It is a fundamental tenant of NCSEA’s mission to create opportunities for clean energy professionals and supporters to connect, share information, build knowledge, and learn from our community. NCSEA holds events to encourage the open exchange of ideas and to support professional development and personal growth. We believe that ensuring a wide, diverse range of voices that fully represent the diversity of the community we serve is essential to a thoughtful, robust conversation and better decision-making and policy-setting.

To that end, NCSEA is dedicated to ensuring that our events and gatherings are an inclusive, respectful, productive, and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental ability, color, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, national origin, marital status or partnership status, pregnancy or lactation status, religion or creed, status as a veteran or active military service member or any other basis protected by U.S. federal, state, or local laws.

Policy Guidelines

In order to participate in a NCSEA-sponsored event, all attendees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers agree to abide by this Event Code of Conduct. NCSEA reserves the exclusive and sole right to enforce its code of conduct, define what constitutes unacceptable behavior, and determine what actions it will take to address incidents that occur.

Expected Behavior:
In order to support an environment that builds community and positive connections, the following behaviors are expected of all participants in NCSEA-sponsored events:

• Be present and participate actively.
• Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants.
• Act with respect towards everyone you encounter, including other attendees, speakers, sponsors, event staff, and venue staff.
• Behave in accordance with professional standards (such as this Code of Conduct, your respective employer’s policies, and applicable laws).
• If you are asked by NCSEA or venue staff to stop a behavior that is deemed unacceptable, you are expected to comply immediately.

Unacceptable Behavior:
Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior or speech.
• Language that implies exclusion or derogation of a person based on the person’s characteristics.
• Microaggressions of any kind. (A microaggression is a verbal, behavioral or environmental slight, indignity, or snub – intentional or unintentional – that demeans, invalidates the experience of, expresses a prejudiced or discriminatory attitude, or communicates hostility or a negative message towards a marginalized group.)
• Physical or verbal abuse; verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a threatening, intimidating or humiliating nature; or the sabotage or undermining of a person’s performance.
• Unwelcome sexual attention, including sexualized comments or jokes, inappropriate touching, groping, or sexual advances.
• Displaying sexually explicit or violent material including in presented materials (e.g. slides, presentations, talks) or in informal settings or on personal devices (e.g. on your phone).
• Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person or group.
• Attire that is demeaning, discriminatory, or derogatory to any groups protected under local, state, and federal law.
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following.
• Behaviors that generally interfere with other attendees’ experience or participation at the event.
• Sustained disruption of presentations or event activities.
• Non-compliance with event or event venue rules or policies.
• Possession of dangerous or unauthorized materials such as explosives, firearms, weapons or similar items.
• Theft or inappropriate removal or possession of property.
• Use, distribution, sale, or transfer of illegal drugs.
• Any other illegal activity or forms of harassment not covered above.

Consequence of Unacceptable Behavior
Unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated at NCSEA-sponsored events. If a participant engages in unacceptable behavior or fails to comply with expected behavior at any time during the sponsored event, NCSEA may take any action it deems appropriate, including but not limited to removing the participant from the event without a refund and/or prohibiting future attendance at events. Each instance of unacceptable behavior will be thoroughly investigated and addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Reporting Unacceptable Behavior
If you witness or are subjected to unacceptable behavior or have any other concerns at a NCSEA-sponsored event, notify a NCSEA staff member as soon as possible. If you have questions in advance of the event regarding the Code of Conduct or its implementation, please email Karen Gardner at karen@energync.org.