Icy Williams to Spearhead National Initiative for Small Business Sustainability
Cincinnati, OH, October 11, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Icy L. Williams, former Corporate Supplier Diversity leader at Procter & Gamble, is serving as chairperson of the National Sustainability Coalition. The nonprofit initiative brings together an impressive group of environmental engineer/scientists, business development professionals and award-winning training specialists to drive sustainable development among small and diverse business enterprise.
“The 21st century represents an era of supplier diversity opportunity,” says Williams. “Trends indicate that purchases from local suppliers will increase as large businesses seek to reduce their environmental impacts in the areas of transportation and social responsibility. Small and diverse enterprises need to be prepared when the national recession lifts and the economy rebounds.”
At the core of the National Sustainability Coalition’s initiative is a proprietary web-based program offering sustainability training and technical assistance to help entrepreneurs conduct self-audits from which the company can develop a sustainability action plan. The e-learning course and hands-on virtual workshop are proven tools to engage businesses more successfully and technical assistance is more widely accessible at the click of a mouse.
The Coalition will introduce its sustainability initiative in three phases, beginning with an announcement to nearly 8,000 corporate leaders and diverse suppliers attending the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s annual trade fair in New Orleans later this month.
As a second step, the Coalition is creating a consortium of business development organizations in Ohio that will assist in rolling out the program to 88 counties beginning in November, 2009. Ohio will serve as a model for expanding the program into additional states.
The final step will be to provide third-party certification that sustainable policies and practices put into place by small businesses participating in the program are functional, and not just self-proclamations; and that the company is continuously improving.
In addition, the National Sustainability Coalition is sponsoring a series of webinars that will provide small and diverse business owners with new ways of thinking in the 21st century economy. The 2009 webinars are scheduled for November 10, November 19, December 3 and December 15. For more information and to register, visit SEMScertified.com.
About the National Sustainability Coalition
This dynamic nonprofit initiative to improve the operating efficiencies of small businesses is organized as part of Cybervillage, USA Inc., a 501(c) (3) corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The National Sustainability Coalition operates under the direction of an eleven-member Executive Committee comprised of a diverse group of well-known professionals who oversee the program’s objectives and activities. Icy L. Williams, former Corporate Supplier Diversity leader at The Procter & Gamble Company, serves as chairperson for the initiative. Dr. Calvin L. Green, Jr., an environmental engineer/scientist with Procter & Gamble, is chairperson of an eleven-member Executive Committee comprised of well-known environmental experts and business professionals. For further information, visit: nscoalition.org.
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“The 21st century represents an era of supplier diversity opportunity,” says Williams. “Trends indicate that purchases from local suppliers will increase as large businesses seek to reduce their environmental impacts in the areas of transportation and social responsibility. Small and diverse enterprises need to be prepared when the national recession lifts and the economy rebounds.”
At the core of the National Sustainability Coalition’s initiative is a proprietary web-based program offering sustainability training and technical assistance to help entrepreneurs conduct self-audits from which the company can develop a sustainability action plan. The e-learning course and hands-on virtual workshop are proven tools to engage businesses more successfully and technical assistance is more widely accessible at the click of a mouse.
The Coalition will introduce its sustainability initiative in three phases, beginning with an announcement to nearly 8,000 corporate leaders and diverse suppliers attending the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s annual trade fair in New Orleans later this month.
As a second step, the Coalition is creating a consortium of business development organizations in Ohio that will assist in rolling out the program to 88 counties beginning in November, 2009. Ohio will serve as a model for expanding the program into additional states.
The final step will be to provide third-party certification that sustainable policies and practices put into place by small businesses participating in the program are functional, and not just self-proclamations; and that the company is continuously improving.
In addition, the National Sustainability Coalition is sponsoring a series of webinars that will provide small and diverse business owners with new ways of thinking in the 21st century economy. The 2009 webinars are scheduled for November 10, November 19, December 3 and December 15. For more information and to register, visit SEMScertified.com.
About the National Sustainability Coalition
This dynamic nonprofit initiative to improve the operating efficiencies of small businesses is organized as part of Cybervillage, USA Inc., a 501(c) (3) corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The National Sustainability Coalition operates under the direction of an eleven-member Executive Committee comprised of a diverse group of well-known professionals who oversee the program’s objectives and activities. Icy L. Williams, former Corporate Supplier Diversity leader at The Procter & Gamble Company, serves as chairperson for the initiative. Dr. Calvin L. Green, Jr., an environmental engineer/scientist with Procter & Gamble, is chairperson of an eleven-member Executive Committee comprised of well-known environmental experts and business professionals. For further information, visit: nscoalition.org.
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Contact
National Sustainability Coalition
Icy L. Williams
513/345-1978
www.nscoalition.org
Icy L. Williams
513/345-1978
www.nscoalition.org
Contact
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