At Covia, our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) goes beyond the walls of our plants and the front doors of our office buildings. Every day we strive to foster a culture of inclusivity and diversity that welcomes not only our Team Members, but our customers, our partners and our communities as well.
Since 2020, Covia has been enthusiastically vocalizing not just our commitment to D&I, but how we as an organization plan to actively uphold these ideals each day. Our goal is to intentionally establish an environment where all feel encouraged to share their unique skills, experiences and perspectives in the pursuit of Covia’s business objectives.
In 2021, Covia fulfilled one of our first D&I goals: establish an employee-led D&I Council made up of diverse Covia Team Members to serve as trusted advisors and help shape D&I initiatives in the areas of analytics and metrics, education and training, employee engagement and retention, talent acquisition and community and partner engagement.
Our D&I Council serves as a vital resource for creating an inclusive culture, fostering value creation and innovation and promoting our Clearly Covia Values. A few examples of how our Council plans to further Covia’s D&I efforts include:
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Offer all Covia Team Members comprehensive learning opportunities and resources related to a variety of diversity and inclusion topics.
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Continue the Spotlight on Diversity Speaker Series to highlight and celebrate leaders, citizens and Team Members from our Covia communities in an effort to share their personal diversity and inclusion journeys.
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Develop an ongoing diversity calendar that highlights cultural holidays, activities and community involvement events.
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Identify opportunities to enhance Team Member engagement, retention and talent development through key D&I experiences and resources.
Made up of individuals from all facets of our Covia team—Plant Managers, Sales Directors, Talent Development and Learning Specialists—our D&I Council has established multiple programs, initiatives and educational resources that help shed light on the importance and immeasurable benefit of a diverse and inclusive workforce. Some of Covia’s D&I Council efforts that were established in 2021 include:
- D&I E-Learning Series
An online series where all Team Members can learn how to actively contribute to the success of our Company. Learning modules for 2021 include “The Need for Inclusion,” “A Change Can Start with You,” and “Capitalizing on Generational Strengths.”
- Spotlight on Diversity Speaker Series
A virtual speaker series to highlight the power of diversity. In the 2021 series of discussions, we featured prominent speakers from diverse backgrounds who live and work in our local Covia communities.
- Taste of Covia
The Taste of Covia Cookbook is a culinary ode to the diverse heritages and family traditions of our Team Members. Submissions were compiled into a recipe book that was made available to all Team Members; some recipes were also highlighted on Covia TV.
- Covia Interview Guide
Covia’s Interview Guide for Hiring Managers contains a section of diversity and inclusion related questions developed in partnership with the D&I Council. The combined team also worked together to update Covia’s job description template with inclusive language. The guide and job description template support hiring teams in attracting and acquiring diverse and inclusive talent.
- Prism Award for Excellence in D&I
In support of Covia’s core Value of Be Different, the D&I Council’s Prism Award recognizes Team Members, nominated by their peers, who exemplify the behaviors that promote diversity and inclusion where we work, with whom we do business and where we live.
Meet the Q3 Prism Award winners:
- D&I Art Contest
At Covia, we believe in encouraging creativity and supporting individuals of all ages to reflect on their thoughts, feelings and ideas. In recognition of these efforts, Covia presented its first Covia Art Contest. This year’s event focused on two themes: “I Matter Because...” and “You Matter Because…” Covia Team Members and their families explored these themes through art, resulting in many inspiring entries.
Listed below are the winners for each age group:
In addition to our current D&I efforts, Covia is dedicated to continually reevaluating our day-to-day operations in an effort to recognize areas of possible improvement.
Other Covia Diversity & Inclusion commitments include:
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Work with our Board of Managers and Covia Leaders to help them better recognize their critical role in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment.
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Provide ongoing learning experiences and resources for Team Members across all levels and functions of our organization in order to spread awareness on the responsibility that each person has in enabling diversity and inclusion at Covia.
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Develop a talent pipeline that enhances the diversity of our organization to more closely represent the diverse communities where we operate, the customers we serve and the suppliers with which we partner.
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Continue our pursuit of educational, social and economic equality through The Covia Foundation and the Social Equality pillar of our Community Investment Policy, which enables our Team Members to direct Foundation donations, matching gifts and volunteer hours to local organizations that support these ideals.
Through our Diversity & Inclusion efforts, Covia aims to not only embrace, but celebrate, our Team’s unique backgrounds and experiences to help foster a culture of respect, tolerance and inclusion. By doing so, we will achieve greater diversity in our ideas and decision-making processes. Together, we can cultivate a community that thrives on ingenuity and innovation.
For any questions related to Diversity & Inclusion at Covia, send an email to Diversity@CoviaCorp.com.
