Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Significance

Importance To Berry Global and our Stakeholders

A diverse workforce unites people with varied perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences, sparking the development of innovative solutions, products, and approaches that are critical for our business to stay competitive and meet changing consumer demands. By working to create an environment where all members of our workforce feel included and treated fairly, regardless of their background, we help enhance employee morale, job satisfaction, loyalty, and overall productivity.

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) strategy demonstrates our commitment to meeting evolving societal expectations with ethical leadership as businesses are increasingly evaluated for social responsibility.  

Our Customers: By fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, we can better connect with our diverse customer base and deliver innovative solutions to meet their unique needs. We believe that cultivating an environment that is inclusive of the broad range of cultures, backgrounds and experiences represented among our employees, customers and suppliers is integral to our business success.

Our Investors: Our commitment to diversity and inclusion makes us more adept at attracting top talent, fostering innovation, and adapting to changing market dynamics - factors that contribute to long-term growth and financial stability.

Our Approach

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to Berry’s leadership, team performance and cohesion, and ability to innovate and maintain a competitive advantage for the future. We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive organizational culture by embedding equity into our business practices, which helps ensure all are accepted and have the opportunity to thrive and equally contribute to the success of the company.

We strive to foster a people-first culture through our commitment to diversity and inclusion, talent strategies that attract and build a skilled workforce, and impactful philanthropic initiatives. We believe that cultivating an environment that is inclusive of the broad range of cultures, backgrounds and experiences represented among our employees, customers and suppliers is integral to our success.

Highlights and Target Progress

Key Metrics

The below metrics are based on Berry's fiscal years unless otherwise noted.

Key Strategies

We believe that our employees are integral to achieving more together for customers and our communities. We attribute a significant part of our success as a company to our ability to recruit, hire, retain, and develop a positive and productive workforce. We are committed to creating a workplace where ideas, energy, teamwork, and dedication fuel our success and where all employees can thrive and meet their potential.

In 2022 we appointed a new Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, and developed and executed a new, sustainable diversity and inclusion strategy. This strategy seeks to advance the company’s commitment to fostering an environment that is inclusive of a broad range of cultures, backgrounds, and experiences represented among its employees, customers, and suppliers. We are continuously learning and making progress on creating a welcoming place with a culture of inclusion. This not only increases the critical business need to retain talent but is also critical in our recruiting and staffing strategy. Bringing together diverse backgrounds and perspectives strengthens the value of individuals contributing as #OneBerry, ultimately fulfilling our customer promise.

Our strategy is supported by two inclusion goals we set in 2021 as part of our commitment to embedding equity into our business practices – to increase the percentage of women in salaried roles to at least 40% by 2027, and to increase the percentage of people of color in U.S. based salaried roles to at least 18% over the same timeframe. As of 2023, the percentage of people of color in U.S. based salaried roles has grown from 15.9% in 2021 to 17.9%, and we fully expect to reach our 18% goal before 2027. Additionally, we have increased the percentage of salaried roles are held by women from 36.2% to 37.2% from 2021 to 2023.

We are committed to advancing our Diversity and Inclusion efforts by building a sustainable strategy that focuses on driving impact across four main pillars – People, Culture, Marketplace, and Community.

People | Develop a talented and diverse workforce

We aspire to build and maintain a high-performing, talented, and diverse workforce at all levels within Berry that is reflective of our communities.

Culture | Build an inclusive and equitable culture

We are cultivating an inclusive and equitable workplace culture in which employees thrive and are supported to reach their fullest career ambitions.

Community | Advance DE&I through partnerships

We are advancing equity in our local communities by building meaningful partnerships with groups and organizations focused on inclusion.

Marketplace | Imbed inclusion in our business

We have a responsibility to integrate inclusion throughout our business processes and relationships in order to maintain a competitive advantage as a global leader.

CEO Action for Diversity

We are proud to be a signatory of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™. This is the largest CEO driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. As part of this commitment, we pledge to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, and where employees feel comfortable and encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion.

Executive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council / Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Group

Our Executive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, along with the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work Group, partners with Berry’s executive leadership team to fully integrate diversity and inclusion into our organizational culture and business practices. The Council and Work Group also support the work of our employee resource groups and helps to communicate initiatives broadly throughout the company.

Employee Resource Groups

Employee Resource Groups engage members through exposure to inclusive experiences, create awareness and understanding of the diverse backgrounds and experiences represented throughout our Company, and leverage cultural differences to connect with each other through activities aligned with our pillars of People, Culture, Marketplace, and Community.

AccessAbility

AccessAbility’s mission is to increase the representation of employees with disabilities of all types and levels within Berry while building partnerships in our various communities.

Ignite

Ignite’s mission aims to connect, educate, and advance women through personal and professional alliances.

Onyx

Onyx’s mission is to engage employees who are descended from the worldwide collection of communities that have originated from Africa.

Spark

Spark’s mission is to fuel engagement, growth, and partnerships among emerging leaders.

U.S. Veterans

The U.S. Veterans ERG seeks to recruit, recognize, and support employees who are current or former members of the US Armed Services and their families.

Unity

Unity supports our LGBTQ+ workforce and their allies with a mission to celebrate and encourage diversity and equality.

Note: Active Employee Resource Groups may vary over time based on current interest and participation.

Supplier Diversity

Berry is committed to supporting economic development efforts with diverse suppliers to the extent that jobs may be provided, entrepreneurship may be advanced, and useful goods and services may be produced at competitive prices. We expect our suppliers to adhere to similar principles and support and develop supplier diversity programs within their organizations.

Disclosures

Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

DG 5: Gender Equality

We value diversity, equality, and inclusion, and strive to achieve gender equality by creating equal opportunities for all, regardless of gender. We are also committed to challenging harmful gender norms within our industry by encouraging more women to pursue careers in the manufacturing and engineering industries.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

We strive to embed equality across all our operations and create a supportive work environment where every employee can access decent work opportunities irrespective of their background.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequality 

By actively addressing biases, promoting fair treatment, and providing equal opportunities for underrepresented groups, we help reduce inequalities within our organizational sphere and industry. 

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The elimination of equality is only possible through collaborations with various stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, communities, and governmental bodies. Partnerships strengthen our internal commitment to diversity and enable us to apply DE&I principles to our wider business dealings.
 

GRI and SASB Alignment

GRI 405(3-3) Diversity and Equal Opportunity
GRI 405-1 Diversity of Governance Bodies and Employees

Last updated: November 22nd 2023