2021 Transformation Report: Moving to Equity - Flipbook - Page 8
Our Five Pillars
The Southern Company system is commited to an equitable and inclusive workplace.
The following outlines our commitments in our five focus pillars.
TALENT
Our commitment is to increase and improve outreach,
recruitment, hiring and retention of diverse groups at
all levels of the workforce; ensure equity in leadership
development programs; and seek diverse candidate slates for
management roles. Across our company, each subsidiary and
function has established measurable goals in these areas to
achieve by 2025.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
The Southern Company system is committed to promoting
an actively anti-racist culture and to ensure that all groups
are well-represented, included and fairly treated within
all levels of the organization, and that everyone feels
welcomed, valued, respected and heard.
We will continue to organize active listening sessions
to better understand the experience of our Black and
underrepresented employees. We will work to prevent
barriers that may undermine a sense of empowerment for
our underrepresented employees. We also will review and
evolve our internal business practices and policies to ensure
advancement of our social justice goals.
We are committed to forging change within
our company and communities. Watch CEO
Tom Fanning talk about the importance
of leadership in creating equity and hear
from other leaders across
the system on our equity
framework and actions we
are taking. Scan the QR code
to watch.
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Transformation Report
COMMUNITY & SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Southern Company system and its charitable foundations
are committing $225 million through 2025 to advance
racial equity and social justice in our communities. We
will be vocal and clear, internally and externally, about our
racial equity beliefs and will align our volunteer, giving and
community investment strategies to four key pillars: education
equity, criminal justice equity, economic empowerment and
energy justice.
In all, $100 million will go to promote educational equality
through direct community investments, scholarships for
underrepresented groups and investment in Historically
Black Colleges and Universities. $50 million will be dedicated
to criminal justice equity organizations working to reform
the criminal justice system and reduce racial profiling. An
additional $50 million will support economic empowerment
through grants and impact investments. Another $25 million
will go to support customers and communities related to
energy equity, a Just Transition and environmental justice.
POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT
Southern Company is committed to leveraging our political
influence to advocate for policies that address systemic
racism, education equity, criminal justice equity, economic
empowerment and energy justice. We will make political and policy
decisions using a consistent process that incorporate Our Values.
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
Southern Company subsidiaries have a goal to increase total
diverse spend to 30% by 2025 and develop and do business
with more Black-owned businesses in our industry and
communities.
To reinforce this work, we will track progress toward our
ambitions with a clear set of metrics and benchmarks.
