Creating stronger communities together: GHD’s supplier diversity journey with Amotai
GHD, a global professional services company that leads through engineering, architecture, environmental, and construction services, is making significant strides in embedding supplier diversity within its New Zealand operations. In collaboration with Amotai, GHD is reinforcing their purpose to create lasting community impact through strengthening their supply chain and creating shared value through supplier diversity.
Leadership commitment, the cornerstone of success
At the heart of GHD’s supplier diversity success is strong leadership commitment. Christina (Chris) Taylor, the Asia Pacific Finance Leader and a Principal at GHD, has been instrumental in championing these efforts in New Zealand.
“The commitment needs to come from top,” says Chris. “At GHD, we see this as an opportunity to make a real difference in our communities. Our leadership team is fully behind this effort, which is crucial for its success.”
Amotai’s Supplier Diversity Lead, Paul Tukukino acknowledges the importance of leadership in driving supplier diversity. “Chris has been a driving force,” Paul notes. “Her dedication has been pivotal in embedding supplier diversity into GHD’s core operations.”
A promising start: GHD’s journey begins
GHD’s partnership with Amotai was initially sparked through their involvement with the New Zealand Defence Force Infrastructure Alliance, and through conversations with key clients such as Auckland Transport, who were emphasising the importance of supplier diversity.
“Feedback from clients provided a clear message and motivation for GHD to pursue a structured supplier diversity programme,” says Chris, “and after attending a ‘Making Sense of Supplier Diversity’ event and meeting Paul, we signed up with Amotai and hit the ground running.”
Since joining, Amotai has supported and guided GHD in engaging with new suppliers that meet their specific project needs. This has included matchmaking services where Amotai facilitates connections between GHD and appropriate suppliers and attending ‘Meet the Buyer’ events to connect kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face-to-face) with suppliers. Both approaches have led to several successful contracts already.
One notable example has been the NZUP Waka Kotahi Waihoehoe Project. By partnering with Māori, mana whenua-owned and locally owned suppliers, GHD has demonstrated a real commitment to the economic empowerment of these communities. The goal is to achieve an investment of $700,000 with Māori and Pasifika businesses upon the project's completion - subject to the continuation of ‘Delivery Improvement’ initiatives and their inclusion in the Waihoehoe Tender documentation.
Building awareness: Internal education and policy development
To ensure a deep and lasting impact, GHD has undertaken several initiatives to raise awareness and educate their staff about supplier diversity.
“We’ve held ‘Lunch & Learn’ sessions across New Zealand, featuring Amotai suppliers,” says Chris. “These sessions help our staff understand the importance of supplier diversity and how to engage effectively.”
In addition, GHD is developing a supplier diversity standard and introducing a Supplier Diversity 101 module across their New Zealand practice. “This is about ensuring that our commitment isn’t just limited to those of us who have a passion for it but is reflected across our everyday operations.”
Elevating efforts: Introducing a dedicated resource
As part of their commitment, GHD recently undertook the completion of Amotai’s supplier diversity maturity matrix. This tool helps organisations assess their current level of engagement and effectiveness in supplier diversity practices.
“We genuinely thought we were at level two,” admits Chris “We had engaged in numerous activities, formed strategic partnerships, and seen some early successes. So, it was surprising to learn that we were still at level one.”
Acknowledging the gap between perception and reality, GHD have since doubled down on their efforts and have recently appointed Lloyd Rakaupai as the Māori and Pasifika Leader. As part of Lloyd’s supplier diversity outcomes, he is tasked with educating others on the benefits of supplier diversity and facilitating partnerships with Māori and Pasifika communities and businesses.
“We have an ambitious goal of increasing our spend with Amotai suppliers to 3% of eligible procurement spend in our financial year 2024/25,” explains Chris, “Having Lloyd on board will help us embed supplier diversity into our DNA and increase the impact we can have on local communities.”
Future vision: Leading the way
Chris appreciates the support from Amotai and sees a huge opportunity within GHD’s industry to further champion supplier diversity.
“Amotai helped us navigate this journey in a safe and supportive way, with lots of patience as we’ve worked out how we could incorporate supplier diversity,” reflects Chris. “We see a huge opportunity across our industry, and it’s a collaborative, not competitive, opportunity for us all to ensure that major infrastructure projects embed supplier diversity throughout the journey from design to construction.”
For Paul, GHD’s commitment serves as a model for other organisations aiming to make a meaningful impact through supplier diversity.
“Through leadership buy-in, building partnerships, education and awareness and having a dedicated resource – GHD is setting a new standard for supplier diversity in New Zealand.”