Drax has made a pledge to boost social mobility for a million people by 2025. It has announced the target as part of its Opportunity Action Plan developed in partnership with the Social Mobility Pledge, led by the Rt Hon Justine Greening.
Through its ‘Mobilising a Million’ initiative, the renewable energy company will connect with one million people by 2025 to improve skills, education, employability and opportunity.
It is one of a group of UK businesses and universities aiming to set a new and higher standard on boosting social mobility in Britain, with boardroom focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues, through the Social Mobility Pledge.
Drax’s new target has been launched as part of its Opportunity Action Plan – the culmination of its work with the Social Mobility Pledge team. Justine Greening, Co-founder of the Social Mobility Pledge, said: “Achieving true social mobility in Britain and levelling up our country is a huge challenge but one that businesses are rising to.
“Businesses like Drax have a crucial role to play in levelling up, and ensuring that our country’s Net Zero targets and ambitions are not just met, but delivered in a way that creates opportunities and levels up communities like Selby, Ipswich, Northampton and in Scotland where Drax has its operations.
Drax, having converted the power station in North Yorkshire to use sustainable biomass instead of coal, plans to go further by using Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology to become carbon negative by 2030 – meaning it will be permanently removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than its operations create.
Clare Harbord, Drax Group director of corporate affairs, said, “Drax, along with other businesses, has an important part to play in making sure we have a future workforce with the skills to deliver the new technologies needed to decarbonise the economy and meet the UK’s net zero target
“By boosting education, skills and employability opportunities for a million people, we can start to level the playing field and build a more diverse workforce. This will make the energy sector stronger and able to make a more significant contribution to the UK’s green recovery from Covid.”
