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Sustainability Accelerator

Sustainability is a major focus for corporate partners. 92% of the S&P 500 companies published a sustainability report in 2020.

If your corporate customers have not yet asked you to measure and report on your sustainable practices, they will. Large corporations are asking their suppliers to help them live their values, create a positive impact through their supply chain, and help them meet ambitious sustainability goals.

Join WBEC Metro NY and Greater DMV for a comprehensive program to understand what sustainability really means, what the value of sustainability is – particularly for Corporate Partners – and what you need to do to be a responsible supplier by incorporating sustainability into your business practice.

The program’s first session will begin in July 2022 and is a pre-requisite of the second and third sessions which will extend into Q1 and Q2 of 2023.

What to Expect

Three-module, one-year program with drop-in clinics between workshops. Each workshop includes an interactive component and follows a sustainable roadmap template for WBEs to organize information directly relevant to their respective businesses.
An accessible and actionable program to help WBEs understand the basics of sustainability.
Assist WBEs in unpacking the important pieces of sustainability as it relates to their business and providing clear direction for steps needed to create and articulate a sustainability plan.
WBEs receive an organized template for a sustainability roadmap to help them achieve positive third party sustainability assessment scores or other certifications valued by corporate procurement.

Eligibility

For small to mid-size businesses in business for 2 – 5 years with specified mission, vision and values, and basic business processes in place for operations, personnel and business administration.
Actively WBENC Certified WBE

Modules

If you choose to apply to the program, and are accepted, you must commit to participating in every workshop.

Module 1

Creating Your Sustainability Roadmap – Collaboration with BMS

Understand the basics of sustainability, business responsibility and the language that speaks to your contribution to corporate partners’ value chains.
Understand sustainability from the perspective of a valuable stakeholder/customer.
Be ready to implement measurable sustainability actions and start embedding them in the business (via a guided action plan).
Articulate the business’ commitments, actions and impact.

Dates

Workshop 1 – What to Know | Wednesday, July 13 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Workshop 2 – What to Do | Wednesday, August 10 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Workshop 3 – Implementation | Wednesday, September 14 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Workshop 4 – Communication | Wednesday, October 12 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Module 2

Checking Your Sustainability Compass – Collaboration with AstraZeneca

Reinforce your business materiality, stakeholder identification engagement and align with global frameworks.
Understanding the foundational policies, practices and systems to have or put in place for sustainable best practice.
Guidance for developing effective policies in critical areas of ethics and transparency, environmental stewardship and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Introduction of ways of thinking and tools to effectively organize information and measure sustainable performance.

Dates

Workshop 1 – Reinforce Materiality, Stakeholder Identification Engagement and Global Frameworks | Tuesday, March 14 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop 2 – Foundation: Policies, Practices and Systems | Tuesday, April 18 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop 3 – Example Systems and Assessments: DEI, EMS, Supplier Engagement, EcoVadis and CDP | Tuesday, May 16 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop 4 – Module and Workbooks Review | Tuesday, June 20 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Module 3

Ready, Set, Go! – Collaboration with BMS + AstraZeneca

Putting your business values into practice to provide meaningful impact in areas that matter to you as well as your corporate partners.
How to develop internal systems to manage, track and improve sustainable performance.
Guidance for developing effective managements systems expected by corporate partners and in sustainability assessments and certifications.
Preparing for sustainability information disclosure and scoring well on third party assessments or certifications.

Dates

Workshop 1 – Developing and Environmental Management System (EMS) | Tuesday September 19 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop 2 – Greenhouse Gases and Scopes | Tuesday October 17 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop 3 - Calculating Scope 1 and 2 using the EPA Simplified Calculator | Tuesday, November 14 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Workshop 4 – Review of WBE EMS Examples and Commencement | Tuesday December 12 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm