the basis of a white paper co-written by FMJ and the experts at Grundon on how to approach waste and recycling strategies.
To take part click here.
When asked what areas CIWM should prioritise to improve EDI in the sector the most common suggestions were better education on the issue for all; more diverse role models (e.g., speakers at events); organisational culture; outreach programmes to schools and colleges and recruitment and induction processes. These were in line with feedback collated from the CIWM focus groups and EDI working group.
Although the sample size of the survey was small, addressing the issues and concerns that were shared by the respondents will be of high importance to CIWM to support the move to a world beyond waste.
Please visit www.ciwm.co.uk/edi to download the full survey results and read more about CIWMs EDI work and strategy.
