Alliant Energy announced it is revising plans to retire it Columbia Energy Center originally slated in a first phase at the end of 2024. The plant is the last of the utility’s coal-fired facilities in Wisconsin.
Alliant Energy announced it is revising plans to retire it Columbia Energy Center originally slated in a first phase at the end of 2024. The plant is the last of the utility’s coal-fired facilities in Wisconsin.
For the fifth consecutive year, Alliant Energy was named a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” on the 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI).
“We are extremely proud of earning this recognition five years in a row,” said Jim Gallegos, Alliant Energy’s Executive Vice President — General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and co-sponsor of the company’s Equality Alliance Employee Resource Group. “Although we earned a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign, we will continue to work to make sure our employees feel valued and heard.”
Alliant Energy’s Equality Alliance is the company’s employee-led LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG). The group plays a pivotal role in helping the company build a safe and inclusive workplace for LGBTQ+ employees and allies. The group influences company practices and policies, educates fellow employees and strengthens relationships with LGBTQ+ community organizations.
In 2021, the Equality Alliance ERG partnered with Alliant Energy’s Human Resources Department and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leadership team. Together, they implemented new voluntary gender and sexuality self-identification options for job applicants and employees to create a more welcoming and affirming workplace. In 2018, the Equality Alliance also initiated flying the rainbow flag during Pride Month. Now all facilities display the flag during the month of June.
“Our employees are critical to our success, and we’re committed to building an environment that values and fosters inclusivity and understanding, and where all employees feel safe bringing their full selves to work,” Gallegos said. “As we focus on our purpose of building stronger connections with our customers and communities, our employees are key to our success.”
The CEI, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, is the national benchmarking tool on LGBTQ+ workplace equality. To be included in the CEI, companies must provide LGBTQ+ employees with workplace protections, equal benefits and support an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility. Alliant Energy satisfied all CEI criteria and scored a perfect 100 for the fifth consecutive year.
“When the Human Rights Campaign Foundation created the Corporate Equality Index 20 years ago, we dreamed that LGBTQ+ workers — from the factory floor to corporate headquarters, in big cities and small towns — could have access to the policies and benefits needed to thrive and live life authentically,” said Jay Brown, Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President of Programs, Research and Training. “We are proud that the Corporate Equality Index paved the way to that reality for countless LGBTQ+ workers in America and abroad. But there is still more to do, which is why we are raising the bar yet again to create more equitable workplaces and a better tomorrow for LGBTQ+ workers everywhere.”
