The 2024 RACE (Racial Action for the Climate Emergency) Report shares findings on diversity of the environment organisations and funders including Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. We share our initial reflections and work to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the environment sector.
The RACE Report, published annually, supports transparency on the racial diversity of environment organisations and funders in the UK. By doing so, it aims to encourage action in the sector to address barriers and improve diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) of the workforce and governing bodies. This is the third annual report and it’s great to see an increase in the number of organisations participating, with a total of 161 environmental organisations taking part, and data representing over 28,600 employees.
However, the findings continue to show that racial diversity in the environmental sector remains substantially below the UK workforce average, with 4.5% of people across the sector identifying as people of colour and other racially or ethnically minoritised groups. This compares to 16% of the UK workforce nationally. The Report also shows a more nuanced picture once organisational size is taken into account, with smaller organisations reporting far more diversity across their workforce than much larger organisations.
There are some positive takeaways too. Of organisations who have submitted data for the last three years, there have been some improvements with 24% now having fully implemented a policy to ensure racial diversity in recruitment and interview panels, compared to 4% in 2023 and 2022.
As with last year, the RACE Report shared a Transparency Card for each participating organisation with their organisation’s diversity data along with progress on key areas including strategy, governance and HR. These help organisations to track their progress and identify actions to take. You can learn more about Esmée's Transparency Card below.
What we’re doing and our next steps
At Esmée, we know that environmental justice and social justice go hand in hand. Our strategy is underpinned by our commitment to make progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and to address the causes and impacts of climate change. As part of this, we are proactively seeking out and supporting environment organisations who share our goals and are led by and for communities experiencing racial inequity.
We also want to use our role to influence and support change in the environment sector. This includes supporting initiatives such as the RACE Report and asking environment and conservation organisations awarded funding to engage with it. We’re also currently working with Ocean & Coastal Futures to improve opportunities to progress DEI in the marine sector.
Both the RACE Report in 2024 and a report reviewing diversity initiatives in the environment sector welcomed a focus on paid entry level placements in the environment sector through initiatives like New to Nature. But they also highlighted a gap in support for people progressing into senior leadership positions. Whilst we know that we need to focus on providing a more supportive environment for future leaders, we also know that this is complex and that change to workplace culture and recruitment practices are as important as support for individual pathways. We have commissioned Makani Cambridge and Common Purpose to lead a process of co-design with people already working in the sector who are looking to move into senior roles, with current leaders and with recruitment and HR professionals to explore what such a programme would look like. We will be publishing a blog describing some of the emerging findings next month.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation’s Transparency Card
Our Transparency Card includes diversity data of staff and Trustees at Esmée - covering race and ethnicity, gender and age. You can see a separate blog with the diversity data of our Trustees and staff in 2024, covering a broader range of categories including socioeconomic background, and a report on Esmée’s pay gap data. As our data for this in 2023 was incomplete, it’s difficult to do a direct comparison.
The Transparency Card also shares progress on 38 recommendations for improving DEI. Overall, there has been little improvement in the number of fully implemented actions at Esmée, but there has been an increase in actions now in progress – 27% compared to 18% in 2023. This includes:
- Collation of application data on racial diversity and ongoing monitoring
- Exit interviews are routinely completed and ask about issues relating to race equality and inclusion
- A safe space for staff of colour to speak about lived experiences and/or support network for employees of colour
As an organisation, we recognise there is much more we need to do ourselves. We will be discussing the RACE Report’s findings and our Transparency Card with staff and Trustees to help us to identify and prioritise actions to take.
We want to say a big thank you to everyone involved in the RACE Report – particularly to all the organisations who have engaged with the initiative. Whilst the findings remain stark, we’re heartened by the commitment shown by participating organisations.
To learn more about our DEI commitments and actions taken so far, visit our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page.
