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Water and waste utility Severn Trent is enjoying double celebrations, after being recognised for its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community at this year’s Stonewall Awards.

The FTSE 100 Company has not only rapidly climbed the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index a huge 239 places, but one of its colleagues has also been acknowledged for their amazing work driving diversity and inclusion.

At last week’s awards, Stonewall named Carl Edwards, part of Severn Trent’s developer services team, as Gay Role Model of the Year following the outstanding contribution he’s made to LGBTQ+ inclusion within the business.

Design Technician, Carl said: “I’m absolutely over the moon at not only being named Gay Role Model of the Year, but also for the incredible improvement we’ve made moving a massive 239 places, from 414 to now entering at 175.

“I set the network up myself around two years ago, and have seen it go from strength to strength. From it being just me, to now a growing network that’s visible at Pride events and working to make sure our company more inclusive is fantastic.  We know there’s more to be done to get into that top 100, but this year’s improvement is a real testament to our LGBT network, our allies and the rest of the business who has understood and supported our drive and enthusiasm to create a place of work we can be proud of.”

Over 500 companies across the UK enter on Stonewalls Workplace Equality Index, which assesses leading Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) inclusive workplaces in the UK. The charity sets tough benchmarks based on a range of standards including policy, training, network groups, employee engagement, procurement and community engagement.

“Knowing that we have a more inclusive workplace makes me incredibly proud when I look back on the journey the network has been on since I set it up,” adds Carl. “Obviously, there’s always more we can do and we’ll be working closely with Stonewall to go over our feedback to see how we can improve next year. What I do know is we’re going to continue build on our successful allies programme, work on raising  LGBTQ+ awareness for leaders and teams and building our external network, while always continuing to support our customers and community.”