Just like that, here we are in December, taking in the changing of the seasons once again and reflecting on the year.
This year in particular, I am comforted by the natural cycles and rhythms that remain steady and grounding—the daily sunrise, the lengthening of days after the Winter Solstice, our instinct to help one another. I have also found reasons to be grateful that this year was anything but “business as usual”—patterns have been disrupted, mobility restricted, and busyness throttled. While destabilizing, this has been a time of paring down and waking up.
For us, this has meant honing our focus on three core areas: employee-owner well-being; resilience; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Supporting our employee-owners involves increasing both communication and flexibility. Resilience, in our business and our communities, is about anticipating and preparing for risks and challenges, building in multiple options for response and recovery, and taking a long-view approach to restoring and maintaining our integrated natural-built “ecosystems.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion means that that each and every one of us at ESA is heard, respected, valued, and engaged. Throughout 2020, we have deepened and accelerated our efforts in this realm. We recently completed a cultural assessment with over 70 percent of our employee-owners providing us critical feedback that will guide our efforts in strengthening a culture of belonging here at ESA. We also just announced three college undergraduate recipients of our first annual ESA Scholarship Program.
On behalf of the ESA team—best wishes for 2021! May this winter holiday season and New Year bring you all peace, good health, and hope.
Leslie Moulton-Post
President/Chief Executive Officer
