When big companies in the Grocery industry put aside any business rivalries to focus on a shared mission, great things can happen. Once again Tesco, P&G, Coca-Cola European Partners, Mondelez International and Accenture join forces with GroceryAid for the ‘Diversity and Inclusion in Grocery’ conference.
Now in its’ second year the conference, to be held at Wembley Stadium on March 12th, 2020, invites participants from all corners of the Consumer Goods and Grocery sector to come together with a shared purpose to learn from each other and inspire change, to create a successful and inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and can thrive.
This years’ event is set to be even bigger and better, welcoming over 1000 people from more than 150 companies as they immerse themselves in topics such as Gender Equality, Disability, LGBTQ+ and Cultural inclusion, flexible working, mental well-being, Unconscious bias and mentoring.
Returning to the monumental Wembley Stadium, Alex Scott MBE joins the lineup of speakers. Alex is a former Arsenal captain and England Centurion, making 140 appearances for the Lionesses. She made history as the first female Sky Pundit on a Sky Sports’ Super Sunday and made waves to commentate on the BBC for the Men’s World Cup and as is passionate champion for diversity and inclusion.
The journey to make the Consumer Goods and Grocery industry a more welcoming environment for all started way before the inaugural event at Wembley last year. The small group of founding members joined forces with Groceryaid to form the ‘Diversity in Grocery’ group, with a collective vision when they first launched their cross company mentoring programme ‘to be advocates for change, promoting equality and representation at all levels’. Starting small they soon realised that there was a greater opportunity to share learnings and best practice wider across the industry and hence the event was born.
Representatives from major companies in the industry are set to attend, including Heineken, KP snacks, KraftHeinz, Mars, Premier Foods and Colgate to name but a few. With so many players in the industry convening, it is a unique opportunity to benefit from the wealth of relevant learning and sharing opportunities on offer through panel discussions, learnings labs and networking. Tickets for the event are priced deliberately to make the opportunity to learn accessible to everyone in the industry, in all roles and at all levels.
All proceeds raised from this event go to Groceryaid, the charity for the grocery industry – to see the full agenda book tickets visit: https://www.diversityingrocery.co.uk/book-now/
Commenting on her expectation for this years’ event, Tesco’s Chief Customer Officer Alessandra Bellini said ““The outstanding feedback we received from last years’ event proved there is appetite to learn from each other how we can collectively make the Grocery and Consumer Goods industry a more welcoming and inclusive place to work. We know that when people feel able to bring their whole selves to work it has a huge impact on their wellbeing, productivity and ultimately their businesses. I am looking forward to sharing the day with allies from across the industry as we engage in open and authentic dialogue that helps move us further to our goals”
Louise Stigant, MD, Mondeléz International said “I am a passionate believer that when someone is in an environment where they feel they belong, they can focus their energy on being their best and unlock a sense of possibilities they may not have even dreamt of. By collectively standing together as an industry to promote diversity and inclusion, we are opening up opportunities for everyone to succeed. The conference last year was the beginning of our journey and I am excited to take the next step, with the event this year welcoming more companies and individuals with a passion to learn and share experiences, so that we can collectively achieve our goals”.
Ian Morley. Sales Director P&G Northern Europe commented – ‘’I was blown away last year by the sheer scale of learning opportunities on offer. It’s the most insightful day I have spent working on my own self-development to be a more inclusive leader and enabling my team to benefit from the tools and discussions that were shared throughout the day. I would encourage anyone to make the most of this unique opportunity to learn from such a wealth of experience’’.
For further information contact:
Carla Berry, Procter and Gamble (on behalf of all founding partners), berry.c.2@pg.com
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