Anti-racism

PlanetK2 is an anti-racist business and everyone who works in the business commits to being anti-racist. We believe racism is wrong, harmful to all and runs contrary to our values. We also believe racism is deeply damaging to the fulfilment of human performance potential.

We are anti-racist, not non-racist. Being non-racist requires us to do very little, other than simply to believe that racism is wrong. If we do nothing, then any racism we witness in ourselves or others is validated by our inaction and we’d become part of the problem. So we are anti-racist.

We have arrived at the point where that being an anti-racist business is the only place we want to be; other options are indefensible. That doesn’t mean we are the finished article (we’re far from it), just as we might not always deliver the best results, though we see ourselves as high performers measured by our attitude and behaviour. Our anti-racist stand is therefore an undertaking, a never-ending commitment to live a certain way. It’s a belief in taking action, not a certificate of attendance.

Being anti-racist is simple, though we know it won’t be easy. It’s simple because it means that wherever and whenever we experience or witness racism, we will address and confront it appropriately. In other words, we will not idly stand by while thinking “this is wrong”.

It’s not easy because it means having important conversations that are likely to be awkward, difficult and uncomfortable and that’s OK because as human performance experts, we know that growth often requires discomfort. We also know that any discomfort we might feel is nothing compared to the pain and stunted growth caused by racism.

Racism takes many forms and we will stand against them all, though we have also taken the decision to focus our initial efforts towards opposing racism that is directed at, supports or condones:

  • Racism aimed at those of us with Black, Asian or non-European heritage
  • Islamaphobia
  • Anti-Semitism

We know we have a lot of work to do and that work starts with looking at ourselves. We are committed to:

  • Educating ourselves, because knowledge is the best weapon with which to fight racism
  • Examining our approaches to developing and delivering our human performance programmes and content and changing them where necessary
  • Examining how and where we recruit members of the team, again changing our approach and process where necessary
  • Examining and where necessary, changing the language that we use, because much that has become part of the vernacular has racist heritage or undertones
  • Only partnering with other organisations or individuals who support our stand on anti-racism
  • Sharing our anti-racist stand with customers and prospects, explicitly and up front
  • Making it clear to employees, partners and customers that we will not let racism occur without it being called out and challenged
  • Reporting on and sharing our experience and progress on all the above