The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) is forming a Diversity and Inclusion Council, which will aim to recruit more diverse members, increase engagement with members from underrepresented groups and build a more diverse leadership within the association.
The formation of the council comes after a committee of industry leaders, in response to the racial justice protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, created a resolution outlining immediate, short-term and long-term actions for NALP to foster diversity in the organization.
“The industry is powerful, and we have to be intentional about showing that there is diversity,” said Kelly Dowell, who owns landscape marketing consulting firm Keldo Digital and is a member of the initial committee. “We have the stats — there is diversity in the industry, we’re just not promoting that and taking the initiative to lift these people up and bring them in.”
Another member of the committee, Nikos Phelps, founder of Utopia Landscapes in Harrisburg, Pa., added, “If you look at the workforce now, millennials and Gen Z are 40 percent,” he said. “But, they’ll be 60 percent of the workforce in 10 years.” According to two studies cited in the resolution document, 47 percent of millennials and 83 percent of Generation Z respondents say an employer’s diversity and inclusion are important to them.
On June 25, NALP held its first diversity forum with landscape industry leaders. The discussion, moderated by Maurice Dowell, president of Dowco Enterprises, touched on a variety of issues including race and gender representation and minority leadership in the green industry. The new Diversity and Inclusion Council also will develop strategies to empower racial, gender and social equality within the entire landscape industry.
“We are thrilled to launch the Diversity and Inclusion Council and to empower them to develop their own strategies to make a positive impact in the industry,” said NALP CEO Britt Wood. “The council will have the freedom to decide how they want to be structured, what issues they would like to tackle out of the gate and how they want to go about advising the board and the association on diversity and inclusion issues.”
The association is offering downloadable resources for companies about cultivating a diverse workforce on its web page. To learn more and get involved in conversations about creating diversity in networking, education and leadership in the landscape industry, visit LandscapeProfessionals.org.
