Corporate Spotlight – Accenture

Accenture is among the world’s largest consulting and information technology enterprises and one of the most dedicated supporters of the GMSDC. Accenture began in the early 1950s as the business and technology consulting division of global accounting firm Arthur Anderson. What started with a feasibility study for the installation of the first commercial application of a mainframe computer in the US has evolved into a world leader in IT and human capital optimization. Renamed Accenture after splitting off from Anderson in 2000, the company now employs nearly 675,000 people in 200 locations across 50 countries, with revenues in excess of $50 billion in 2021. Accenture has a truly global company commitment to inclusion and diversity, through what it calls a ‘culture of equality’ in the workplace and a Supplier Inclusion and Diversity Program that has been ranked Number 4 in the 2021 list of the Top 10 Global Champions of Supplier Diversity. Always a stalwart supporter of the Council and a premier sponsor of various initiatives, the GMSDC/Accenture partnership is both long-standing and highly impactful.

Accenture’s world-class program is driven by two dynamic Atlanta-based leaders – Nedra Dickson, the Managing Director, Global Supplier Inclusion and Sustainability and Sesley Brown, the Global Supplier Inclusion and Sustainability Manager – who have collaborated for years at the helm of Accenture’s industry-leading program. The GMSDC has benefitted tremendously from having both of them based in the Atlanta area, which has enabled Board service, committee engagement, program support and active participation in the Council’s activities, conferences and events. Accenture’s Diverse Supplier Development Program (DSDP), a pioneering corporate mentoring and development initiative that began in 2006, is a global initiative designed to accelerate supplier capability and capacity by pairing them up with an Accenture mentor (or a client partner mentor) for an 18-month collaboration. The program, which has graduated nearly 200 suppliers and has a goal of 250 graduates by the end of 2023, piloted a sustainability component in 2021, to further develop participating suppliers in areas that include sustainable development, climate action and human rights.

Accenture’s trailblazing efforts have received a long list of awards and accolades over the years – both for the initiative itself and Dickson and Brown individually – including the GMSDC’s Corporation of the Year Award at the Spirit of Alliance Awards in 2020. The success of the program is the result of a global commitment to ‘a culture of responsible buying on a global scale.’ Accenture is an engaged partner not just with the GMSDC, but with all of the primary agencies that certify diverse suppliers. Accenture CPO Kai Nowosel speaks to the overall impact of the company’s diverse supplier outreach and the benefits of a strong program. “We believe inclusive procurement practices create long-term value for our clients and our communities, while helping us remain agile, disruptive and ahead of the market.” Industry leadership, top tier client support and a global culture of doing the right thing for the planet and its inhabitants…these are the elements of global leadership in diversity and inclusion. Our thanks to the Accenture team for always supporting the Council in ways big and small. For more information or to register as an Accenture supplier, visit accenture.com.