NYC Pension Fund is demanding supplier diversity data from Fortune 500 companies
The New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is demanding companies release data detailing purchases made with minority suppliers. The list of corporations include Facebook, Google, Starbucks, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical and more.
While most corporations on that list do have supplier diversity initiatives, many do not release their numbers to the public. This new request to make minority purchasing public could send uncomfortable waves through the industry. In today's America, over 12,000 certified businesses operate in the country per the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Institute for Thought Diversity. There are more than enough qualified suppliers to meet needs for all companies, however not many are actually used.
I myself am in favor of a type of zero based budgeting but for supplier diversity. In this idea, everyone starts at zero and releases their current numbers. No one is punished or denigrated but instead, a plan is put in place to help grow corporations with qualified suppliers. The big issue is that companies know they aren't meeting requirements and are afraid of the backlash. Helping these organizations must be the key to creating a solution.