With global calls for change and action sparked by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, and many others, ENGIE Impact, as an organization, has been in a period of deep reflection over the past few weeks. Our first priority was to communicate to our employees that we stand united in the fight against racism and hatred. We wanted them to know that we have a clear belief that inequality cannot exist if we are to create the sustainable world we are working towards every day.
But words are not enough. We have significant work to do and many questions to answer to define how our organization should better address core challenges that affect our business and our lives: inequality in society, diversity in the workplace, environmental justice, and much more. And as a company with more than 20 offices around the world, we must think about how to build a diversity, equity, and inclusion program that properly addresses the needs of our employees that span many cultures and backgrounds – which we hold to be one of our greatest assets.
The type of transformation we are committed to will never succeed with top-down mandates or platitudes. That is why we are so proud and salute the voices of our employees who push for change, drive progress and make ENGIE Impact a better company. They have bravely expressed their heartfelt opinions and emotions in our ongoing executive roundtables; made bold recommendations on our online message boards; leveraged company community service days to give their time to create meaningful change; and launched new groups with the support of our executive team, open to all employees, to address issues and develop better environments for communities impacted by racism and inequality – including the launch of PRIDE@ENGIE Impact, today, on the final day of Pride Month.
We, ENGIE Impact leadership team, are committed to action and progress. And we are further fueled by the passion and perspective of our employees to continue to co-create a stronger diversity, equity, and inclusion program. This is critical for our ability to deliver on our mission.
To our fellow colleagues, thank you for your commitment to accelerating sustainability transformation and guiding our pursuit of a just and diverse workplace and world.