People as a force for good

VOLUNTEERING

We recognise that volunteering has many benefits, from helping us to understand better and serve our communities, developing the skills of our people and building pride in our business. But most of all, giving back to the communities that support us is the right thing to do.

CHARITY

We support good causes both locally and nationally. Through community funds in and around our power stations and wind farms, and as part of our charity partnerships, fundraising is a keystone of our culture. It brings people together and builds a sense of wider purpose.

In January 2020 we launched our three-year partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, aiming to raise £300,000 from employee fundraising over that time. EDF will match funds raised by our people by up to £50,000 per annum, making a total target of £450,000. 

GOALS AND TARGETS

Investing in the communities we serve:

• Enable our people to achieve great things in the communities we serve

VOLUNTEERING

Through our Force for Good volunteering programme, our employees have the opportunity to spend two days of company time each year supporting local community and environmental projects. 

By donating their time and energy, employees build relationships with community groups and charities, as well as contributing to projects that support the delivery of our sustainability strategy.

CHARITY

EDF and Prostate Cancer UK are working together for three years to help fund vital life-saving research and to support men and their families across the UK. Employees are doing everything they can to support this partnership, from hosting bake sales and dress-up days, to running marathons and cycling to Paris - our employees are making a difference.

Our vision for Diversity and Inclusion is to capture the value that difference brings. Our activities are guided by seven principles:

• Our people have the tools, awareness and commitment to live, breathe and promote our D&I principles and make this part of 'business as usual'. 
• We have a working environment where individual differences are valued and our employees are encouraged to understand, respect and embrace diversity.
• We recruit, develop, nurture and promote the very best person for every job ensuring that we treat everyone fairly, with respect, and select from the widest possible pool of talent.
• We use our influence as a significant supplier and procurer of products and services to encourage and promote diversity through the supply chain and within local communities.
• We have a working environment that respects individuals' responsibilities and their wish to balance work and personal life.
• We appreciate and meet the diverse range of needs of all our customers ensuring we have a reputation as an organisation that has diversity and inclusion as a core value.
• We have robust and clear data to measure our progress.  We benchmark ourselves against the best.
   

To support our work, we currently have seven employee networks governed by a Diversity and Inclusion Action Group. The networks help us to attract, recruit, develop and maintain diverse talent and share experience and ideas across the business. These networks are:

• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic
• Disability and Carers Network
• LGBT Supporters Network
• Women’s Network
• Working Parents Network
• Forces Support Network
• Young Professionals 
   

Finally, we assess our activities through the National Equality Standard since 2015 we have been accredited to the National Equality Standard (NES) certification. This involves us being assessed for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies against 70 factors set out within the NES framework.

GOALS AND TARGETS

To build an inclusive, open and welcoming workplace where everyone can be themselves and perform their best:

• We will have maintained the National Equality Standard (NES) and delivered our inclusion strategy by 2019
• % women in senior leadership positions
• % ethnic minorities in senior leadership positions
•  Inclusion index score of 80%

DIVERSITY

Diversity and Inclusion Week was designed to engage all employees across all of our locations. Employees participated via a number of online and innovative engagement platforms.

We also supported EDF Group on key initiatives during 2018 with a focus on gender diversity. Business Unit plans have continued to increase focus around workforce agility and the modernisation of our working environment.

ENGAGEMENT AND INCLUSION

Our aim is to maintain a team of high performing people. This translates into continued time and investment into training, skills, diversity and inclusion, but also means we actively engage with our employees on what we do and how we do it. We believe that motivated and inspired employees deliver a better service for customers and more innovative solutions for our business. Their energy and achievements help us to attract the most talented people into our company.

We monitor employee engagement through an annual employee engagement survey which measures how engaged our people are. It also provides everyone with the opportunity to tell us how they feel and how we could do better. The participation rate in the 2018 survey was 78% which was a 4% decrease compared to 2017 and the overall the engagement score was 76%. 

LEADERSHIP & STRATEGIC DIRECTION

Following feedback, we concentrated on maintaining leadership visibility and engaging people with our strategy for 2020 and similar long-term goals such as The Better Plan.

INNOVATION

People and innovation are at the heart of our transformation as a digital and industrial company and 2018 continued to be the year of innovation at EDF Energy.  Good progress has been made in this area, including widening of our Blue Lab and Research and Development activity.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & RENEWAL

The focus for this area has been on ensuring that EDF Energy, its leaders and its employees have the right skills base to operate in the ‘new world’ as we progress towards an increasingly digital, innovative and agile culture. The extent of development activity across EDF Energy has been such that in the last two years, 98% of EDF Energy employees have accessed and completed a wide range of available training to support the development of skill and competency in their current role as well as renewal of skills for the future.  

The use of digital technology in learning across the organisation has played a key role, not only enhancing learning but increasing accessibility whilst also in many cases, reducing time required away from the business and in travel.  A great example of this is within Nuclear Generation where the use of digital technology has helped to increase levels of Hazard Perception resulting in a reduction in injury and accident rates where it has been rolled out.   This innovative training intervention has recently won an Innovation in Learning Award due to the clear understanding and linkage to a clear business need as well as demonstrable Return on Investment.    

The ongoing development of skills and competence for the future continues with a range of offerings in place for apprentices, graduates and new entrants to the industry both with EDF Energy and in partnership with the National College for Nuclear with the Southern Hub at Cannington Court delivering a number of programmes including Technician and Project Controls Apprenticeships.  Discussions are also underway to support future decommissioning requirements.  We continue to partner with EDF Group colleagues to develop synergies on common projects such as Learning Management System, and Talent Pathways to develop our leadership population

The focus for 2019 will be on ensuring simple access to impactful and innovative learning for all employees  whilst  also driving value and efficiency through digital learning tools and strong relationships with key suppliers whilst maximising external funding opportunities available to us.    We will continue to work in partnership with agencies such as ECITB and CITB to ensure our provision is in line with industry standards and reflective of current and future requirements.

COMPANY WIDE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ENGAGEMENT

Diversity and Inclusion Week was designed to engage all employees across all of our locations. Employees participated via a number of online and innovative engagement platforms.

We also supported EDF Group on key initiatives during 2018 with a focus on gender diversity. Business Unit plans have continued to increase focus around workforce agility and the modernisation of our working environment.

NATIONAL EQUALITY STANDARD

We have received confirmation that EDF Energy has achieved the National Equality Standard (NES) reaccreditation, one of only 11 companies to date to achieve this. The NES sets clear equality, diversity and inclusion criteria against which companies are independently assessed. It has become the accepted standard for inclusiveness in business across the UK with accreditation and helps to ensure long term sustainable change, a beneficial impact in productivity and growth and provides a detailed roadmap with recommendations to help implement those areas requiring improvement.

YOUNG PEOPLE AND STEM

We want to help young people develop their confidence, competence and personal values, including being inclusive and open to the world. With this in mind, last year we became a strategic partner with the National Citizen Service, one of the largest youth social action programmes for 15 to 17-year-olds in the UK. This builds on our support of HRH The Prince of Wales’ #iwill campaign.

PRETTY CURIOUS

86% of people working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in the UK are male. We want to engage girls in STEM careers to make sure we have the very best talent driving innovation for years to come.

Pretty Curious is our innovative, multi-channel platform encouraging girls to get into STEM. Aimed at girls aged 11-16 and their parents, the campaign combines traditional media and digital channels, as well as offline and online experiential activities, to address common misconceptions about STEM and spark girls' curiosity.

THE POD

The Pod, our online schools programme, is part of our ambition to inspire the next generation in tackling climate change. It encourages young people and their families to choose a more sustainable lifestyle. It helps children understand that a low carbon, secure and affordable energy supply is vital for the future.

The Pod provides free, curriculum-linked resources for teachers and runs national campaigns for schools. It gives young people hands-on science experience, raises awareness of climate change and other environmental issues. The Pod also profiles female scientists to encourage more girls in to science studies and careers.

We also work to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and encourage science and engineering as a career choice.

APPRENTICESHIPS 

Our apprenticeship programme is an example of how we prepare for the future by investing in the present. Some of our apprentices are involved in the national roll-out of millions of smart meters in customers’ homes and businesses. These meters are transforming the way our customers understand and engage with energy.

Other apprentices are supporting the life extension of our nuclear power stations, using innovative technology to address new and complex challenges. And, of course, our new nuclear power station project at Hinkley Point C will put 1,000 apprentices at the centre of the construction and operation of the first in a brand new generation of nuclear power stations across the UK.

CAMPUS

We develop the skills and capabilities of our existing workforce through Campus, our network of modern training facilities, and our e-learning tools. Whether it’s by developing their professional expertise with our Company Makers’ programme or by getting involved in our volunteering activities, many of our people engage with the initiatives we make available.

TRAINING AND SKILLS

We invest significantly in training and development infrastructure for the Nuclear Power Academy at Barnwood. This ensures our employees are equipped with the latest skills and competence for today’s nuclear industry and for the new nuclear age.   

We are also supporting the skills gap within and beyond our sector.  There is a national shortage of steel-fixers in the UK – the men and women who create the steel frames inside concrete. Working in collaboration with Bridgewater College in Somerset we developed a training course which is attended not only by our workforce but also by workers from other UK infrastructure projects across Britain. 

GOALS AND TARGETS

To inspire the next generation and build a stronger future:

• Deliver our skills and education strategy

SUPPORTING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

EDF Energy’s success depends on an engaged and skilled workforce. To help build this for the future, we are investing in education and skills development in young people. We have developed our early careers pipeline providing opportunities through our graduate, apprenticeship, internships and industrial placement programmes.

Our apprenticeship programme is an example of how we prepare for the future by investing in the present.  Some of our apprentices are supporting the life extension of our nuclear power stations, using innovative technology to address new and complex challenges. Whilst our new nuclear power station project at Hinkley Point C is putting 1,000 apprentices at the centre of the construction and operation of the first in a brand new generation of nuclear power stations across the UK.

Our graduate programme is also key to our long-term success, available in a range of business, science and engineering disciplines – each offering the chance to develop quickly through a combination of formal professional and on-the-job learning. The structure and content of these schemes varies according to the individual discipline. But they all feature personally tailored, individual development plans and formal rotations to give you the broadest view of our business.

We continuously develop new talent by:

• Developing our sponsored student pipeline, mentoring students throughout their final year at university.
• Engaging and educating young people through the Young HPC programme.
• Engaging and educating Visitor Centre Coordinators to improve the way we communicate about our early careers opportunities.
• Developing relationships with schools, colleges and universities, to allow us to recruit new apprentices and graduates from suitable courses.

THE POD

The Pod programme is designed to inspire young people and their families to choose a more sustainable lifestyle, to encourage science and engineering as a career choice and to shape the way young people think about energy.

 The Pod received a new look at the end of September 2017, with a re-launched website that is now optimised for use on mobile phones and tablets.

Additionally it now has improved functionality and a differentiated look and feel for different age groups. More than 20,000 schools in the UK have registered to the programme since it first launched in 2008, with over 12,500 currently active. This number is bolstered by over 200 schools from 56 other countries from around the world.

The Pod has a consistently impressive reach in 2018, with more than 2,200 schools taking part in Switch off Fortnight in November alone.

Our collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) continues through our ground-breaking citizen science experiment ‘What’s under your feet’. School children are helping the BTO to build the first-ever UK map of invertebrate abundance. The analysis of the first two years is now complete and the scientific study detailing the findings will soon be published. 

HINKLEY POINT C INSPIRE PROGRAMME

EDF Energy’s Nuclear New Build (NNB) ‘Inspire’ Education Programme has continued to prepare young Somerset people for the opportunities that will arrive with the construction and operation of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C (HPC) in Somerset. The HPC Project will require skilled workers with a good foundation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

The programme began in the Autumn Term of 2011 and aims to inspire young people to continue to study STEM subjects - building a sustainable legacy for the future through a pipeline from education to skills and into future long-term employment. The programme aims to work in collaboration with education and key partners to help close this gap and create a framework that will support skills development and pathways into work.

As ever, the delivery of Inspire’s key interventions are achieved through effective partnership working between EDF Energy and key stakeholders including Local Education Partnerships, Tier One Partners, Union Learn, Sector Skills Bodies, Somerset County Council, Sedgemoor and North and West Somerset District Councils.

• Within the academic year from September 2017 to February 2018:72 STEM and Career activities were safely delivered across 123 education institutions across Somerset and beyond. This has led to 7264 pupil interactions through STEM days and workshops, specialist STEM Events, Careers Fairs, Employability programme events and Visitor Centre-led tours of Hinkley Point B and C.
• We are also working to support teachers in their continued professional development. 61 Teacher and Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance professionals have now been given the opportunity to tour of the HPC Construction, given specific information on the opportunities the project can offer to young people currently in education, including how to encourage students to register for the new Young HPC programme.
• Throughout 2017, we have continued our partnership with the National Citizen Service (NCS) with our work now reaching over 600 Somerset students to date. Also working closely with the Somerset Rural Youth Project and Active8, Inspire has delivered a series of site tours, careers events to help shed light on STEM careers and reinforce the importance of developing strong employability skills
• The Inspire programme continues to provide strategic support to the West Somerset Opportunity Area in its aim to improve social-mobility and regional productivity. As well as having representation on the Board, EDF Energy is a ‘Cornerstone Employer’ and is actively delivering activities at West Somerset College, Minehead Middle and Danesfield Middle School.

YOUNG HPC

The new and innovative Young HPC Programme was launched in October 2017 after a collaborative development process with both HPC contractors and stakeholders to specifically support local careers advice and guidance.

Young HPC will provide a platform for young people to embed themselves within the project and place themselves in ‘pole position’ to take advantage of the breadth of opportunities as well as providing progression and a continued engagement route for those learners already within the Inspire programme.