New Voices Campaign

In a recent media interview, Scottish Renewables was asked about who we need to deliver net-zero and our incredible pipeline of projects.

The answer to that question is, quite simply, everybody. 

Our industry is already facing massive demand for people from all walks of life and skillsets, and one of the great things about renewables is the breadth and diversity of roles that we can offer. 

But it runs deeper than that. 

Renewables is an industry which prides itself on doing the right thing, whether that be through our huge financial contribution to communities or our societal value in tackling climate change and doing it with a conscience. 

Something that has become more important to everyone in recent years is a focus on diversity in all its forms. We know that diverse teams and industries perform better in terms of productivity, are more open and inclusive and can recruit from a wider pool of people who can feel like they belong there because having everyone involved is important to them. In effect they are able to reach the best talent regardless of background and as a result deliver innovatively.

The adage ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ refers to people of all backgrounds, cultures and abilities being able to identify with others around them in order to belong and feel valued.

In an industry that not only wants to do the right thing but change the way society views and consumes energy it needs everyone, this is crucially important. 

At Scottish Renewables we have been working hard on diversity, particularly through representation at our events. In fact, we’ve purposefully driven up the percentage of female speakers at our events from 34% to 50% in the last four years.

But we need to do more. 

Gender inclusion is just one way to represent a diverse picture, but we recognise that our gender and in fact all of us have intersectional characteristics. We’ve had to make a big effort to achieve what we have in terms of gender diversity at Scottish Renewables, but we know that there is more work to be done on improving the representation of other underrepresented groups in the renewables industry.

We can’t just sit back and hope that something changes in the outside world, so we’ve launched a new campaign to seek and find a new set of industry ambassadors who can help us tell the world that we are an industry that will welcome and support diversity wholly and completely. 

With the support of Ørsted we have launched the New Voices Campaign to draw talent from our membership to be those ambassadors. 

We want new people and new faces (and their voices of course!) to bring something new to our conference programme, as well as spreading the word more widely through other opportunities and organisations. 

So if you are younger, older, physically or mentally impaired, in the process of transitioning, in a same sex couple, defined by your race or colour, live your life to a particular religious or philosophical belief (or none!), were first in your family to go to university or expecting a child then we would love you to take part in our New Voices programme. 

We want to see diversity and improve the representation of underrepresented groups. We encourage you to share your perspectives, backgrounds and experiences and help us as a sector to be more inclusive by taking part.

The programme is designed to help build your confidence, give you a cohort to belong to and to help you be that voice that will help others feel like they are part of a strong and supportive industry which values everybody in it.

The programme consists of four sessions; confidence building, public speaking, navigating media and public relations, rounding off with an Ask the Experts session to get you conference ready as a New Voice for the renewables industry. 

To get involved, head to the New Voices Campaign page for more information.

• Blog by Claire Mack, Chief Executive, Scottish Renewables.