Probe of Supplier Diversity Practices of Corporate Giants Across Several Industry Sectors.

The Urban Professionals Action Network (UPAN), a division of New York City based minority business advocacy group, The Professionals Network Organization (TPNO), announced that it will be conducting an independent study of supplier diversity practices of corporations that have reaped huge profits from the African-American and Hispanic communities.

The study will be conducted in phases, focusing on a variety of business sectors. Initially the study will focus on foreign-owned companies, including but not limited to Sony, Nintendo, Diageo and Pernod Ricard. The decision to start with these industries stems from preliminary research that suggests a large part of these companies’ success and growth over the past several years has come from multicultural consumers. Conversely, the same initial research has shown that these companies do not give back to these communities, and has further identified very few minority vendors on their roster of suppliers.

“The time has come to ensure that large corporations that are profiting from minority consumers are acting as good corporate citizens by giving back to their diverse patrons and utilizing capable minority suppliers to help deliver their products to the market”, says Anthony Herbert – President of TPNO. Mr. Herbert went on to state, ” … our goal in this study is not to punish businesses that don’t practice diversity but to inform the public as to which companies are actively practicing diversity and which companies are not. Many of the firms that we’re targeting have foreign ownership, and as a result there may be a lack of understanding from senior leadership as to the importance of diversity in America.”

Once concluded, the report will be presented to the Congressional Black & Hispanic Caucuses in Washington, DC. For a copy of the report or for more information regarding UPAN/TPNO, please contact Jasmine Miller at (646) 428-4054.

Established in 1996, The Professionals Network Organization (TPNO), a coalition of over 10,000, non-partisan, diverse business professionals, community and business leaders have established themselves as the premier network for professionals who look for empowerment economically, politically and socially. Its key objective is to establish links between the organization and the greater business community.