Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Energy

⸻ Beyond Energy

Find out what EDI is and why it's important from TIDE Industry Liason, Damian Dowling

Recently on the Hypercube Podcast, we were joined by Damian Dowling, Industry Liaison at TIDE (Tackling Inclusion and Diversity in Energy) and BD (UK) Manager – Energy Flexibility at Enel X.

Damian is a seasoned energy professional with a rich background in both the energy and sustainability sectors spanning 17 years, and provides insight into the evolving landscape of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the energy industry.

Tell us a bit about you and your roles which tackle EDI in energy.

I kicked off my journey into the energy industry by completing a Masters in Science at Trinity College in Dublin. From here, I moved to London and commenced my career in global energy where I’ve been for the last 17 years, currently in the role of BD (UK Energy Flexibility) Manager at Enel X.

Having worked on the sustainability side of the energy industry, it’s difficult to focus solely on energy or commercial pillars. There’s a human – or Social Value – pillar of any company roadmap that is detrimental to organisational success if ignored. This led me to my voluntary role in EDI, supported by my MSc in Psychology and Level 7 EDI qualification with the Chartered Management Institute to complement.

Tell us a little bit about Pride in Energy and TIDE?

Energy was, and in parts still is, one of the least inclusive sectors in the UK. I’m on the TIDE (Tackling Inclusion and Diversity in Energy) taskforce and the Pride in Energy Committee. TIDE is an umbrella organisation that encompasses EDI in energy and these overlap considerably. Both organisations are supported by leading industry bodies such as Energy UK, The Institute of Energy, The Energy Networks Association and numerous others.

A number of organisations are working on EDI in siloes and behind closed doors. However, it’s an incredibly important topic and only grows stronger when we share our learnings and initiatives. For that reason, TIDE’s mission statement is to combine cross-sector learnings and use these best practices to initiate industry-wide change.

My role is to lead this search with other sectors so that we can bring learnings from industries such as Water, Healthcare, Rail, Construction and beyond, back to the energy industry. This involves data-driven methodologies such as surveys, a health index and a Leader’s Commitment for CEOs in energy.

TIDE Priority Areas

What could be done to promote diverse voices in energy?

Organisations like TIDE are ensuring that diverse voices in energy are represented and promoted. We’re moving from an industry that is working in the dark, behind closed doors at times, to broadcasting their great work so that we can all strengthen our roadmap. The message we want to convey is to get in touch – we’re here to help you.

In terms of specific actions, acknowledging and learning about intersectionality – the understanding that different aspects of a group or individual’s identity (for example race, gender and class) intersect to create unique experiences of discrimination or privilege – is crucial. To add to this, workplace bias training that gives 95% of focus to System 1 (unconscious bias) and 5% focus to System 2 (logical correction to said biases) is beneficial in eliminating bias in the workplace and helping diverse voices to thrive.

In your role you’re mentoring CEOs and senior-level executives, what benefits are organisations seeing when they focus on building diverse workplaces?

In the industry, we’re lucky in a way that energy has such an impact on sustainability – because this means we can make huge strides in annual reports by addressing energy. Other industries don’t have that and to impact their sustainability footprint, they needed to concentrate on Social Value.

In my experience of mentoring CEOs and Directors, they recognise that they can sometimes lag behind other industries when it comes to workplace diversity. This opens up the conversation to building out a bespoke EDI strategy that fits their organisation and workforce.

The biggest impact they see from building diverse teams and striving for EDI is that their employees aren’t expending personal energy hiding mental health, ability, sexuality, religion, or other characteristics. This means they can bring 100% of their personal energy to their role. As a result, efficiency and retention skyrockets.

Do you have any quick-fire advice for organisations looking to implement an EDI strategy?

Look at why you’re doing this. Set clear values and objectives. You will fail along the way, and end up coming back to those values – where you’re going, how you’re going to do it, and are you creating value? Change management is crucial here, and it’s one of the most difficult things you can do in an organisation.

I would recommend following this framework:

VISION: Where are we going? Long-term & high-level goals.
STRATEGY: Why are we going there? By doing what? What value are we creating?
PLAN: Detailed, timebound objectives. Measurable (e.g. SMART) outcomes. From here, each department and head of department’s teams may have individual plans to meet their objectives.

The world of work is changing, with AI and tech developments making a big impact on the way people work and engage with each other. How can organisations support their employees during this evolution?

In recent years, the workforce has felt pressures to upskill significantly within short time periods, highlighting the impacts of globalisation and technology advancements in the workplace and how we need to learn to embrace AI.

The world is changing and the UK needs to keep pace if we are to have a healthy economy and better quality of life. We won’t see quality of life if we lose our footprint in the global economy. This starts with planning now – getting to know your employees and where their strengths lie for upskilling.

AI doesn’t mean we’re going to lose people, it means we’re going to help them find new roles. The fear out there isn’t around progress, it’s around change management – we can help corporations and individuals and we can keep the UK at the forefront of business. EDI plays a fundamental role in making people feel valued and brings individuals on this journey in a positive and considered way.

What changes are you hoping to see in the EDI space in the next 5 – 10 years?

More collaboration between companies and industries. Collaboration between companies means:

Broadcasting our positive work in EDI – recent surveys have shown that individuals believe their workplace is equitable. However, the lack of wider broadcast means they don’t believe other companies are. Apart from career mobility, this also impacts stakeholder engagement, partnerships and projects.
Longitudinal surveys and benchmarking (to the national Census, for example) to monitor progress.

Without collaboration across the energy industry with regards to EDI initiatives, talent and business will be lost. Reverse allyship, where a smaller organisation like TIDE seeks out and learns from key peers across the broader energy industry, allows us to adopt best practice and insights that have made those organisations successful in EDI.

Other than TIDE, are there any other organisations doing similar work that we should be aware of?

Outside the great work that TIDE does, PRIDE in Energy actively promotes the inclusion and support of LGBTQ+ individuals within the energy industry, working to address issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community and improving EDI across the sector. Inclusive Employers has also created an interactive Diversity and Inclusion Calendar to help you easily keep track of inclusion and awareness days throughout the year, making it a valuable resource for organisations.

What excites you about the future of the energy sector?

Our next generation are informed and energised. They have Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the forefront of their mind. This emphasis dictates how they choose their supermarket, their bank, their energy provider. With that power behind decisions, they most diverse companies will naturally move to the top.

Closing remarks

If you’re in the workplace and you have concerns, don’t ever feel that there’s no support there for you, that’s exactly what TIDE is for.

If you’d like to find out more about Damian and the exciting things going on at TIDE and Pride in Energy, you can connect with Damian on LinkedIn. You can also check out the below resources:

Keep in the loop with the Hypercube Podcast

Subscribe to the Hypercube Podcast where we sit down with leaders in the energy, trading and utilities sectors to explore how data & AI can help organisations make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.