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Sustainability Report: Supporting a thriving society with DEI initiatives

Everyday sustainability starts with everyone: The DEI approach at LYB

 

For LYB, sustainability isn't just about developing processes and products that minimize emissions and reduce waste. It's also about creating a culture where everyone feels valued, accepted and has equal opportunities to advance — regardless of race, age, gender or sexual orientation. That's why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives play such a central role in the company's long-term sustainability strategy, and why LYB Chief DEI Officer Kyle Pierce and his team are leading efforts to embed equity and inclusion into everyday culture.

In a July 2024 episode of the LYB podcast, host Deepi Sidhu sat down with Kyle to discuss DEI initiatives highlighted in the 2023 LYB Sustainability Report titled Everyday Sustainability. Kyle reflected on his 20-year career journey, including multiple LYB roles that took him to 77 countries in five years, and shared personal experiences that shaped his passion for DEI. Such experiences, including the crucial decision to come out to his boss, convinced him that LYB was a company where he could truly be himself and spurred his commitment to ensuring that every employee has the same opportunity to advance and thrive.

Kyle broke down several of the company's key DEI initiatives, from employee networks to integrating DEI into corporate values. He also emphasized that for LYB, diversity is not the starting point but instead a natural outcome when starting with a focus on equity and inclusion for all employees, not just specific groups of people.

In this discussion, he talked about some of the DEI initiative's proudest achievements in its first year, including recent recognitions from sHero China and the Houston Business Journal. He closed with valuable advice for anyone navigating their own DEI journey: stay open to new opportunities and have the courage to show up as your authentic self.

 

 

Host(s): Deepi Sidhu, LYB Content & Social Media Manager, Sustainability & Corporate Affairs

Guest(s): Kyle Pierce, LYB chief DEI officer

Duration: 24:00

Release Date: 07/31/2024

Listen to the audio version

Kyle discussed several key topics

 

Time

Topic

01:42

How a diverse career journey from engineering to manufacturing to business development led to his current role heading up DEI initiatives

04:28

How his personal experiences in inclusion and acceptance at LYB helped him develop DEI programs that helped others

09:29

The challenges of convincing LYB employees of the company’s DEI commitment and how the program would take shape

11:36

How the employee networks initiative set the stage for further DEI program developments

15:07

How DEI quickly evolved to become a key sustainability objective for LYB

17:16

The main DEI achievements that Kyle is proudest of in the first12 months of the program

22:04

The advice he gives younger employees in charting a rich and meaningful career path

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