Whiteness of green: RACE Report highlights diversity gaps in environmental sector
The RACE Report 2025, titled Whiteness of Green, sets out an uncomfortable but increasingly unavoidable message for the UK sustainability and climate sector. Despite record numbers of organisations taking part, racial representation across environmental roles and leadership remains stubbornly low. The data suggests that participation has grown faster than progress.
For UK businesses, this is not a debate about values or ideology. It is a practical issue tied to workforce access, supplier expectations, public sector procurement, funding criteria, and credibility in sustainability claims. As environmental performance becomes more regulated and scrutinised, who is involved in delivering that work matters.
This article explains what the RACE Report shows, why it matters for UK businesses beyond the charity and NGO sector, and how it links to wider risks around climate delivery, talent, and trust.
The RACE (Racial Action for the Climate Emergency) Report tracks ethnic representation across UK organisations working in climate, sustainability, conservation, and related fields. The 2025 edition, based on 2024 workforce data, shows that while a record number of organisations submitted information, there has been little movement in improving racial diversity, especially in senior roles.
The report argues that the UK’s green sector remains dominated by white professionals, even though Black people and people of colour are often among those most exposed to climate and environmental harms. In simple terms, the people designing solutions do not reflect the people most affected by the problems.
This pattern is not unique to the UK. Comparable research from the US shows that neighbourhoods with higher proportions of Black and minority residents tend to have less green space and higher exposure to environmental risks. The RACE Report uses this wider context to underline why representation in environmental decision-making matters.
Why it matters commercially to UK businesses
Many UK businesses now interact with the sustainability sector in some way, whether through consultants, supply chains, reporting frameworks, planning processes, or tender requirements. Increasingly, public bodies, large corporates, and investors are looking beyond carbon metrics alone.
Workforce data, governance, and social impact questions are now common in procurement questionnaires, grant applications, and ESG disclosures. A sector that struggles to demonstrate progress on representation creates downstream risks for the businesses that rely on it.
For SMEs, this shows up in tender scoring, partnership credibility, and future compliance expectations rather than headlines. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are becoming part of the evidence base for responsible business, particularly where environmental claims are involved.
What’s happening
The RACE Report is an annual UK initiative that collects anonymised workforce data from organisations working in climate, environment, food systems, conservation, and sustainability. Its aim is to measure ethnic representation and track progress over time.
The 2025 edition, based on 2024 data, is the largest to date. Between 137 and 161 organisations participated, depending on how submissions are categorised. In total, data was submitted covering more than 28,600 employees across environmental charities and related organisations.
This level of participation represents a sharp increase from previous years. Submissions more than doubled compared with 2023 and roughly tripled compared with 2022. On the surface, this suggests growing awareness and willingness to engage with the issue.
However, the report’s central finding is that representation outcomes have not shifted at the same pace. The authors describe progress on key racial diversity metrics as “worryingly low”, particularly at leadership and senior decision-making levels.
In practical terms, many organisations remain far less ethnically diverse than the populations they serve or the cities where they are based. The report highlights that urban environmental organisations often do not reflect the diversity of their local communities.
Some organisations, including Sustain, have opted to publish what the report calls a “transparency card”. This makes their workforce data public, even where representation is limited, to encourage openness and sector-wide learning rather than defensive reporting.
The report frames this issue as structural rather than individual. It points to recruitment pipelines, unpaid internships, informal networks, and governance norms as barriers that continue to shape who enters and progresses within environmental professions.
Although the RACE Report focuses on the UK, it places its findings in an international context. Research from the United States is cited to illustrate how racial inequity in environmental outcomes and access to green infrastructure is a persistent feature of urban development.
One large US study published in JAMA Network Open analysed millions of Google Street View images to assess greenery across neighbourhoods. It found that predominantly Black and other minority neighbourhoods tended to have less green space and different housing density patterns than predominantly white neighbourhoods.
While the planning and legal context differs in the UK, the broader point is relevant. Environmental decisions made without representative input can reinforce existing inequalities over long periods, whether in access to green space, exposure to heat, or local air quality.
Why this matters for UK businesses
At first glance, the RACE Report may appear most relevant to charities, NGOs, and campaigning organisations. In practice, its implications extend to any business engaging with sustainability, environmental compliance, or public-facing climate commitments.
One area of impact is public sector procurement. Local authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, and universities increasingly include social value criteria alongside environmental requirements. Workforce diversity and fair access to opportunity are often embedded within these frameworks.
If the organisations delivering environmental services lack credible progress on representation, this can affect bid strength. Contractors and SMEs in the supply chain may be asked to provide assurances about who they work with and how social value is delivered.
Another issue is risk and resilience. Environmental solutions designed without diverse perspectives can overlook real-world constraints faced by different communities. For businesses operating across multiple regions, this can lead to poorly targeted interventions and wasted investment.
There is also a talent dimension. As pressure grows to deliver net zero plans, energy transition projects, and environmental reporting, competition for skilled staff is increasing. A narrow recruitment pipeline reduces the available talent pool at a time when capacity is already stretched.
From a governance perspective, boards and senior teams are under increasing scrutiny. Environmental claims are no longer assessed in isolation from wider ESG performance. Weaknesses in social governance can undermine confidence in environmental disclosure.
Reputation risk should not be overstated, but it is real. Businesses that position themselves as sustainability leaders while partnering with a sector perceived as exclusionary may face questions from clients, employees, or funders.
Finally, there is a longer-term regulatory angle. While the UK does not mandate workforce diversity quotas in the private sector, reporting expectations continue to expand. Social factors are becoming more visible within non-financial reporting and assurance processes.
Key facts at a glance
- The RACE Report 2025 is based on workforce data from 2024.
- Between 137 and 161 UK organisations participated, the highest number recorded to date.
- Data submitted covered more than 28,600 employees across environmental organisations.
- The report finds minimal progress on racial diversity, particularly in senior and leadership roles.
- Urban environmental organisations often do not reflect the ethnic diversity of their local populations.
- Comparable US research shows minority neighbourhoods tend to have less access to green space.
- The next edition of the RACE Report is due in April 2025.
SBS insight
From an advisory point of view, the RACE Report is best understood as a signal rather than a verdict. It shows that data collection has improved, but culture, systems, and outcomes are lagging behind.
For UK SMEs, the immediate question is not whether to solve sector-wide inequity. It is how this trend affects your risk profile, supplier choices, and reporting expectations over the next few years.
We are increasingly seeing questions about social value, workforce access, and inclusion bundled into sustainability assessments, particularly where public contracts or large corporate customers are involved.
Businesses that rely heavily on environmental consultants, carbon data providers, or sustainability partners may want to understand how those organisations are approaching workforce transparency and governance.
This is also relevant when setting internal targets. Environmental strategies that focus purely on technical metrics, without considering who designs and delivers them, can struggle when scaled or scrutinised.
At SBS, we usually advise clients to treat this as part of broader governance hygiene rather than a standalone initiative. Clear policies, proportionate data collection, and honest disclosure typically carry more weight than aspirational statements.
Where diversity data is limited or uncomfortable, transparency is often more credible than silence. The RACE Report’s emphasis on openness reflects a wider shift in how non-financial performance is assessed.
This sits alongside other practical sustainability concerns such as net zero planning, supply chain assurance, and environmental compliance. Addressing them together tends to be more effective than tackling each in isolation.
Further reading
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