Case study: How Baker Hughes promotes workplace diversity
Baker Hughes is a leading energy technology company that has a diverse portfolio of equipment and service capabilities that span the energy and industrial value chain. Baker Hughes celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of each employee Tweet This! and believes that everyone has the right to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect.
This case study is based on the 2019 Report on Corporate Responsibility by Baker Hughes published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Baker Hughes’ executive Inclusion and Diversity council meets on a quarterly basis to track progress against Baker Hughes’ goals, and to identify new opportunities to create a more inclusive and diverse culture. In order to promote workplace diversity Baker Hughes took action to:
- launch Employee Resource Groups
- develop a diverse and localised supply chain
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Baker Hughes has identified;
- How Baker Hughes proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Baker Hughes to promote workplace diversity
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Report on Corporate Responsibility Baker Hughes identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics and transparency, community and stakeholder engagement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, attracting, retaining and developing talent, process safety and asset management. Among these, promoting workplace diversity stands out as a key material issue for Baker Hughes.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Baker Hughes engages with:
Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
Customers | · Global, regional and local industry events, forums, and conferences · Proprietary company events and meetings · Partnerships and working groups to advance best practices |
Investors | · Public quarterly earnings calls · Annual shareholder meeting · Executive meetings, presentations, and operational tours · Outreach programme led by Baker Hughes’ Investor Relations group, the Corporate Secretary’s Office, and Executive Compensation Team |
Employees
| · Culture and pulse surveys · Town hall meetings · Interactive online forums · People leader engagement · Employee Resource Groups, many with senior leader sponsors · CEO’s Employee Pulse Group |
Governments | · Formal and informal bilateral meetings with public officials at all levels of government · Lobbying and other direct engagement in compliance with applicable laws and regulations |
Community
| · Civic engagement through economic development groups, chambers of commerce and related forums · Collaboration and social investments where Baker Hughes operates and in support of broader society |
Policy groups and industry associations
| · Membership participation across the globe · Working groups, committees, and public-private partnership activities in industry groups and associations · Leadership and committee positions that extend and strengthen organisational capabilities |
Universities, Institutions, and NGOs
| · Connections, collaborations and partnerships on a variety of shared business, industry, social and environmental interests globally |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Baker Hughes asked EY to consolidate on its behalf input from in-person interviews, focus groups and surveys with its external stakeholders.
What actions were taken by Baker Hughes to promote workplace diversity?
In its 2019 Report on Corporate Responsibility Baker Hughes reports that it took the following actions for promoting workplace diversity:
- Launching Employee Resource Groups
- Employee Resource Groups (ERG) have a powerful influence on building awareness, change, and community, give a voice to groups who may otherwise be unheard and help elevate conversation and awareness around key issues. They create a sense of belonging and help Baker Hughes build a stronger, more diverse work environment. They take an active role in company priorities, employee engagement activities, and community service in the communities where Baker Hughes Baker Hughes recently relaunched its ERG community to bring together its affinity groups into a common framework. At year end 2019, Baker Hughes had 3,217 members enrolled into the groups and now has 5,215 members. This effort has reenergised Baker Hughes’ diversity and inclusion focus, and fostered closer connections between employees in communities around the world. Baker Hughes’ ERGs sponsor programmes to provide support and resources for their members and the company as a whole on topics such as wellness, mindfulness, and career development. Baker Hughes’ Employee Resource Groups:
- African American Forum (AAF)
- Asian Pacific American Forum
- Enabled
- LatinX
- Multicultural
- Pride@Work
- Veterans
- Women’s Network
- Developing a diverse and localised supply chain
- Baker Hughes values the importance and business value of cultivating a diverse supply chain, and contributing economically to the communities where it Building strong and diverse local relationships promotes economic development, supply chain resilience, and equitable societies. In the U.S. Baker Hughes made strides to quantify and increase its spend with certified enterprises that are majority owned and operated by minorities, women, veterans, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), and small businesses. In 2019, Baker Hughes’ U.S. spend with diverse suppliers and small businesses was $132M, a 13% increase over the prior year. Internationally, Baker Hughes focuses on increasing local content and local spend in the countries where it operates. Recently, Baker Hughes was awarded with the In Kingdom Total Value Add award in Saudi Arabia for “Best in Supplier and Small and Medium Enterprises Development”. To achieve these results, Baker Hughes integrated supplier diversity tracking to a common system, established supplier diversity champions in each of its four product companies, and launched pilot programmes to increase diverse supply of targeted commodities and repair materials.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees
Disclosure 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
- Targets: 5.1, 5.5
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.5
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, IEMA, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
See upcoming training dates.
References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Baker Hughes, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
Note to Baker Hughes: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.