Driving Innovation Through Diverse Perspectives

Ameren's workforce is dedicated to keeping the lights on and the gas flowing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The utility’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) department focuses that same kind of commitment and dedication on building an accepting culture where opinions are shared, and the best solutions are put into action for the benefit of its customers.

“We have learned, through research, that having diverse perspectives, bringing them together, and including them in how we do business gets us to more innovative ideas and solutions,” says Crystal Smith, director of DE&I for Ameren. “This pathway gets us to diverse thoughts, resulting in the best decisions.  That's why it's important for the utility industry.”

She says it’s not only important for all employees to come to work and go home safely every day, but it’s also equally important for all employees to come to work every day and go home feeling they are valued, respected and empowered.

“Ameren's DE&I business case delivers significant long-term benefits to our coworkers, customers and shareholders, and we are confident our continued strong execution of this strategy will deliver similar results in the future,” Smith says. 

Ameren’s DE&I efforts have evolved with changing times and circumstances. Here are 10 ways the utility is leading the way in the utility industry with its DE&I programs. 

1. Integrate DE&I into Sustainability, Diversity and Philanthropy. 

Two years ago, Ameren brought Sustainability, Diversity and Philanthropy together under a single leader—Gwen Mizell, the senior vice president and chief sustainability, diversity and philanthropy officer. 

“This shift is indicative of the vital role that DE&I plays in our environmental, sustainability and governance, and that by combining the efforts, we are in alignment with the coordinated execution of our ESG efforts,” Smith says. 

Ameren thinks about sustainability in the context of four areas: Environmental Stewardship, Social Impact, Governance and Sustainable Growth. 

“Integrating DE&I as part of the larger Sustainability, Diversity and Philanthropy function makes us better,” Smith says. “Environmentally, Ameren is committed to a clean energy future: reducing emissions and waste, and preserving natural resources, while providing safe, reliable and affordable electric and natural gas services. Our social impact includes remaining focused on our strict safety standards as we continue to deliver value for our customers. That includes placing people at the center of everything we do by supporting customers, empowering employees, and enabling more sustainable communities.”

For Ameren’s governance efforts, the utility is executing policies and principles that integrate ESG matters into its risk management and strategic planning frameworks, as well as providing strong oversight.  

“This enables us to deliver superior and sustainable long-term value to our customers, the communities we serve, our shareholders and the environment,” she says. 

2. Foster a Culture of Inclusion.

Ameren’s purpose of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion is embodied in its DE&I mission: “We drive a culture of inclusion and power the quality of life by creating opportunities for people achieving excellence.” 

“It takes courage to drive change and, since 2014, our DE&I theme and efforts have focused on courage,” Smith says. “This year’s theme, “Be Courageous: Many Individuals. One Ameren,” recognizes that courage, equity and inclusion remain key factors in creating opportunities and achieving our vision.”

As one of its core values, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is also a priority in everything done by Ameren. The utility is putting measures in place to effectively understand and address the diverse needs of its workforce and its communities, which both matter and both impact its business, Smith says. To this end, Ameren intentionally allocates resources to DE&I efforts by promoting a culture of inclusivity where everyone feels valued and respected. 

“This investment is meaningful to our coworkers who champion diversity, equity and inclusion,” Smith says.  

The utility is also investing in its team and in its communities to help weave equity and inclusion into the fabric of who it is  and how it gets things done. 

“This is why we do this work—because it is the right thing to do, and it makes our company and our communities stronger,” Smith says.  

3. Establish Governing Bodies. 

DE&I at Ameren is governed through two bodies: the Executive Diversity Council and the Corporate DE&I Council. The Executive Diversity Council is comprised of Ameren’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT). This council is charged with leading efforts to increase awareness and adoption of DE&I initiatives and leaders’ ability to discuss and be held accountable for DE&I outcomes that align with and support Ameren's corporate strategy. 

The Corporate DE&I Council, comprised of Ameren coworkers across the company, works closely with senior management to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion is fostered at Ameren within the framework of the corporate mission, vision and values. Council objectives include promoting and advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in its workforce on an ongoing basis and developing thought leaders who will do the same; making recommendations regarding policies, programs and practices; managing, developing, and evaluating training and other initiatives; and advising and updating corporate officers on DE&I matters.

To maintain a strong leadership team with diverse experiences and perspectives, Ameren is identifying individual potential leadership talent and developing these leaders through job rotations, work experiences and leadership development programs. 

4. Develop Leaders. 

Ameren is also developing a diverse talent across the organization that includes a variety of formal and informal mechanisms for learning and development built around Ameren’s core competencies, culture and strategy.

For example, the Leaders in Action program is just one of Ameren's many programs that exist to help develop leadership at Ameren. In 2023, participants in the Leaders in Action program worked in cross-functional teams to address three business problems (Environmental Justice Toolkit, Equity Through Nature-Based Solutions, and Terminology that Speaks to Customers) and offered recommended solutions. Eleven individuals worked together over a six-week period, culminating in an opportunity to present to Ameren’s Executive Leadership Team. The expectation is that Phase 2 of the program will continue in 2024, moving each project further toward conclusion.

As part of its ongoing efforts to build DE&I into the fabric of its culture and enhance the skills of its leaders, 84% of Ameren’s Leadership Team members (in addition to 72% of the Senior Leadership Team) have engaged in a new, exclusive DE&I learning opportunity titled “The Neuroscience of Accurate & Fair Decision Making" since 2021.  The purpose of this three-hour workshop was to help leaders focus on decision making and execution from a DE&I perspective, further demonstrating Ameren’s commitment not only to its core values but also to its DE&I mission: "We drive a culture of inclusion and power the quality of life by eliminating barriers to people achieving excellence." 

In November 2017, Ameren launched the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leaders Academy training program to bring together internal experiences and external learnings from Gartner to develop corporate DE&I leaders. Participants practice concepts and tools that support Ameren’s competencies and reinforce Ameren’s values to become effective leaders.

 The program equips Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion advocates (Diversity Council members, Diversity Ambassadors and ERG members) with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver key messages and learnings, to build employee engagement and to collaborate with others to build an inclusive culture at Ameren.  Participants practice concepts and tools that support Ameren’s competencies and reinforce Ameren’s values to become effective leaders.  In 2022, training was added for all Ameren people leaders, which includes six learning sessions facilitated by Ameren’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

5. Create an Interactive Training Program.

Ameren offers an interactive training series called StoryCast to its employees to help increase comfort levels with initiating and participating in meaningful discussions related to DE&I. The training materials are designed to help individuals embrace empathy and promote equity and inclusion in the workplace.  

In 2023, 88% of employees felt comfortable participating in StoryCast conversations with their work group and 84% agreed that the StoryCasts provided a valuable opportunity to connect with employees. 87% of employees also felt the content was appropriate for building inclusion within their work groups. 

In 2017, Ameren also launched Discussions Across Differences, a free interactive training series, to the community and other external participants to help increase comfort levels with initiating and participating in meaningful discussions related to DE&I. The training materials are designed to help individuals embrace empathy and promote equity and inclusion in the communities. The series addresses advances diversity, equity and inclusion at Ameren and in its communities through topics such as race, courage and empathy. 

6. Host a DE&I Leadership Summit. 

In addition, Ameren designs and hosts another internal training program—a bi-annual DE&I leadership summit. It included more than 1,000 community leaders and employees to deliver best-in-class learning and engagement experiences.  

Ameren and community leaders came together in October for the 2023 DE&I Leadership Summit to foster discussion that reinforces why strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion enriches every company, community and life. 

Subject matter experts from the St. Louis area and across the country participated in a panel discussion where they shared best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.  Lex Gillette, an icon of the U.S. Paralympic movement, also shared his personal story in his keynote address about the importance of courage.

7. Engage with the Community. 

Within its communities, Ameren strives to achieve a sustainable, equitable energy future for all, including its neighbors in historically underprivileged and underserved communities. To accomplish this, Ameren has developed methodologies to actively and consistently listen to the voices of its customers through programs such as Ameren’s Community Convening, Community Voices Advisory Board (CVAB) and Community Voices workshops. 

The Metro St. Louis CVAB was formally established in 2022 to create dialogue and engagement with community leaders around Ameren’s strategic priorities, relevant utility topics and community issues. Focusing on workforce readiness and accessibility, the 23-member board celebrated its one-year anniversary in June 2023. Subsequently, leveraging many of the learnings from its predecessor, the Jefferson City, Missouri, CVAB was launched in November 2023 at Lincoln University. The Jefferson City CVAB expects to identify its strategic priorities throughout 2024.

In 2023, the CVAB hosted a Community Convening to connect community partners with Ameren coworkers, products and other opportunities; educate partners on Ameren’s philanthropic purpose, priorities, programs and processes; broadly educate participants about corporate priorities; and provide opportunities for community partners to collaborate with each other. More than 65 organizations from 30 nonprofits from the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, Columbia, Missouri, and Southeast Missouri attended, and more than 20 Ameren employees actively participated and volunteered at the event.  

8. Encourage Volunteering. 

Ameren's DE&I Department, led by one of the ERGs, launched the ConvERGing: Learning and Action in 2020. The enhanced training program offers employees the opportunity to devote time to service and learning. 

Through the ConvERGing: Learning and Action Program, Ameren’s ERGs partnered with Corporate Philanthropy to select and fund organizations throughout Ameren's service territory, in Missouri and Illinois, with grants that aligned with the seven ERGs' missions.  

The ERGs partnered with the selected organizations for learning and/or volunteerism opportunities that engaged more than 1,600 employees in 2023. Along with community engagement through ConvERGing: Learning and Action, Ameren’s ERGs engaged with more than 40 other local organizations and businesses through fundraisers, volunteerism, learning opportunities, speakers, etc.  

9. Launch Employee Resource Groups. 

Ameren’s ERGs provide a forum for discussion and exploration of cultural differences, an avenue to help welcome new employees; opportunities to develop professional skills, expand networks, participate in community outreach and assist Ameren in reaching business goals. ERGs also provide good growth and development opportunities for leaders. 

Each ERG is supported by leaders at all levels, serving as executive sponsors and business advisors. The business advisors (members of the Executive Leadership Team) play a crucial role in providing coaching, support and advocacy at the leadership level and help align ERG goals with company objectives, fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. The executive sponsors (directors and senior directors) offer day-to-day strategic advice, guidance and insights to help the ERG navigate challenges and contribute effectively to the ERG’s success.

The percentage of employee membership in ERGs for 2023 was 15.5%. ERGs held strategic planning meetings to identify strategies for driving ERG membership toward best-in-class participation which is 25% of the workforce.

In 2023, ERGs focused more intentionally on increasing overall engagement within their membership. Ameren saw a 42% increase in employees participating in learning activities and 100% increase of the total number of employee hours spent in learning activities.  This included 14% increase in the number of volunteer hours incurred by employees. The ERGs host hybrid (combined in-person and virtual) meetings to allow coworkers from across Missouri and Illinois the opportunity to attend learning and engagement sessions. Adding the hybrid format increased overall participation.

The utility also launched a formal ERG leader development program for more than 25 ERG leaders currently serving on leadership teams in 2023. These leaders engaged in year-long programming that included four learning sessions focused on personal/professional development and eight in-person opportunities that offered networking with internal and external leaders.

10. Work with Diverse Suppliers. 

Ameren’s sourcing process is designed to ensure that minority certified businesses have equal access to and are among those considered for partnership with Ameren.  In 2023, Ameren invested $1.2 billion with women-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, disabled veteran-owned and LGBTQ-owned enterprises. The Supplier Diversity partnership underscores the vital role diverse suppliers play in our region’s economic success and contributes to the Community Enhancement pillar of Ameren’s strategy. 

“When we nurture these partnerships, we improve the quality of work, create more opportunities for innovation and reduce costs all while ensuring the resiliency our business needs to serve our customers,” Smith says. 

Editor’s Note: To learn more about Ameren's DE&I strategy across its organization, employees, and communities, check out the utility’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Impact Report. The report is a sampling of the successes experienced over a period of consistent and sustainable DE&I best practices and is meant to be shared with organizations for use in strengthening or building DE&I programs. Also, look for Part 3 of this series in the January 2025 Electric Utility Operations section, about ComEd’s drive to equip its female lineworkers with proper-fitting fall protection, and other DE&I initiatives.