SLR wins 'Diversity and Inclusivity' award at the Chemical Industries Association ceremony

We are delighted to have won the 'Diversity and Inclusivity' award at the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) Awards in Newcastle in June. At SLR, we’re committed to creating and sustaining a global, inclusive culture, where differences are embraced for the benefit of our people, our clients, and the communities around us. Reaping the benefits of an inclusive workplace is our real reward, but it’s wonderful to be recognised for this too.

The judges of the Diversity and Inclusivity award, which was sponsored by Dow Chemical Company, remarked:

“The breadth of the SLR Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) programme combined with the link to business strategy, measurement systems and early success impressed the judges. Particular highlights were the ‘working adjustment passport’, the link to wellbeing and the range of awareness training sessions including topics like domestic abuse.”

In early 2023 we launched a new, three-year Global DE&I strategy. This was the result of the combined work of many colleagues and stakeholders in SLR, and is the start of many exciting things ahead.

SLR’s DE&I vision is that “we commit to creating and sustaining a global, inclusive culture, where differences are embraced for the benefit of our people, our clients and the communities around us, and our everyday actions are founded in mutual respect and integrity.”

To achieve this vision, we are focussing on four key areas. These are:

• Fair and inclusive recruiting
• Development of underrepresented talent
• Building an inclusive culture
• Supporting an inclusive society

We have actions dedicated to each of these focus areas, encompassing items including SLR’s recruitment process and mentoring, our Women in Leadership Programme and Employee Network Groups, maintaining Inclusive Policies, and engaging with external DE&I organisations, amongst many others.

No strategy is worth its merit without measurement of success, and so we have been utilising a DE&I dashboard so we can report on our progress, share our successes, and look at areas to focus on.

Neil Penhall, SLR’s Vice Chair said: “This is a personal priority area for me and the Executive Management Team, not only for this year, but for the foreseeable future. There is a part for all of us in actioning this strategy and embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our regions, in everything we do. I look forward to working and collaborating with you all to continuing to drive forward our DE&I plans”.

You can view a short video introducing our DE&I strategy and the four key priority areas here: Launching SLR’s Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy.

Alongside our DE&I win, SLR sponsored the ‘Sustainability’ award at the event, which was achieved by Synthomer plc, London. The “judges were impressed by excellent integration of sustainability goals with the business strategy, recognition by a number of external organisations and progress towards those goals. Their innovative Product Sustainability score card sets an excellent, transferable example to others in the sector.” We were pleased to be able to sponsor this award and encourage innovative sustainability practices within the industry.

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Image thanks to the Chemical Industries Association. Pictured L-R, Paul Wright - Europe Lead for Industry and Technology, Sam Neath - DE&I and Wellbeing Manager, Europe.