IMPACT SPOTLIGHT
EQUALITY
We are proud to shape the narrative at our events and showcase the power our media brands have in improving equality, diversity and approaches to climate action.
EQUALITY
We are proud to shape the narrative at our events and showcase the power our media brands have in improving equality, diversity and approaches to climate action.
Women in Utilities
‘Just walking into a room full of women who work in a similar field to me was incredible, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room with more than three women in energy ever so it was just an amazing feeling and vibe.’
That was just one piece of feedback from the Women in Utilities Awards (WIUA), a launch event from Utility Week in association with the Womens Utilities Network (WUN), held this year.
The awards met a deep-seated need in a traditionally male industry, to champion women and showcase their achievements. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, women accounted for just 17% of the utility sector workforce in 2023.
The Women in Utilities Awards were borne out of a conversation between Utility Week’s Managing Director and the founder of WUN. They both believed the growing examples of women’s incredible achievements in the industry should be recognised and rewarded.
And they weren’t wrong! The event was a sellout, with a record-breaking 30,000 users visiting the website, making it our most visited awards platform in 2024 and clearly demonstrating the strong appetite for initiatives delivering real value and showcasing purpose across an entire sector.
The ceremony was held at a lunchtime, to be more inclusive. Our host and speaker, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, gave a moving speech about her own experiences that perfectly captured the mood of the event. We’re proud to have delivered this event in partnership with WUN and sharing a proportion of the profits to fund their ongoing work in the industry, in line with our guiding ethos as a certified B Corp.
DIVERSITY
edie’s Mission Statement
On the edie brand, 2023 was the first time we publicly published our Mission Statement, which defines and demonstrates how we lead the way on sustainability, diversity, inclusion and transparency at our events.
The ‘diversity of thought’ is fundamental to fixing the future. A room or panel devoid of diverse voices will naturally struggle to grasp global challenges dependent on interconnecting systems of our planet. The Mission Statement includes a commitment to ensuring gender and racial balance across all stages with a minimum of 20% people of colour, 50% women on average across all stages and no single-gender or single-race panel discussions on any of our stages.
We are proud to have achieved our mission for both edie 23 and 24, with edie 24 achieving 59% women and 21% people of colour and no single-gender or single-race on panel discussions.
edie events also commit to “zero greenwashing” and we have a clear set of guidelines and principles all edie speakers and partners must adhere to.
The Mission Statement incorporated a commitment to event sustainability. One key aspect of this is our catering, which is entirely vegan. Eating a plant-based diet is one way individuals can lower their personal carbon footprint. At our flagship event edie 25 next year we will showcase the ever-growing range of delicious plant-based alternatives that are now available. Carbon labels will also be on display across our catering stations, allowing us to measure the climate impact of all food on offer.
edie believes in the power of cross-sector collaboration and industry partnerships to drive sustainable business. That said, we are hyperconscious of entering into commercial partnerships with any organisation who has a net-negative impact on people or the planet. As such, we have committed to drawing up a set of clear brand guidelines which outline who we will and won't work with on a commercial basis, with an aim to publishing these in 2025.
INNOVATION
Innovation to support net zero: Springwise
With the addition of Springwise to our portfolio this year, we now offer business leaders a deep understanding of and connection to early-stage positive impact innovations helping them accelerate the transition to a net-zero, circular and equitable economy.