NRG Energy 2020 Sustainability Report: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

“ The biggest thing I learned in my time in the military was working with people of different ages, backgrounds, and experiences.”

Alvina Porter
NRG customer service representative and former military officer

We recognize that in order to serve our customers and our communities we must live our values. One of our core Power Values includes creating a work environment where our colleagues are treated fairly and with respect, and where each voice matters. We are building on that position by reshaping our hiring and promotion practices, continually improving policies to be more inclusive, and by doubling the number of our Business Resource Groups (BRGs) where employees can share and receive support from their colleagues. We strive to be a place of equitable access for employee growth and where we celebrate the individual while together championing our diversity.

In furtherance of our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, during 2020 we:

• Completed our first gender and race pay equity study to ensure our employees are compensated for their contributions, not based on gender, race, or other similar factors. The study showed equitable pay practices after accounting for education, experience, performance, and location. We have committed to completing this study every three years.
• Conducted unconscious bias training for all employees with 100% completion rate and will continue to expand employee training on diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2021.
• Evaluated all job code requirements and postings and, where appropriate, revised them to eliminate requirements for a 4-year university degree, and reworked our corporate policies to be more inclusive and gender-neutral.
• Engaged a 21-member cross-functional team spanning the enterprise, under the leadership of President and CEO, Mauricio Gutierrez, to develop actionable recommendations to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Those recommendations were delivered to the CEO in December 2020 and many are being implemented in 2021.
• Felt the social justice call to action. In response, we issued a statement denouncing racial injustice and donated over $1 million to Powering Change, our initiative supporting non-profit organizations working to combat racial inequities and injustice.
• Continued to uphold our commitment to supplier diversity by ensuring that diverse business enterprises — such as those that are small, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned — have open access to contracting opportunities available at NRG.