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Diversity and Inclusion

We believe that diverse and inclusive teams are high-performing teams – and we are committed to helping everyone at Ecolab unleash their own potential to innovate, create and drive growth.

When all members of our team feel heard, respected and empowered, we believe they can achieve great things. Creating opportunities for all our associates to thrive is fundamental to our approach to attracting, retaining and growing our talented workforce.

Our Organizational Beliefs

As a global leader, we believe we have a responsibility to advance equity – both within our organisation and in our communities where we live, work and raise our families. Ecolab is working to increase our focus on educating and equipping our teams globally, to build understanding, address inequality and bring our associates together in solidarity to listen, learn and grow together.

“All people deserve a society where opportunity is shared, which will only happen when justice and education are shared. Coming together with purpose is a step in the right direction, and I am committed to working with my fellow business and community leaders to work for change and keep striving for justice in our communities everywhere.” 

– Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Our Approach to Building Diversity and Inclusive Teams

Our focus on building diverse and inclusive teams isn’t new – it reflects our longstanding values of working together with diverse perspectives to challenge ourselves, reach our goals and do what’s right.

Our current practices include:

  • Reviewing key metrics and practices, including diverse representation, hiring practices and retention in a monthly senior leadership meeting;
  • Embedding diversity and inclusion guidance in our recruitment, leadership training and talent development programmes;
  • We are holding ourselves accountable to achieving results by publicly declaring new 2030 diversity representation goals (coming mid-2020);
  • Ecolab’s vibrant and growing community of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) help associates connect with colleagues, take part in career and leadership development experiences, and provide important insights to the business. Our ERGs are invaluable in helping associates feel a sense of belonging;

Learn more about our 2019 diversity and inclusion milestones, achievements and performance and our 2030 commitments to building a diverse and inclusive workforce using the links below.

Learn more about our 2030 Impact Goals​Read our GRI for Diversity and Inclusion data​
How We’re Advancing Social and Racial Justice​

We realize that intent is not enough – results matter, and we are committed to making faster, deeper progress to advance social and racial justice, both within Ecolab and our communities.

We are listening and seeking to understand, working with community leaders to gain the insights and perspectives we need to make significant, sustainable change, and continuing to support organizations dedicated to advancing racial and social justice.

In 2020, our commitments and actions include:

  • Chairman and CEO Doug Baker joined more than 80 Minnesota CEOs to issue a statement urging police reform during the state of Minnesota’s upcoming special legislative session. The statement was sent on behalf of the Minnesota Business Partnership, a group of business leaders from Minnesota’s largest employers that aims to strengthen the state’s economy and quality of life.
  • Our Executive Diversity & Inclusion Council has pledged to lead the organisation in the following commitments:
    • Provide more frequent opportunities for real conversations about race and building a more inclusive culture across all our non-majority groups.
    • Increase learning opportunities for managers and leaders around inclusion and the importance of building diverse and inclusive teams.
    • Expand our focus on supplier diversity and ensure that our vendor relationships reflect Ecolab’s commitment to supporting diverse and equitable communities.
    • Continue to insist on diverse candidate pools and broaden our recruitment strategies to help us find the best talent. In the U.S., we will step up our efforts to recruit from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and diverse institutions and organizations.
    • Continue to measure and monitor our acceleration of the representation of women and ethnically diverse associates, particularly in management and executive level roles. The company’s executives will review these statistics each month.
    • Insist that diverse talent has access to learning opportunities and the support they need to help them achieve their career ambitions.