Penn Receives National Recognition for its Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Program
The University of Pennsylvania has received the Jesse L. Moore Supplier 2022 Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest print diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.
The INSIGHT Into Diversity Jesse L. Moore 2022 Supplier Diversity Award honors colleges and universities that take proactive steps to support and engage with minority-owned businesses through supplier diversity offices, unique programs, and leading initiatives. A full list of award recipients will be published in the April issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
Penn was recognized for its work and impact around supplier diversity and inclusion. Led by Penn’s Procurement Services department, the University leverages its purchasing power to support the growth of diverse businesses and subsequently the Philadelphia economy.
Fueling Business Growth, Penn’s Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Program, incorporates a multi-faceted approach which includes expanding outreach with local and diverse businesses; deepening relationships with a range of suppliers; increasing businesses opportunities; addressing financial barriers facing diverse suppliers; and providing enhanced tools and resources to the Penn buying community—all directed at generating economic activity.
“What began in 1986 as the Buy West Philadelphia Program has expanded into our current interconnected network of University staff and its buyers, along with local and diverse suppliers, seeking opportunities from the private and public sector,” said Mark Mills, Penn’s chief procurement officer. “The executive leadership team at Penn considers diversity-spend efforts a University-wide priority, and we have developed tools and resources to all Penn’s Schools and Centers to make it easy to increase local and diverse spending on goods and services. We are seeing the commitment to these efforts reflected in the growth in our diversity spend.”
“When it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), colleges and universities have traditionally put their resources into recruiting and retaining diverse students and employees—however, there is a third leg of DEI that focuses on supplier diversity. The INSIGHT Into Diversity Jesse L. Moore Supplier Diversity Award, named in honor of longtime advocate and economic development pioneer Jesse L. Moore for his leadership in promoting supplier diversity and the success of minority-owned businesses, is our way of ensuring this critical area of DEI also gets recognized for the important role that it plays,” said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity.
A call for nominations for this award was announced in December.
Penn Awarded SPLC's Leadership Award for Supplier Engagement
On May 19, alongside Wash Cycle Laundry, Penn received the 2017 Leadership Award for Supplier Engagement from the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC). This award recognizes the collaboration between Penn and Wash Cycle Laundry on its efforts to collaborate and put in place a supplier solution with a multi-faceted sustainability impact. The services provided to Penn by Wash Cycle Laundry are innovative, earth friendly, locally sourced, and generate upwardly mobile job opportunities for vulnerable job seekers in the area. This solution also stands as an example of a large anchor institution (Penn) working with a small business (Wash Cycle Laundry) for mutually beneficial impact.
According to SPLC, this year’s Leadership Award winners, such as Penn and Wash Cycle Laundry, employ a wide range of sustainable purchasing strategies and document measurable environmental, social, and/or economic benefits. SPLC Executive Director Jason Pearson said “The winners of SPLC’s Leadership Awards exemplify, encourage, and support a constructive cycle of innovation that will define the global marketplace of tomorrow.”
BSD Efforts Recognized for Excellence
Procurement Services staff members as part of Penn’s Green Campus Partnership Team won top honors for the 2015 Models of Excellence for collaborative efforts for above-and-beyond contributions in assisting in the achievement of integrating sustainability into coursework, community, and campus planning, design, and operations.
Office Depot Recognizes Leaders in Greener Purchasing
Boca Raton, Fla., August 2, 2013
Office Depot, Inc. Penn's preferred supplier of office supplies, announced the University of Pennsylvania as an award winner in greener purchasing. For the past several years, the Office Depot has publicly recognized a small group of its contract customers who proactively seek out products with environmental attributes and ecolabels. For 2013, the University of Pennsylvania was one of the 28 organizations that were selected out of 17,000 customers evaluated for this award.
http://www.purchasing.upenn.edu/news/Leadership_in_Greener_Purchasing.pdf
Penn Receives African-American Chamber of Commerce 2015 Corporate Advocate of the Year Award
The African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware honored the University of Pennsylvania with its 2015 Corporate Advocate of the Year Award in recognition of Penn's commitment to diversity and inclusion with minorities, women and local businesses through its Economic Inclusion Program. AACC Board Chair Steven Scott Bradley presented the award to Penn Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli at the Chamber's annual meeting on May 27.