SWANA Board Approves DEI Vision Statement

SWANA’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion grew clearer with the passage of a DEI Vision Statement during the June 2023 Board of Directors meeting.

The Board approved the short Vision Statement proposed by the 15-member DEI Steering Committee:

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are at the heart of SWANA. The Association recognizes each individual brings a unique background with diverse experiences, thoughts, and abilities and commits to ensuring everyone feels included, treated equitably, and valued. Leading and continuing to learn in this way will make our Association stronger, more innovative, and relevant, allowing SWANA to better serve our members and industry as employers of choice. This is essential to our success.”

Steering Committee member Cherie Anderson, a Community Relations & Special Projects Manager with the Intermountain Regional Landfill in Utah, summarized the need for the Vision Statement and the inclusion of a DEI Initiative in SWANA’s recent Forward, Together Strategic Plan.

“The solid waste industry is facing increasing concerns over recruitment and retention as workplace culture complexity also plays a larger factor in employment decisions,” Anderson said. “SWANA is excited to highlight Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through this new initiative that’s part of a larger goal to showcase the solid waste industry as an employer of choice and to support the industry. The next generation of workers is the legacy of the work we do today.”

The Board also referred several tasks to the Steering Committee and SWANA Staff to include in a more-refined Road Map that will drive SWANA’s continued implementation of the Strategic Plan initiative. Among the tasks are:

• Hosting a member Town Hall about the DEI Initiative, Road Map and progress in the coming months
• Beginning to collect better data about the diversity of the current membership to support a better understanding of member needs and opportunities to meet them.
• Creating a toolkit and training for use by SWANA chapters and technical divisions that will help clarify and refine the path to leadership and methods to recruit future leaders.
• Set goals for creating an inclusive culture at all HQ-hosted in-person events and conferences and intentionally design experience to foster a welcoming, inclusive environment. Develop guide to inclusivity for conferences and events.

“I am very pleased to see the DEI Vision Statement approved by SWANA’s Board of Directors. The DEI Steering Committee worked very hard to succinctly capture what DEI means to SWANA and this Vision Statement will guide and focus us as we continue our journey to ensure DEI is embedded into everything the Association does,” said SWANA President Art Mercer, who also sits on the Steering Committee. “DEI will be integral to the way we do business and, because of this, we’ll be a stronger Association for our members and all the hard working staff and volunteers who make SWANA the largest Association representing solid waste professionals across North America, the Caribbean and Pacific Basin.”