Philly businesses commit to increase diversity, invest in Black-owned suppliers

A group of more than 50 companies pledged Tuesday to increase opportunities for small, minority-owned businesses and undo racial inequalities in the region's economy through the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's Diverse Procurement Collaborative.

The Chamber created the partnership under the umbrella of its Recharge & Recover PHL initiative to help businesses bounce back from the pandemic.

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The program encourages larger companies like Wawa, the University of Pennsylvania and Comcast to use more Black and brown-led suppliers to increase diversity among their network.

"The Chamber believes that we can’t truly create a strong, equitable economic recovery without a commitment to those Black and brown businesses," Susan Jacobson, the board chair, said during a press conference Tuesday morning.

This announcement came just hours before the conviction of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police officer found guilty of second-degree murder after kneeling on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.

"Taking steps to make economic opportunities more inclusive and diverse across Greater Philadelphia isn’t just good for our neighbors, it’s good for business," Jacobson said in a statement. "I am proud to support the Diverse Procurement Collaborative, which aims to drive new revenue to Black- and brown-owned businesses in an equitable way that creates value and opportunity for everyone."

Participating companies committed to two years of sharing their best practices and resources to increase supplier diversity. They all took a baseline test that will be monitored throughout that time to show each company's progress.

"The DPC is an innovative and collaborative approach to enhance the diverse supplier pipeline of our companies, which represent a wide range of businesses, ideas and energy who call this great region home," said John McAllister, Director of Facility Operations for Wawa. "We look forward to working with our colleagues on this important endeavor and doing our part to increase the utilization of diverse suppliers throughout Greater Philadelphia."

Here are the participating companies so far:

Alexander Perry, Inc.

Bittenbender Construction

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

Black Squirrel Collective

Bradley & Bradley Associates

Brandywine Realty Trust

Burns & McDonnell

CG Global Management Solutions, LLC

ChristianaCare

City Year Philadelphia

COFCO

Comcast

Diverse Force

Drexel University

Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council

Fulton Bank

Independence Blue Cross

JWH & Associates

Kayole Environment Management Enterprise

Leonardo Helicopters

Main Line Health

Montgomery Community College

Mosaic Development Partners, LLC

NexLyte

Partner’s Consulting, Inc

Pennoni

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Philadelphia International Airport

Philadelphia Youth Network

Philly Improv Theater

Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation

PRWT Services, Inc.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia

Roar for Good

SAP

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Saxbys

School District of Philadelphia

SEPTA

Synterra Partners

TeleCaas, LLC

The Nature Conservancy

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Tactile Group

Think Company

UGI Corporation

University City Science Center

University of Pennsylvania

Uplift Philly

Vanguard

Wawa, Inc.

WHYY

1776.VC