Utilizing Vendor Diversity as a Tool to Drive ESG Initiatives

Less than 10% of construction professional are women and only 31% are Hispanic, LatinX, 6.2% are black and 2% are Asian. Despite best efforts, our industry has failed to increase diversity within our workforce. New approaches are needed, especially those that integrate formal Vendor Diversity requirements within stated ESG initiatives.

Vendor Diversity is the proactive approach to sourcing and partnering with minority-owned, women-owned, LGBTQ-owned, veteran-owned, disadvantaged-owned and other diverse businesses. Corporations establish these programs to ensure that the procurement process is equitable and inclusive. In addition to supporting local communities, Vendor Diversity is a business practice that enhances and drives ESG programs. In the construction and energy sector, MWDBE inclusion programming focuses on proactively engaging with diverse businesses. MWDBE partners are not only provided opportunities but also are mentored with the goal of collaborative partnerships throughout the lifecycle of a project.

This session reviews the latest vendor diversity program models that leverage stated ESG initiatives to ensure accountability and impact. McKinstry will serve as a real-world case study, detailing how the integration of vendor diversity within our five-year Action for Impact strategy evolved program efforts and led to an increase of 31% increase in spend with diverse-owned businesses since 2020.