Anti-Racism Task Force (ARTF) Action Plan Our commitment to action in the realms of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, education + impact. RELEASED FEBRUARY 2021 UPDATED JANUARY 2022
Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash Mural by Annabelle Wombacher, Jared Mar, Sierra Ratcliff and Benjamin Cahoonts
ARTF | Black Lives Matter In the summer of 2020, after the tragic murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many other Black lives - we released the following statement within our annual Corporate Social & Environmental Responsibility (CSER) report (image right). The Anti-Racism Task Force (ARTF) was formed shortly after, and this ARTF Action Plan is the result of numerous workshops and dialogues.
We acknowledged that our values of Trust, Nurture and Inspire become meaningless if they are not in alignment with embedded actions in our organization. We have not been proactive enough in taking more meaningful steps to ensure a just and inclusive workplace for all. We have not used our influence within our industry to create more pathways of mobility and access for those who have been marginalized. We are committed to stand in solidarity against all forms of racism, to keep the conversation going (internally + externally), to embed actions into operational programs, to lift the voices of others who are already leaders in this space, to acknowledge that representation matters at the leadership levels, and to hold ourselves accountable by sharing the details on the actions that result from these initiatives in our annual CSER.
ARTF | Letter from ARTF NOTE FROM THE ANTI-RACISM TASK FORCE (ARTF)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Welcome to our Anti-Racism Action Plan!
We want to thank and acknowledge all the members of the Task Force who have come together and have helped shape the future direction of the firm.
In June 2020 we made a commitment to pause, listen and learn in our Black Lives Matter Statement within our Corporate Social + Environmental Responsibility (CSER) report. Now is the time we commit to action and positive impact. We are both excited and proud to be releasing this actionoriented plan which we believe will help to push not only our firm, but also our industry forward towards a future that is inclusive, equitable, diverse and actively anti-racist. Our goal is to become a Deep Green + Equitable Engineering and Consultancy firm.
We believe the ARTF has helped Integral to ensure we are on a pathway towards becoming not only a Deep Green but also an Equitable Engineering + Consultancy Firm which has antiracism front of mind in all aspects of our business. This has been a grassroots effort where members have volunteered their time in a multitude of ways. We want to thank each member for their vulnerability, compassion, courage, initiative and invaluable input that has gone into the creation of this Action Plan.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. Sincerely, Integral’s Anti-Racism Task Force (aka The ARTF)
ARTF Workshop #1: Identifying Desired Outcomes – MURAL board, July 2020
ARTF Members: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Alex Pepper Allison Naganuma Alvin Varan Anais Engel Andy Chong Antonio D’Aquilio Breanne Day Briana Jeffery Bruno Vahedi Cathy Chan Chris Doel David Arnott David Barker Emily Codlin Gavin Laskey Genevieve Osariemen Gerry Faubert Harriet Lilley Helena Cowper Hellen Awino Jacques Bourgeois Janika McFeely Jennifer Harvey Jennifer Tanguay
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Juan Contreras Kanika Sharma Kevin Hydes Lauren Frazier LaVeitra Gardner Lily Hetherington Louise Wilkinson Lydia Gomez Marilyn Specht Marissa Clark Matt Hydes Megan White Michael Murphy Michel Wizenberg Mudit Srivastava Nauman Sultan Samson Tam Sengavi Thirupathy Staly Chin Stephanie Soper Tiffany Elston Tirion Evans Tonia Douglas Virginia Bailey
ARTF | About
WHY?
WHAT?
WHO?
We believe that a diverse and inclusive employee community, rich with a wide array of perspectives, is a fundamental condition of innovation and resiliency in our firm. We acknowledge and understand that representation matters.
As a task force it is action-oriented and time-limited in its initial phase of work, although that does not preclude a recurrent or ongoing role.
Composed of 48 self-selected colleagues, representing all regions and countries within which we operate. The ARTF’s membership is truly diverse and inclusive spanning across all levels of leadership and job roles, ages, genders and races.
Our Diversity Council was established in December of 2019. Its remit includes action on racism; however we acknowledge that its membership provides neither a broad enough base nor the depth of experience necessary to confidently guide the firm and its leadership on issues of racial injustice. Our Anti-Racism Task Force is intended to fill this gap.
This initial phase has been focused on identifying our current roadblocks, figuring out the future we want to create, and bringing forward actions which will take us there.
Image: created by www.SurgeryRedesign.com
IMAGINE | PERFORM | ACCELERATE | SUSTAIN
Its approach is outcome-based. Its proposed action plan spans across three time horizons: now, next and future.
Image: ARTF Workshop #2: Aligned Actions, October 2020
Integral Teams Involved: • CSER Core Team • People Team • Diversity Council • Integral Gives • Marketing + Communications • Senior Management Team (SMT)
ARTF | About KEY TERMS:
Anti-Racism: One who is supporting an anti-racist policy through their actions or expressing an anti-racist idea. Being ‘not racist’ is no longer enough, we are learning how to become ‘anti-racist’ BIPOC: Black, Indigenous and People of Color CSER: Corporate Social + Environmental Responsibility Demographic Parity: A fairness metric that states that the proportion of each segment of a protective class (e.g. underrepresented minority group) should receive the positive outcome at equal rates. A positive outcome is the preferred decision (e.g. being approved for a loan). Ethnicity: A personal identification based on ancestry origin, language and culture. Can also be based on religion, beliefs and customs. JEDI: Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
JUST Label: a voluntary disclosure tool for organizations to help optimize policies that improve social equity and enhance employee engagement. Race: A personal identification based on physical/biological attributes, such as skin tone, facial features, hair, etc. Under-represented Minority Group: persons who identify as Indigenous or as a racial or ethnic minority (as per minorityrights.org) Under-represented Group: persons who identify as; women, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Mixed-race, Multi-ethnic, People with Disabilities, and Veterans
WHY DID INTEGRAL INVEST IN THE ARTF?
It is the right thing to do! Pride, passion, and purpose from staff To lead by example in our industry To accelerate our diversity journey It is no longer acceptable to not act with ambition. Clients are demanding action. • ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) & CSER (Corporate Social & Environmental Responsibility) reporting are part of business expectations today • • • • •
WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE ARTF? • • • • • • • • •
Generating open dialogue and regular conversations Renewing our Global JUST Label Supporting Integral’s Diversity Council Launched an Employee Resource Group (ERG) for our BIPOC employees Initiating reviews all relevant policies + benefits to meet actions identified within this plan Amplifying the voices of our BIPOC Staff Launching Integral Gives – which focuses on volunteering and pro-bono projects to support under-resourced communities Advocating for the industry to eliminate language like “Master and Slave” from controls sequences. And much more!
“Companies that have the most culturally and ethnically diverse boardrooms were 43% more likely to attain higher profits…
… Overall, companies in the bottom quartile for both gender and ethnic/ cultural diversity were 29% less likely to achieve above-average profitability than were all other companies in our data set. In short, not only were they not leading, they were lagging.” Delivering through Diversity, McKinsey & Company, January 2018
ARTF | What we’ve heard WE ARE LISTENING Upon kicking off the ARTF in June of 2020, we committed to learning and listening so that we may become better informed prior to taking action. Through the process of coming together in ARTF dialogue sessions, as well as receiving feedback through our annual All-Staff Survey, the quotes to the right are some of the things that were shared which struck us deeply.
“In the wake of so much pain and justifiable anger, Integral Group holds space and stands with our staff, colleagues, and friends in the United States. We bear witness to the tragic and senseless loss of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many other Black lives. We also recognize our own difficult journey towards meaningful and lasting change must be informed by honest dialogue and self-refection. Through the development of employee-led anti-racism initiatives we resolve, as a firm, to be accountable to each other and to our community. We commit to sharing our next actions informed by those initiatives through our Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility report this summer. For now, we are taking stock, we are creating space, and we are listening because… BLACK LIVES MATTER.” - Integral Group, June 5th, 2020
“When you don’t see someone for who they are, you don’t see the potential struggles they have experienced.”
“Just hiring a bunch of people of colour is not enough, once they are, we need to keep them here and we have to give them the tools that they need to really succeed once they’re in the organization.”
“You can’t bypass the reality of what we are experiencing right now…We’ve got some serious work to do.”
“I would like to see Integral Group make concrete changes to our hiring practices so that we intentionally recruit from organizations that support people of color, particularly Black people.”
“I think our all-hands videos addressing BLM are a good start, but I would like to see concrete action to increase the number of Black employees in all of our offices.”
“The AEC industry is lagging behind and it’s showing; demographics, diversity, everything and it’s showing.”
“What actions we are taking, to me, is so much more important than just making a public statement…What are the commitments we want to make and the targets we want to set for ourselves moving forward…that’s what I really want to be a part of.”
“It is triggering to still see Master & Slave language still used in controls sequencing within our industry today.”
ARTF | Relevant Initiatives
CSER | JEDI
Diversity Council
JUST Label
The 2019 Corporate Social & Environmental Responsibility (CSER) report is the third publicly released annual report on our commitment to the Planet + our People through our operations across the firm. As a mission-driven company, sustainability is foundational to our operations.
The Diversity Council is part of the CSER’s employee-led initiatives called “Integral Engaged.”
JUST™ is a voluntary program from the International Living Futures Institute (ILFI) and tool that rates an organization’s social justice and equity based on specific and measurable accountabilities which acts as a “nutrition label.”
We are committed to continually engaging employees, improving our practices, giving back to our communities and to providing equal opportunity to people of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, gender identifications, abilities, incomes, marital status, ages, geographic locations, philosophies, and veteran status in all levels of staff and leadership. As we have grown and evolved through the CSER program, so has our understanding of how approach topics on Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI).
IMAGINE | PERFORM | ACCELERATE | SUSTAIN
Aimed at creating a safe and inclusive work environment. The goal of this global initiative is to act as an umbrella framework to enable locally relevant action with the opportunity to share the experiences across the offices. The overarching focus is to provide opportunity and support to people of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, gender identifications, abilities, incomes, marital statuses, ages, geographic locations, philosophies, and veteran status in all levels of staff and leadership. Their first project included launching Employee Resource Groups (ERG's) in January of 2021, including one for our BIPOC community!
The organization is rated based on the following indicators: • • • • • •
Diversity + Inclusion Equity Employee Health Employee Benefits Stewardship Purchasing + Supply Chain
ARTF | Integral 2019 CSER Report Representation Matters
In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, we now commit to disclosing the makeup of our leadership team. We understand that representation at the leadership level matters and that those from under-represented groups need to have a seat at the table. In June 2020 our leadership group was surveyed capture those who identify with the following under-represented groups: Women, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Mixed-race, Multi-ethnic, People with Disabilities, and Veterans. See graph to the right.
Under-represented Minority Groups
Although great strides have been made on gender equality, we recognize that we still have a long way to go in attracting and retaining employees from under-represented minority groups. Through our commitment as a JUST™ organization, we reflect on the racial and ethnic make up of our offices and how they reflect our local communities, but we have to work to close the gap.
Self-reported Race / Ethnicity (numbers of employees) – All Staff
Self-reported Race / Ethnicity (%) – Senior Management + Office Leaders
Images from 2019 Corporate Social & Environmental Responsibility (CSER) report
ARTF| JEDI Progress to Date
• Integral Group becomes a founding member of EcoDistricts | Neighborhoods for All
2013
• Integral becomes 1st Engineering firm to pursue a JUST Label by the International Living Future Institute
2014
• Integral Group signs on as Global Founders of online planet for One Planet Living
2015
• Recertified JUST Label in 2015
2016
• Integral publishes 1st annual CSER Report
• 3rd annual CSER report published
• Integral becomes a founding signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment via the World GBC.
• Anti-Racism Task Force launched, dialogue sessions began, workshops executed & action plan started.
• Employee’s fundraised for organizations such as: Rainbow Refugee, National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE), and One Girl Can
2017
• Celebrated Integral’s 10 year anniversary • 1st Fresh Voices Retreat suggested an annual CSER report, Leadership approved.
• 1st global firm with JUST Label (recertified for 3rd time) • Our Elementa London office becomes 1st UK Fitwel Workplace
2018
• BLM Statement in 2019 CSER Report
• Diversity Council is formed • Staff completed unconscious-bias training (phase 1) • Contributors in the World GBC’s “Health & Wellbeing Framework” as part of the #BetterPlacesForPeople campaign
2019
• 2nd Fresh Voices Retreat, developed Circle of Trust framework for change management & initiatives • 2nd annual CSER report published
2020
2021
• Q1 Spotlight on Diversity Council • Launched Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• Integral Engaged launched (employee-led initiatives)
• Submitted global JUST 2.0 Label for recertification (4th time); collaborating with ILFI on JUST 2.X for global firms
• Global fundraising with Habitat for Humanity
• ARTF Plan published + ready to start executing!
ARTF Action Plan
ARTF Action Plan | Approach, Schedule, Process
OUR APPROACH:
OUR SCHEDULE:
OUR PROCESS:
We use an Outcomes-based approach to developing an Action Plan, which includes 3 key steps:
The Plan identifies targets and key actions to achieve targets across 4 different timelines: Then, Now, Next and Future. This helps our team internally with a roadmap for prioritization.
At Integral we have developed a 5 step process for rolling out new initiatives called The Circle of Trust. We have applied this process to the Anti-Racism Task Force and it includes the following key steps:
1.
What are the desired OUTCOMES?
2.
What are the key performance INDICATORS that said outcomes have manifested? How will we measure success?
•
THEN: Actions/Targets which have already been accomplished and are now in the past
3.
What ACTIONS need to be taken to align with desired outcomes? How do we work our way to that reality?
•
NOW: Actions/Targets which are top priority to be taken in 2021.
•
NEXT: Actions/Targets which will occur on a timeline between 2022-2025, which require some additional coordination and planning.
•
FUTURE: We currently have identified 2030 Targets, and understand that actions on this timeline will need to be reassessed in the future.
IMAGINE | PERFORM | ACCELERATE | SUSTAIN
1. COMMUNICATION | PERSONAL – ARTF Created + BLM Statement in CSER Report 2. ENGAGEMENT | EMPOWER – Internal Dialogue Sessions, #WeAreIntegral Month + Resource Sharing 3. WORKFLOW | COMMON ELEMENTS – Workshops MS Teams Group + Connect Page 4. CONSISTENCY | ACCOUNTABILITY – Peer Reviews, BIPOC Review Panel + Feedback Continually Sought 5. DOCUMENTATION | REPLICABLE – Action Plan, All-Staff Survey Data + CSER Report
ARTF Action Plan | ARTF Desired Outcomes The following are the Desired Outcomes identified by our Anti-Racism Task Force. These Desired Outcomes align with existing CSER Desired Outcome statements from the JEDI category (1, 2, 3, 4) and Education + Impact category (5). In the Action Plan on the following pages, actions are called out at a very high level and mapped to each Desired Outcome, as well as its corresponding metric or key performance indicator (KPI). The more detailed actions are introduced a layer deeper in the next section titled “Actions + Impact”.
#1. REPRESENTATION MATTERS
Integral's leadership includes representation from underrepresented and minority groups, which reflect the local communities in which we work, including active mentorship within the organization to create pathways for mobility.
#2. INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
Integral is committed to social equity which is reflected through our partnerships and projects. We are recognized as a leader within the AEC industry as a Deep Green + Equitable Engineering firm.
#3. SAFE + INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
Integral is a safe and inclusive workplace where staff feel that they can show up, are celebrated and supported as their authentic selves.
#4. PAY EQUITY
Integral strives to achieve pay equity across all position classifications, including intersections of gender, race/ ethnicity.
#5. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Integral actively supports educational organizations to build a talent pipeline that bolsters our JEDI goals and works towards achieving demographic parity through community outreach and charitable giving (e.g. National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineer, girlswhoengineer.com, etc.).
IMAGINE | PERFORM | ACCELERATE | SUSTAIN
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
ARTF Action Plan | #1. Representation Matters Desired Outcome Statements
Integral's leadership includes representation from under-represented and minority groups, which reflect the local communities in which we work, including active mentorship within the organization to create pathways for mobility. (CSER JEDI Desired Outcome)
Actions
The following programs will execute ARTF actions to support this Desired Outcome: · All-Staff Survey · Leadership Learnings · Recruitment Strategy · Mentorship Plan · Comms Plan · Training (Integral Academy) · Career Development Plan · JUST (See Program Action List to Follow)
Indicators (KPIs)
Who is Responsible
Timeline THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT (2025)
FUTURE (2030)
% of Leadership made up of Under-Represented Groups
CSER Team
35.3%
46.4%
40%
50%
% of Leadership made up of Under-Represented Minority Groups
CSER Team
2.9%
10.7%
10%
15%
% of Workforce made up of Under-Represented Groups
CSER Team
51%
60%
60%
70%
% of Workforce made up of Under-Represented Minority Groups
CSER Team
21%
34%
10%
15%
JUST Label level (1-4) in categories of Ethnic Diversity
CSER + People Teams
Ethnic Diversity Level 2 (2017 global label)
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Results from All-Staff Survey: Manager incorporates my feedback (on a score from 1-10)
CSER + People Teams
7.66
7.80
8.00
8.20
ARTF Action Plan | #2. Industry Leadership Desired Outcome Statements
Actions
Integral is committed to social equity which is reflected through our partnerships and projects. We are recognized as a leader within the AEC industry as a Deep Green + Equitable Engineering firm.
The following programs will execute ARTF actions to support this Desired Outcome: · Integral Gives · Go/No Go Tools · Diversity Council + Advocacy · Training (Integral Academy) · Impact Fund · IG Awards · Comms Plan
(CSER JEDI Desired Outcome)
(See Program Action List to Follow)
Indicators (KPIs)
Who is Responsible
Timeline THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT (2025)
FUTURE (2030)
% of Integral Gives pro bono projects focused on supporting underrepresented and underrepresented minority groups.
CSER + Integral Gives
Program in Development
75%
50%
75%
% complete on unconscious bias training
People Team
Launched
100%
100%
100%
% of suppliers, contractors, manufacturers and vendors whose practises align with our values
Chief Risk Officer + CSER Team
N/A
N/A
Create Tool / Define System
75%
% of IG Awards Submissions that positively represent JEDI category
Marketing + CSER Team
7.8%
11%
10%
25%
ARTF Action Plan | #3. Safe + Inclusive Workplace Desired Outcome Statements
Actions
Indicators (KPIs)
Who is Responsible
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT (2025)
FUTURE (2030)
51%
60%
60%
70%
21%
34%
10%
15%
Number of nationalities represented
55
49
No Target
No Target
Number of languages spoken
50
53
No Target
No Target
% of Workforce made up of Under-Represented Groups
Integral is a safe and inclusive workplace where staff feel that they can show up, are celebrated and supported as their authentic selves. (CSER JEDI Desired Outcome)
The following programs will execute ARTF actions to support this Desired Outcome: · Recruitment Strategy · Employee Resource Groups · Diversity Council · Mentorship Plan · Career Development Plan · Training (Integral Academy) · Personal Development Plan · Comms Plan (See Program Action List to Follow)
Timeline
% of Workforce made up of Under-Represented Minority Groups
People Team + Hiring Managers
% of staff enlisted into ERG groups
Diversity Council
N/A
9%
15%
20%
JUST Level 1-4: Inclusion
People Team + Leadership
N/A
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
ARTF Action Plan | #4. Pay Equity Desired Outcome Statements
Actions
Integral strives to achieve pay equity across all position classifications, including intersections of gender, race/ ethnicity.
The following programs will execute ARTF actions to support this Desired Outcome: · Career Development Plan · Recruitment Strategy · JUST
(CSER JEDI Desired Outcome)
(See Program Action List to Follow)
Timeline
Indicators (KPIs)
Who is Responsible
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT (2025)
FUTURE (2030)
JUST Label level (1-4) in category of Pay Scale Equity
People Team
Level 3
Level 4
Level 4
Level 4
JUST Label level (1-4) in category of Gender Pay Equity
People Team
Level 2
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Pay Equity (inclusive of intersectionality)
People Team
N/A
Framework <10% difference Creation Started
<8% difference
ARTF Action Plan | #5. Community Partnerships Timeline Desired Outcome Statements
Integral actively supports educational organizations to build a talent pipeline that bolsters our JEDI goals and works towards achieving demographic parity through community outreach and charitable giving (eg, National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineer, girlswhoengineer.com e tc). (CSER Education + Impact Desired Outcome)
Actions
The following programs will execute ARTF actions to support this Desired Outcome: · Integral Gives · Go/No Go Tools · Impact Fund · Recruitment Strategy · Diversity Council + Advocacy (See Program Action List to Follow)
Indicators (KPIs)
Who is Responsible
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT (2025)
FUTURE (2030)
Number of hours of volunteering per employee
Integral Gives + CSER Team
N/A
4 hours per year
Total donations (USD) (from organization)
Integral Gives + CSER Team
$20, 394 USD (2019)
>1% of profit donated
2% of profit
3% of profit
Utilize Go/No Go Tools to identify % of partnerships with Black and minority owned clients and firms
Marketing + CSER
N/A
N/A
Evaluate Data and Set Strategy
5%
# of BIPOC centred job fairs we attend
People Team
N/A
N/A
Program + Partnerships in Development
min. 1/region annually
# of BIPOC AEC organizations we are members of
Diversity Council
N/A
N/A
Program + Partnerships in Development
min. 1/region
8 hours per year 8 hours per year
Actions + Impact
ARTF Action Plan | Actions + Impact For us it is all about taking aligned action – meaning that our intensions (mission, vision, values) are aligned with what we say (commitments) and the actions which we take (walking the talk). Before we take action, it was important that we took a moment to pause, reflect and get clear. The summer and fall of 2020 was the time for this, and it culminated in this action plan. Our goal is to become an “Equitable Engineering” firm, as well as a Deep Green Engineering + Consulting firm. The bullets to the right are the sub-categories which ARTF actions were grouped. These buckets are internal company teams, programs and/or initiatives. Bucketing items in this way supports our internal processes to ensure appropriate action can be executed, tracked and managed.
ACTION BUCKETS •
•
• • •
“Grow With Us” – Professional/ Personal Development • Mentorship • Career Development • Personal Development • Training (Integral Academy) • Leadership Learnings Initiatives & Programs • Integral Gives + #WeAreIntegral Month • Diversity Council + Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) • CSER All-Staff Survey • Industry Advocacy + JUST Label Marketing & Communications • Comms Plan • Project Go/No Go Tool Recruiting Founder’s Influence • Integral Awards • Impact Fund • Fresh Voices
The following pages provide each of the specific actions which we are committing to take. These reflect an aspect that supports making Integral an anti-racist organization through pro-active engagement and change. We understand that this action plan will need to be revisited on an annual basis and updated based on our lived experiences.
Photo by Razvan Dumitrasconiu on Unsplash
ARTF Action Plan | Mentorship We recognize that mentorship takes place at many levels and in many different ways. We are committed to the continued evolution of mentorship activities in order to provide the best support to our staff in an equitable manner which will help foster a culture of inclusion and growth.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
'Tell Us More' Leadership interviews hosted to inform and inspire upcoming leaders and allow them to share new perspectives: features BIPOC + Womxn Leaders.* 'Tell Us More' platform on Connect: Framework for virtual and organic mentorship opportunities.* Informal meetings (one-on-one check-ins between managers and staff) include time for personal check-ins. Employees who identify as under-represented groups and under-represented minority groups are set up with formal mentors, as requested.
* This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | Career Development Career Development at Integral aims to provide constructive feedback, access to learning, self development resources and clear career pathways for all of our employees. An objective, consistent pathway and promotion evaluation process will help to ensure that biases are not part of the decision making process.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
Evaluate and begin to update succession planning framework.
Creating career pathways through the career development initiative - job architecture framework for every role to have pathways for progression.* Evaluate Performance Review process and identify improvements that will help remove biases within feedback and career development conversations, implement updates. Every employee (and their manager) knows what career pathway they want to take. This is achieved through the performance review and development process where managers help provide guidance. Every promotion is evaluated through the lens of career pathways and skills matrix. Our pipeline and succession planning is healthy allowing for upper level hires to be filled internally.
* This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | Personal Development At Integral, we are invested in our people. We aim to bolster our employee's personal development by providing support, resources and tools to help each person on their journey towards reaching their highest potential in many realms including anti-racism.
ACTIONS Online Library of Anti-Racism resources continues to grow and be shared out periodically to all-staff. In-office Little Library which includes books to educate, inspire and raise awareness of anti-racism (eg. “White Fragility”, “Me & White Supremacy”, “How to Become an Anti-Racist”, etc.).
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Training We are committed to providing the necessary education and tools to foster an environment of equity and opportunity for all, as well as ensuring the workplace is free of harassment, discrimination and bias.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
Mandatory annual unconscious bias (phase 1), harassment and discrimination online trainings.
Roll out Unconscious Bias (phase 2) training that goes deeper.* Consultant and curriculum selected for diversity and inclusion training.* Live facilitated diversity and inclusion training curriculum launched.* How to handle micro-aggressions in the workplace training for Leadership Team. Emotional Intelligence training for the Leadership teams. How to handle micro-aggressions in the workplace training available for all staff. Emotional Intelligence training for the up and coming leaders within our pipeline. * This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | Leadership Learnings Integral's leadership is committed to continuous learning and adaptation to best serve our staff, clients and firm. This commitment extends to our work and learning around anti-racism. We understand that change needs to happen from the bottom up, as well as from the top.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
Leadership Participates in ARTF Workshops.
Quarterly ARTF Updates sent out via Connect to share progress.*
Quarterly ARTF + Action Plan progress updates to SMT and Managing Principals.* Leadership commitment to anti-racist learning: read 1 book from ARTF resource list annually. Leadership Participation in ERG program.
* This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | Integral Gives (page 1 of 2) Integral Gives is an effort to develop a global framework formalizing Integral’s commitment to giving back. Supporting the most vulnerable, under-served and under-represented through our technical expertise, time and funds. This initiative provides the framework for Integral's charitable work and outreach efforts around Anti-Racism.
ACTIONS #WeAreIntegral Month will continue to focus on supporting causes that impact underrepresented and minority groups. Launch Integral Gives Program streams: Volunteering, Pro-Bono Work, Youth Outreach, Integral Engaged. Pro-bono work taken on is intentionally focused on positively impacting underrepresented, minority or under-resourced communities. Integral Gives volunteering mandates 30% focus on anti-racism efforts or supporting under-represented minority groups. Offices partner with a local school (ages 8-16) from low-income/ underresourced areas annually to provide outreach throughout the year. Creating mentorship opportunities for under-privileged, under-represented and minority groups through both technical and non-traditions routes into the AEC industry.
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Integral Gives (page 2 of 2) Integral Gives is an effort to develop a global framework formalizing Integral’s commitment to giving back. Supporting the most vulnerable, under-served and under-represented through our technical expertise, time and funds. This initiative provides the framework for Integral's charitable work and outreach efforts around Anti-Racism.
ACTIONS BIPOC outreach group to visit under-privileged schools and speak about their journey to where they are now with the aim to inspire children and open their eyes to opportunities within the AEC industry for them. Host a BIPOC children in engineering day where we invite groups from organizations which are centred around the BIPOC community to come into the office for a show and tell day. Integral BIPOC Scholarship created to support future generations.
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Diversity Council + ERGs Aimed at creating a safe + inclusive work environment. The overarching focus is to provide opportunity and support to people of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, gender identifications, abilities, incomes, marital statuses, ages, geographic locations, philosophies, and veteran status in all levels of staff and leadership. The DC launched ERGs in Q1 2021, including a group for BIPOC staff.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
Update firm-wide meeting templates, and PPT templates to include land acknowledgements.* Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) launch starting with our base groups around mental health, the BIPOC community, LQBTQIA+ and Womxn. Creating safe spaces during all meetings to encourage vulnerability, inclusion and understanding: start all internal meetings with 'clearings'. Include land acknowledgements during all formal meetings.
Assess the ethnic and racial makeup of our BIPOC ERG and make more specific ERGs where there is the desire and numbers permit.
* This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | CSER All-Staff Survey Integral is committed to anonymously gathering information from our staff annually which allows us to conduct an informed analysis and shapes our decision making and programs. These surveys cover our main CSER categories of Environmental Footprint, Justice, Equity, Diversity + Inclusion, Health + Wellbeing, Education + Impact and Safety + Resilience.
ACTIONS Continue our commitment to collecting annual data and reporting through the global CSER annual report. Continue to adjust and shift our questions to ensure we are collecting data that allows us transparency and the ability to take action where necessary in the realm of anti-racism. CSER Data is made available through an integrated data visualization software to enable more granular analysis, showing trends for specific groups and intersectionality.
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Advocacy + JUST Label Integral will advocate within the AEC industry for changes to support a more diverse, inclusive and anti-racist industry standard. Integral is committed to renewing our JUST label with the aim of improving performance with every recertification. The JUST framework helps to guide our policies, benefits and decisions towards becoming a more diverse, equitable, anti-racist and sustainable company.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
Communicate to ASHRAE (and other applicable organizations) that we would like the industry to discontinue to use of the terms “master-controller” and “slave controller”.* Strategically join / partner with BIPOC engineering organizations.
JUST label renewal.
Work with ILFI to create a more globally applicable framework.
* This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | Comms Plan Integral's Communications Plan focuses on both internal and external communications from the firm. Our goal is to provide transparency, clarity and to create an impact through effective communication showcasing what we stand for and how we contribute when it comes to anti-racism and social + environmental justice.
ACTIONS Grassroots communications coming from our Diversity Council and ARTF (ie. Black History Month education/focus/events). Integral's Communications Plan ensures that both internal and external communications feature BIPOC representation and display focus on our JEDI and ARTF goals. Host internal seminars (Design Series, IG Talks, Tell Us More) that spotlight our work that supports social + environmental justice to reinforce the importance of that work. Create a global calendar of cultural holidays based on the representation of our workforce captured by the all-staff survey and acknowledge and celebrate these at an office level. Implement a tracking process to measure our BIPOC representation through all Communications. Implement a tracking process to measure our communications featuring work that supports social + environmental justice and work supporting underrepresented and minority communities.
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Project Go/No Go Tools Integral will utilize Go/No Go assessment tools which use indicators such as values, diversity, JUST requirements and community impact to help guide our projects, partnerships and relationships. These tools will help us assess and adjust to ensure we are promoting equity and supporting work and partnerships in line with our ARTF desired outcomes.
ACTIONS Create a framework to set targets for and track the projects we take on that support underrepresented and underrepresented minority communities. Update the Go/No-Go assessment to identify red flag projects and clients we work with to ensure we do not support work that is dangerously outside of our values, while also ensuring that we identify green light projects that we should always, when possible, take on no matter how small. Formalize our “Hard No” class of projects that we refuse to take part in (eg. privatized prisons in the USA). Create an assessment process to ensure we are working with suppliers, contractors, manufacturers and vendors whose practises are in alignment with our values and goals. Allow individual freedoms to our employees to pass on working on projects that undermine their values without reprimand.
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Recruiting Integral's Recruitment Strategy aims to find the best candidate for each role while taking into account our desire and need to create a diverse workforce that is free of bias as well as our goal to ensure our workforce demographic is representative of the communities in which we work.
ACTIONS Diversity of recruitment policy updated: our commitment to searching out diverse candidates and the utilization of a skills matrix. Office leadership + People Team members are equipped with local census data (race + ethnicity stats) and where office demographics stand in comparison, to help guide recruitment + promotions to build diversity at all levels. Evaluate Applicant Tracking systems which will allow blind recruiting and metrics to track the efficacy of diversity hiring efforts. Create partnerships with whom to promote our vacancies (e.g. National Society of Black Engineers Job Board, non-profits supporting under-represented groups, etc.) in order to actively seek BIPOC candidates. All employment offers are made within the bounds of our compensation program which accounts for market conditions, education, credentials and experience. Consistent BIPOC representation from our firm at job fairs with organizations we have identified as long term partners. Consistent attendance at job fairs for BIPOC.
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
ARTF Action Plan | Founder’s Influence Integral Awards are our annual internal awards program structured around our values of Trust, Nurture + Inspire and pillars of Imagine, Perform, Accelerate + Sustain. We aim to spotlight our work around social and environmental justice through these awards. Impact Fund is our platform for investing in strategic research and development initiatives. On an annual basis the Impact Fund will allocate 0.5% of our NSR directly to R+D initiatives and aims to secure match funding from external sources. Fresh Voices brings together a group of staff who represent the next generation of leaders within the firm, to ponder on both the current + future direction of Integral. We are committed to ensuring this group is diverse and includes under-represented + minority groups.
ACTIONS
THEN (2020)
NOW (2021)
NEXT
(2022-2025)
FUTURE (2026-2030)
Integral Awards submissions to showcase our work that addresses issues of social and environmental justice. Promote and spotlight Integral Awards submissions that showcase our work that addresses issues of social and environmental justice.. Embed ARTF into Integral Awards in an intentional manner (new category, encouraging non-technical submissions, etc.).* Encourage a culture of innovation through the annual Impact Fund Program.*
Impact Fund: new project to define social equity indicators within our LCA analysis. (utilize social lifecycle assessment as base). Impact Fund: Create partnerships to implement industry wide updates to include social equity indicators to S-LCA Host Fresh Voices retreat with a diverse and inclusive group of employees. * This action item or timeline has been revised through the ARTF Quarterly Check-in Meetings. These revised actions have been approved by the team responsible and the ARTF.
ARTF Action Plan | Conclusion The following is a summary life of “Now” actions to be prioritized for 2021 calendar year: •
Promote and spotlight Integral Awards submissions that showcase our work that addresses issues of social and environmental justice.
•
Encourage a culture of innovation through the annual Impact Fund Program.
•
Office leadership + People Team members are equipped with local census data (race + ethnicity stats) and where office demographics stand in comparison, to help guide recruitment + promotions to build diversity at all levels.
•
•
Grassroots communications coming from our Diversity Council and ARTF (ie. Black History Month education/focus/events). Communicate to ASHRAE (and other applicable organizations) that we would like the industry to discontinue to use of the terms “master-controller” and “slave controller”.
•
Update firm-wide meeting templates, and PPT templates to include 'clearings' and land acknowledgements.
•
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) launch starting with our base groups around mental health, the BIPOC community, LQBTQIA+ and womxn.
•
#WeAreIntegral Month will continue to focus on supporting causes that impact under-represented and minority groups.
•
Launch Integral Gives Program streams: Volunteering, Pro-Bono Work, Youth Outreach, Integral Engaged. Probono work taken on is intentionally focused on positively impacting under-represented, minority or under-resourced communities.
•
Monthly ARTF + Action Plan progress updates at SMT Meetings.
•
Roll out Unconscious Bias (phase 2) training that goes deeper + is facilitated.
•
Virtual Mentorship series includes at least 1 topic on anti-racism in the workplace.
•
Creating career pathways for remaining areas (MEP done 2020, progress continued in 2021, complete for all other areas by 2022).
•
JUST re-certification.
•
Work with ILFI to create a more globally applicable framework.
•
Continue our commitment to collecting annual data and reporting through the global CSER annual report.
•
•
Continue to adjust and shift our questions to ensure we are collecting data that allows us transparency and the ability to take action where necessary in the realm of anti-racism.
Virtual Mentorship sessions hosted to inform and inspire upcoming leaders and allow them to share new perspectives: features BIPOC + Womxn Leaders.
•
Create framework for virtual mentorship to support 2022 actions.
Photo by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash