In recent years, many companies and organizations have reexamined strategies within Supplier Diversity programs to improve outcomes and advance diversity, racial equity and inclusion. One of the companies at the forefront of these efforts is Partnership member JPMorgan Chase.  The financial services firm showcased how it has transformed strategies to be more intentional during the Partnership’s One Houston Together Spring CPO Convening. Improving outcomes for Minority Business Enterprises is one of the two priorities of One Houston Together alongside talent advancement and board representation for people of color. In 2020, JPMorgan Chase committed $30 billion over a five-year period to advance racial equity. The firm is harnessing its business, policy, philanthropy, and data expertise to reduce the racial wealth gap in Black, Hispanic, and Latino communities. Part of the bank’s commitment includes $750 million in additional spending with Black and Latinx suppliers.  JPMorgan is using five focus areas to drive a comprehensive strategy across the entire supply chain that includes:  Billion Dollar Roundtable membership  Tier 2 Program  City/Local Market Strategy  Supplier Diversity and Strategic Sourcing  Education and Development of Diverse Suppliers  Jim Flynn, Executive Director of Global Supplier Diversity at JPMorgan, said implementing a place-based strategy has allowed the firm to understand the ecosystems and cities where targeted minority business enterprises (MBEs) reside to either bring them into the procurement process or connect them with other community partners or resources. Houston is one of five cities where JPMorgan is implementing the place-based strategy.  “The old supplier diversity model was all about finding diverse suppliers and asking them to spend,” Flynn said. “The new model is about ‘what are all the things you can do within your organization to uplift those businesses and do more.’” One example is what Flynn calls the now, near and far strategy, which focuses on what the JPMorgan Global Supplier Diversity team can do for MBEs depending on the MBEs’ needs and where they are as a business.   “Many of these MBEs are corporate ready now, they just need access. So [it’s about] how can we help them break down barriers and become a disruptor in a convivial way with our colleagues to open a door,” Flynn said.  Flynn said measuring outcomes has been key to ensuring the sustainability and success of the program. JPMorgan’s Global Supplier Diversity team includes a business development group that is tasked with managing a portfolio of newly onboarded Black and Latinx businesses. Their job is to connect them to resources and be their internal champion. In addition, JPMorgan has started to measure the economic impact on an individual business level by collecting feedback from MBEs through a survey that asks questions such as:   Did your sales increase? Did your staffing levels increase? What other good things happened?  Flynn said asking businesses what they need on an individual level has allowed them to learn that it is important to create multiple pathways “because each journey is different.”   Learn more about One Houston Together and take the 2023 Equity & Inclusion Assessment. 

Community leaders are prioritizing increasing green space across the Houston region to improve quality of life and build a more sustainable future. In honor of Earth Day, we’re highlighting a few projects that showcase the region’s commitment.  Over 12,000 trees are located within Hermann Park, and a $52 million project will add more to that number. The highlight of the renovation project is The Commons, a 26-acre play garden designed to inspire and engage young minds with a space-themed area that includes a play layout resembling a splashdown capsule, parachute and rocket launch with slides and climbing structures.  “We want there to be a sense of discovery, with a real diversity of types of play and levels of challenge. Spaces for different kids’ abilities and moods so they can choose their own adventure,” Jack Ohly, Associate Principal at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and Lead Landscape Architect on the Hermann Commons Project, told the Houston Chronicle.  In addition to the new playground, the renovation project also features expanded family picnic areas, a dog park, and more shaded areas with the incorporation of 1,200 new trees and 45,000 new plants.  The massive project was made possible by the support of hundreds of Houstonians, with the largest contribution coming from longtime zoo and park supporter Kathrine G. McGovern. The newly renovated park is expected to open in early 2024.   Hermann Park’s renovation project isn’t the only project underway that aims to increase the region’s green footprint. Montgomery County has recently announced plans for a nearly 400-acre park near its Woodforest community. Though design is still in its early stages, Fish Creek Regional Park plans to offer a host of amenities, including a community center, hiking and equestrian trails, a nature and outdoor education center, and various sports fields.  According to a statement from Burditt Consultants LLC, the company that won the contract for the park’s amenities, the goal of the project is to preserve and sustain the area’s natural resources, including wildlife and watersheds, while still creating a park that will be a benefit to everyone in the region.  These recent park developments and their focus on conservation and sustainability align closely with the city’s own goals of improving Houston’s green space. In tandem with its Climate Action Plan, the city of Houston has launched an initiative in partnership with NRG to plant 100,000 trees as part of a larger goal: planting 4.6 million trees by 2030. This initiative will improve air quality, reduce heat, and bring improvements to different communities across the region.  This is in addition to other reforestation efforts happening at Halls Bayou, which saw almost 600 trees planted earlier this year, and Memorial Park, where acres of native prairie grass and trees were planted on its new land bridge. In Harris County’s Precinct 2, roughly 500 trees were planted as part of the Bay Area Boulevard Reforestation Project’s goal to plant a total of 1,000 trees.   Learn more about Houston’s green spaces.