Supplier Diversity evaluates how a company proactively includes businesses owned by under-represented groups - such as minority-, women-, veteran-, LGBTQ+-, disability-, and Indigenous-owned enterprises - in its procurement processes to drive inclusive economic development and innovation. It covers:

• program governance – formal policies, goals and executive-level accountability for supplier-diversity spend, aligned with industry benchmarks (e.g., WEConnect, NMSDC) and internally defined categories;
• outreach & inclusion – identification, certification and engagement of diverse suppliers through supplier-diversity councils, events, mentorship and capacity-building initiatives;
• procurement integration – embedding diversity criteria into RFPs, bid-evaluations, contract awards and supplier-scorecards, ensuring fair competition and visibility across sourcing tiers;
• performance measurement – tracking spend percentages, number of diverse suppliers onboarded, retention rates and business outcomes (cost savings, innovation), with transparent reporting to stakeholders;
• continuous improvement – feedback loops, supplier-development programmes and collaboration with external diversity certifiers to expand the pool of qualified diverse suppliers and remove barriers to participation.