How ACCO Sees Equity and Inclusion in Practice

  1. Our field should be inclusive and representative of the world we serve.

  2. As professionals, we need to be aware of bias and exclusion and contribute to positive transformation.

  3. As a field, we need to recognize where climate change related issues intersect with equity and take action with specific interventions that contribute constructively to reduce climate change risks AND social inequities.

  4. We are change agents who should serve as catalysts for transforming inequitable systems. 

ACCO’s Equity & Inclusion Charter
(developed and adopted by the ACCO Leadership Council in December 2020)

 

Our organization and
community of practitioners will:

  • Recruit prospective members reflecting our diverse society

  • Equip climate change professionals with the tools and training needed to increase equity in processes, systems and communications

  • Enable communities and organizations to lead on climate action and justice for all

  • Advocate for achieving equity for all genders and races in the profession

  • Work diligently to eliminate structural bias in our field of practice and its decision-support resources

  • Highlight structural bias in public policy and practice standards in other fields and provide constructive options to policymakers, peer credentialing bodies, standard setting organizations and communities of practice

  • Champion a shift in public policies to prioritize climate actions and investments that build up frontline communities and champion our shared humanity

  • Establish a sustained dialogue with frontline communities most impacted by climate change and develop programs that enable ACCO members to support those communities

 
In support of the Equity & Inclusion Charter, ACCO will:
  • Provide scholarships to CC-P® training specifically for under-represented genders and races
  • Update all ACCO training programs to ensure equity and justice considerations are effectively integrated
  • Establish a continuing education requirement for CC-P® credential holders that includes training focused upon equity and justice
  • Develop an ACCO training focused specifically on equity, bias and justice
  • Report on the number and stature of under-represented genders and races in our field
  • Launch the Project Build-up initiative, which will provide training to practitioners in frontline communities and encourage/catalyze climate risk reduction and clean energy projects in those communities
  • Issue calls to action focused on elected officials, corporate boards and corporate executives
  • Broaden ACCO’s Equity & Inclusion working group to include more under-represented genders, races and perspectives from frontline communities
  • Conduct annual member meetings to examine progress on equity charter objectives and update the equity charter and aspirational statement