Honda’s Diversity Procurement Group has been awarded the National Corporation of the Year award by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) for its support of woman-owned businesses.

This award recognizes Honda’s commitment to working with and developing woman-owned businesses on a national and regional level. Within the last year, Honda’s WBE spend has increased more than 10 percent.

“Honda is honored to be recognized by the WBENC for our work in supporting women-owned businesses,” said Michael Bracey, diversity procurement team lead. “We value our partnership and truly appreciate the strong role the WBENC plays in assisting small businesses.”

Honda has been a member of the Ohio River Valley (ORV) chapter of the organization since 2014 and has served on the Steering Committee of WBEC-ORV for the past three years.

A number of Honda’s women leaders have presented at events targeted to business owners and Honda has supported numerous WBE events in other ways, providing opportunities for women business owners to network with and hear stories from Honda executives.

In addition, WBEC-ORV members regularly participate in the annual Honda Partnership Network, the annual supplier diversity summit, which matches Tier 1 suppliers with diverse companies for potential opportunities.

Thanks in large part to the Honda Partnership Network (HPN) event, which matches Tier 1 companies with diverse suppliers for potential business opportunities, Honda has increased its diverse spend from $2.25 billion in 2015 to over $3.2 billion today. Since HPN started, Tier 1 suppliers reported nearly $11 million in new business for diverse suppliers generated from the event.