Cleveland Clinic Commits to Expanding Supplier Diversity, Building Community Wealth

Cleveland Clinic is among 12 U.S. health systems to sign the “Impact Purchasing Commitment,” designed by the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) in partnership with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth. Signing the network’s commitment supports Cleveland Clinic’s Supplier Diversity Program, which identifies and works with qualified diverse suppliers to increase opportunities to bid on and source products and services. In the last 10 years of the program, Cleveland Clinic has spent more than $1.1 billion with diverse suppliers. The health system’s goal is to double its 2020 spend of $80 million to $160 million by 2025.

The “Impact Purchasing Commitment” includes increasing spending with minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) as well as local and employee-owned, cooperatively owned and/or nonprofit-owned enterprises, by at least $1 billion total over five years.

The “Impact Purchasing Commitment” includes increasing spending with minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) as well as local and employee-owned, cooperatively owned and/or nonprofit-owned enterprises, by at least $1 billion total over five years.

“Supporting supplier diversity is a proactive business process at Cleveland Clinic,” said Bill Peacock, Cleveland Clinic Chief of Operations. “By being purposeful with where we purchase our goods and services, we can make a meaningful, measurable and lasting impact on the wellbeing of our neighbors and our local economy.”

Cleveland Clinic has a long-standing commitment to serving local needs by attracting, supporting and partnering with diverse business enterprises. Its supplier diversity program and procurement process supports this pledge by identifying and working with qualified diverse suppliers to increase their participation in Cleveland Clinic’s procurement opportunities.

“Investing in minority and women-owned businesses is a priority for our organization,” said Adam Myers, M.D., Cleveland Clinic Chief of Population Health. “As an anchor institution our goal is to create the healthiest community for everyone. Our commitment to working with diverse suppliers is an example of our actions to address social determinants of health and support our neighbors.”

It is estimated that roughly one in five small businesses have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. These closures have disproportionately impacted small businesses owned by immigrants, women, and Black, Latinx, and Asian individuals, all of which have experienced higher rates of closures and sharper declines in cash balances. These businesses generate local jobs including downstream jobs such as with suppliers and other vendors, economic opportunities, and community wealth building that works to produce broadly shared economic prosperity and ownership. The loss of these small and MWBE businesses also has a massive impact on broader racial inequality and health equity.

In addition to Cleveland Clinic, health systems adopting the Impact Purchasing Commitment include Advocate Aurora Health, Baystate Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, CommonSpirit Health, Henry Ford Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, Providence, Rush University Medical Center, Spectrum Health, and UMass Memorial Health.