EcoVadis believes in a work environment that removes obstacles restricting opportunities and choices for people directly or indirectly experiencing impairments and long term conditions. For this reason, EcoCare’s network was created. It is an employee-led resource group that provides support to employees with impairments and long-term health conditions, in line with our vision of disability as a social construct.
For us, people are disabled not by their impairment or difference, but by the barriers caused by society that impede them to do certain things. By changing our perspective on disability, we have the tools to acknowledge and address prejudice against disabled people.
Everyone should access their physical and digital work environment, at all times. To achieve this, EcoCare raises awareness and strives to foster a stigma-free culture through a wide range of initiatives, such as:
- Global policy-making, a pillar to prevent and address ableism (discrimination in favour of able-bodied people) at work,
- Awareness-raising workshops with external experts,
- Team-building activities.
This year, we partnered with Streetco, a collaborative pedestrian GPS platform that facilitates travel for people with reduced mobility. To raise awareness, we launched a two-week global challenge consisting of reporting obstacles (cluttered pavements, work zones…) and accessible places (toilets, shops, parking spaces…) in our respective cities.
Furthermore, EcoCare works in complementarity with other EcoVadis branches that launched actions to adapt employees’ work environment to their needs, such as:
- Perpetuating the access to remote work and flexible working hours, for all employees with or without impairments.
- Allocating funding to disability for employees requesting material support.
- The a11y project, aiming to make EcoVadis web apps that are challenging to use for persons with impairments (visual, motor, cognitive, or other), more accessible.
What’s in EcoCare’s agenda?
An intersectional approach is needed to take into account all lived experiences. That is why we are organizing a Mental Health Awareness Season jointly with other DEI resource groups – EcoBalance, RainboVadis, Wo·men, EvMedley, in autumn 2022. It is our second initiative of the year, the first one took place in May to celebrate Mindfulness.
We will carry out diverse activities – from awareness campaigns to webinars with external experts, to provide self-care techniques and raise awareness about issues specific to each network. This topic is concerning us all, so stay tuned!
Find out more about life at EcoVadis and how the company supports employees from diverse backgrounds - visit www.ecovadis.com/careers and www.linkedin.com/showcase/life-at-ecovadis.
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