The USCC’s DEI Workgroup continues to meet monthly in subgroups and as a full committee to pursue its initial goals of baseline training for members and collection of data about member and industry characteristics and needs.
The group was also excited to hear that the USCC Certification Commission is currently seeking a translator to provide a Spanish version of the Certification Test, due to industry demand. The Commission is evaluating proposals now.
Training
The Training subcommittee, headed by Renee Wallace, is preparing learning goals such as
the business case for DEI, USCC commitment and future efforts, challenges and opportunities, getting started, the language of DEI, and facilitated dialogues. Sponsors and grants are being sought to keep the training free or low cost.
Data Gathering
USCC has already begun to change some of its application fields for webinars, new members, and event registrations to begin to build a sense of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and gender composition of USCC membership. The subcommittee hopes to work with partners like the Institute for Local Self Reliance, which has undergone this exercise, to build a poll to further define the composition of member companies to determine access needs to training and resources.
To join the committee work, contact Committee Chair/Board member Samantha Winkle samantha.winkle@wasteconnections.com or staff Gowri Sundaram gsundaram@compostingcouncil.org