Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Our planned actions

Our initial planned actions under each of the three aims are described below. The internal voluntary EDI working group will review this strategy and actions at the end of 2022 and agree new actions with the management team to build on our initial work in 2023.

Our work

Our work advising Government represents the greatest opportunity for the CCC to have an impact and make a difference. It is an area where the CCC can also influence others and ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are considered across all areas of climate action. To help ensure the CCC’s advice to Government considers and reflects the needs and interests of society across the UK, we will:

1. Invite speakers from diverse backgrounds to speak to the Committee and Secretariat on links between climate and diversity issues.
2. Nominate a Committee Member champion and create a Committee Secretariat group to promote equality, diversity and inclusion within the organisation.
3. Review CCC panels to make them as balanced, inclusive and representative of wider society as possible.
4. Aim only to contribute to external panels that are both diverse and inclusive (Secretariat). In particular, the Secretariat will, where possible, not contribute to external panels that are all male.
5. Include a requirement in our procurement terms and conditions for suppliers to confirm they are compliant with the Equality Act 2010.
6. Introduce (where applicable) scoring criteria to assess how well our suppliers are considering issues of diversity and inclusion within proposals.
7. Investigate the knowledge and data gaps that prevent a holistic understanding of how climate change mitigation and adaptation policies impact UK citizens and consider how the CCC can build a greater evidence base to address these gaps. We will include this research in our work programme from 2023.
8. Investigate how our communications and engagement work might target more diverse groups through different communication channels.
9. Develop appropriate indicators to track progress against our work D&I aims (EDI working group).

Delivering these initiatives will result in:

• A greater awareness of how diversity and inclusion can impact upon the delivery of Net Zero in the UK and around the world.
• A greater understanding of the knowledge gaps on distributional impacts of climate policies through a D&I lens and a plan to fill some of these gaps.
• A clear and visible group of champions within the Committee to increase awareness and ensure improvements can be made.

Timeframe:

• From April 2022 – Complete all actions by end of 2022-23.

Our culture

To help ensure the CCC is an inclusive and supportive place to work, where all staff are treated respectfully and fairly, regardless of background, gender, ethnicity or other aspects, and where bullying or harassment of any form is not tolerated.

1. We will maintain a group of well-being champions to provide support for staff to manage stress and mental health conditions in the workplace, raise awareness of mental health conditions and help foster workplace practices that support wellbeing in the CCC.
2. All staff will undertake diversity and inclusion training (e.g., unconscious bias training) upon joining the CCC which will be supported with regular workshops to improve understanding and awareness, while also providing a safe space for staff to discuss EDI.
3. We will provide greater opportunities for staff to participate in wider all staff networks across Government.
4. SCS staff will include an objective on diversity and inclusion as part of their annual objective setting process, examples will be provided by the CCC EDI working group.
5. We will seek feedback from all staff in an initial survey before this strategy launches and then within the annual staff survey.

Delivering these initiatives will help to develop:

• A supportive, more inclusive organisation which benefits our analysis, our wider work and our overall culture.
• A more consistent understanding of diversity and inclusion, alongside improved confidence in how to talk about diversity and inclusion.
• Staff feeling empowered to provide feedback and improved engagement with staff and senior leaders on the issue of EDI.

Timeframe:

• April 2022 – Complete all actions by end of 2022-23.

Our people

There is a need to increase diversity across the CCC, so that it is more reflective of the society we serve. The CCC is currently underrepresented in terms of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. It is also underrepresented in terms of LGBTQ+ and in terms of disability. Improving diversity benefits the CCC in providing a greater understanding of how our work and our policies are received, understood and perceived.

We set out our actions below:

1. We will monitor recruitment diversity data from our shared services provider, SSCL, so that we can assess if and how we can attract and reflect the diversity of society.
2. We will review our recruitment processes to identify opportunities to reach a more diverse audience and that meet the needs of a diverse range of applicants.
3. We will sign the Race at Work Charter[i] which includes 7 principal calls to action for organisations to ensure their workplaces are tackling barriers in recruitment and progression and that their organisations are more representative of UK society today.
4. We will work closely with the ‘BEIS partnerships diversity lead’ (the Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) to improve the diversity of our applications and appointments.

Delivering these initiatives will help result in:

• Provide a clear understanding of where the CCC can improve its recruitment processes to reach a more diverse applicant pool.
• Improve the diversity of shortlists that translate into hires, across all diversity characteristics and at all levels (analyst to director).
• The CCC recruitment and selection processes better representing best practice.
• Ensure practical steps are being taken to tackle any barriers that all minorities face in recruitment or in the wider organisation.

Timeframe:

• April 2023 to complete all actions.

[i]  Race Disparity Unit (2018) Race at Work Charter. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/747522/Race_at_Work_Charter.pdf