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CPRE makes progress on EDI, according to RACE report

3rd February 2025

This year’s edition of the RACE Report reveals that CPRE has taken steps to improve equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in a number of areas since last year’s report.

Launched in 2022, the RACE Report is an initiative that assesses ethnic diversity in the UK environmental charity sector and encourages employers to do more to improve it.

Since the previous report, CPRE has implemented almost twice as many of the RACE Report’s recommendations, including incorporating EDI commitments in our recruitment procedures, collecting data on staff diversity and setting goals to improve it, and establishing a staff group to advocate internally for better EDI.

This year, 161 organisations, representing 12,900 employees across the environmental charity sector, participated. The findings show that only 6% of people in the sector identify as people of colour or other racially or ethnically minoritised groups, compared with 15% of the total UK workforce.

Read the RACE report

The RACE Report argues that rapid action is needed to address this lack of representation so that the sector better reflects the country. This year’s edition shows encouraging progress, however, revealing that a higher proportion of participating organisations – including CPRE – have fully or partially implemented EDI initiatives since last year.

CPRE chief executive Roger Mortlock said: ‘The idea of a countryside for all, regardless of background, inspired our founders and we hold just as true to that belief today.

‘Like many organisations across the sector, we need to do more to improve the diversity of the people who work with us. We still have a long way to go but I’m pleased we’ve taken concrete steps in the right direction in the last year.

‘Initiatives like the RACE Report are crucial because they give us clear-cut data and hold us to account. I’m looking forward to building on the progress we’ve made and ensuring CPRE plays its part in improving EDI across the sector.’

Person walking in the countryside, some sheep on the field.
Kevin Eaves / Shutterstock

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