Comprehensive procurement strategy unveiled to help address economic inequality and drive systemic change
Integrating diversity, equity and inclusion within its procurement operation helps to ensure that its full buying power is leveraged to drive change. The company’s commitment includes immediate and long-term actions, such as:
- Holding suppliers accountable through a new, industry-leading framework for assessing and managing suppliers’ diversity, equity and inclusion performance with the charge to stop doing business with suppliers who perform poorly on DEI within their business operations.
- Increasing supplier diversity proficiency by leveraging learning and development to increase awareness of supplier diversity best practices across MassMutual.
- Driving sustainability outcomes through procurement, advancing MassMutual’s sustainability goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which will improve quality of life in communities across the U.S.
“We know that you cannot fix old problems with old ways of thinking, and our aim is to go beyond traditional approaches,” said Heyward. “We are tapping into non-traditional networks to expand our base of diverse suppliers and having tough conversations with non-diverse firms about our expectation that they invest in DEI within their own operations. We believe these commitments are a positive indicator of how we will hold ourselves, and others, accountable for engaging diverse businesses and driving positive change.”
MassMutual is a corporate member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, National Veterans Business Development Council, and National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
