Avangrid’s Corporate Strategy Advances Sustainable Development Goals Through Disability Inclusion

Avangrid, Inc., a member of the Iberdrola Group, has received recognition as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” from Disability:IN. This achievement, marked by a top score on the 2025 Disability Index®, underscores the company’s commitment to fostering inclusive employment practices and directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Performance Analysis: 2025 Disability Index® Score

For the third consecutive year, Avangrid achieved a perfect score of 100 on the Disability Index®, a comprehensive benchmarking tool for corporate disability inclusion. This score reflects excellence across five key areas, demonstrating a robust framework for promoting equal opportunity and contributing to several SDGs.

1. Culture & Leadership (30/30): The company’s leadership has demonstrated a public and internal commitment to disability inclusion. This top-down approach is fundamental to building strong and inclusive institutions, aligning with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
2. Enterprise-Wide Access (10/10): Avangrid’s best-practice digital accessibility, emergency preparedness plans, and centralized support systems ensure an accessible environment. This contributes to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by creating inclusive and safe infrastructure.
3. Employment Practices (40/40): Through inclusive recruitment, robust benefits, and support for employee self-identification, Avangrid actively promotes full and productive employment for persons with disabilities, directly addressing Target 8.5 of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
4. Community Engagement (10/10): Active support for disability-focused organizations strengthens community partnerships and promotes social inclusion, a core tenet of SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
5. Supplier Inclusion (10/10): By expanding its supplier diversity program to include disability-owned businesses, Avangrid leverages its economic influence to empower marginalized groups and fosters multi-stakeholder partnerships, in line with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Strategic Implementation: The 2025 Accessibility Project

The company’s high score is a direct result of its “2025 Accessibility Project,” a strategic initiative designed to embed accessibility and inclusion throughout the organization. This project operationalizes Avangrid’s commitment to the SDGs through four key workstreams:

• Employment Practices: Focused efforts on enhancing recruiter training and interview accommodations ensure that the principles of SDG 8 are applied throughout the hiring process.
• Enterprise-Wide Access: Strengthening compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and tracking accommodation metrics ensures that the company’s contribution to SDG 11 is measurable and effective.
• Equal Opportunity: The expansion of partnerships and mentoring programs creates pathways for economic and social inclusion, directly supporting the objectives of SDG 10.
• Supplier Program Expansion: Increasing engagement with disability-owned businesses aligns corporate responsibility with economic empowerment, reinforcing the company’s commitment to SDG 10 and SDG 17.

Conclusion and Forward Outlook

Avangrid’s recognition by Disability:IN is a testament to a corporate strategy that successfully integrates social responsibility with business operations. By prioritizing disability inclusion, the company makes significant contributions to achieving Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Reducing Inequalities (SDG 10). As stated by CEO Jose Antonio Miranda, this commitment is a core value that lays the foundation for lasting success and connects the company with talent from all backgrounds. Avangrid’s ongoing efforts to remove barriers and create a stigma-free environment signal a long-term dedication to advancing these critical global goals beyond 2025.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on Avangrid’s recognition for disability inclusion directly addresses and connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary focus on creating an inclusive workplace for people with disabilities, ensuring equal opportunity, and fostering partnerships aligns with the following goals:

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The article’s core theme is about employment practices that promote decent and productive work for persons with disabilities. It details Avangrid’s efforts in recruitment, accommodations, and creating a supportive work environment, which are central to SDG 8’s mission to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and employment for all.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: This goal aims to reduce inequality within and among countries. The article directly relates to this by highlighting a company’s proactive measures to reduce inequalities faced by persons with disabilities in the workplace. Avangrid’s “2025 Accessibility Project” and its focus on “Equal Opportunity” are explicit efforts to empower and promote the social and economic inclusion of this group.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The article emphasizes collaboration as a key driver of its success. Avangrid’s participation in the Disability Index, a tool created by the nonprofit Disability:IN, and its engagement with disability-owned businesses and disability-focused organizations, exemplify the multi-stakeholder partnerships that SDG 17 encourages to achieve sustainable development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the initiatives and achievements described in the article, several specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Target 8.5: “By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.”
   • Explanation: The article is a case study of a company working towards this target. Avangrid’s recognition as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” is based on its “supportive employment practices,” “inclusive recruitment practices,” and providing “candidate interview accommodations.” These actions are designed to ensure persons with disabilities have access to productive employment and decent work.
2. Target 10.2: “By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.”
   • Explanation: Avangrid’s efforts are a direct application of this target at a corporate level. The article states the company is committed to “fostering an accessible and welcoming workplace—empowering all employees to thrive.” The “2025 Accessibility Project” and its focus on enterprise-wide access and equal opportunity are concrete actions to promote the economic inclusion of people with disabilities.
3. Target 10.3: “Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory… policies and practices…”
   • Explanation: The article highlights that Avangrid has a “Manager of Equal Opportunity” and a “Director of Equal Opportunity.” The company’s work to “remove all barriers and create a truly stigma-free environment” and its structured initiatives in “Employment Practices” and “Equal Opportunity” are aimed at eliminating discriminatory practices and ensuring equal opportunity, which is the essence of this target.
4. Target 17.17: “Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.”
   • Explanation: The article describes Avangrid’s partnership with Disability:IN, a “leading global nonprofit for business disability inclusion” (civil society). It also mentions the company’s efforts to expand its “supplier diversity efforts to include disability-owned businesses” (private-private partnership) and support for “disability-focused organizations” (private-civil society partnership). These collaborations are examples of the effective partnerships this target promotes.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article mentions several direct and implied indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

• For Targets 8.5 and 10.2:
  • Indicator: Score on the Disability Equality Index. The article explicitly states that Avangrid earned a “top score” and provides a breakdown of its perfect scores in five categories: Culture & Leadership (30/30), Enterprise-Wide Access (10/10), Employment Practices (40/40), Community Engagement (10/10), and Supplier Inclusion (10/10). This index is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that serves as a direct quantitative indicator of the company’s performance in disability inclusion.
  • Indicator: Implementation of inclusive employment practices. The article implies measurement through the existence and enhancement of specific programs, such as “enhancing self-ID campaigns, recruiter training, and candidate interview accommodations.” Progress can be measured by tracking the implementation and effectiveness of these practices.
  • Indicator: Tracking accommodation metrics. The article mentions that Avangrid is “tracking accommodation metrics” as part of its Enterprise-Wide Access workstream. This is a specific, data-driven indicator of the company’s support for employees with disabilities.
• For Target 17.17:
  • Indicator: Engagement with disability-owned businesses. The article states that Avangrid has “expanded its supplier diversity efforts to include disability-owned businesses” and is “tracking Tier 2 supplier engagement.” The number of such businesses in the supply chain and the value of contracts with them are concrete indicators of this partnership effort.
  • Indicator: Number of partnerships with civil society organizations. The active partnership with Disability:IN and the support for other “disability-focused organizations” serve as an indicator of cross-sector collaboration.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: bakersfield.com