We are passionate, pioneering people who believe that what we do has the potential to change the world. Through our diverse, inclusive culture, our people are building a workplace where we embrace and uplift each other.

Greg Young is passionate about diversity and inclusion. As indirect senior category manager, he helps lead Trane Technologies’ supplier diversity efforts, moving us forward by serving as a mentor to help suppliers strengthen their capabilities. Greg also helped create and now co-chairs Trane Technologies’ VisAbility Employee Resource Group.

Q&A with Greg Young

Why is supplier diversity important to the business? Diverse suppliers inherently bring a lot of innovation to the table because of the challenges they’ve faced as diverse business owners. It’s a misconception that diverse businesses are often small – some of our diverse suppliers are larger than we are! Innovation has been a big focus – many of our diverse suppliers, big or small, are more agile and flexible than the large publicly traded companies.

Why are you passionate about diversity and inclusion? I firmly believe that everyone deserves equal opportunity. I want to give diversity candidates a seat at the table. The more differentiated voices we have at the table, the better a company we can become. We need differences of opinion and differing viewpoints to come up with an end result that is truly superior, whether that’s a new product or service or a process improvement. We need diversity of thought to move the needle.

Why are Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) important? They provide a lens to understanding people who might be different from us, whether it’s race, gender, sexual orientation or ability. They’re also places to collect knowledge and share resources. The VisAbility ERG provides resources for employees and leaders – that’s why we’re here. Maybe we can advocate a job candidate that needs accommodations for an in-person interview. If we help one person, we are succeeding.

Why do you show up every day? I show up at work because I think what we do at Trane Technologies is important. In procurement, we’re mitigating risk, whether cash flow needs to be improved or we need to pay less for supplies or services. I believe in the work the procurement team does provide a lot of value to our business partners and the business’ bottom line.

I show up for the VisAbility ERG because it’s very important to me. I’m thrilled we have it and I truly believe in its mission. Our executive sponsor Evan Turtz, senior vice president and general counsel, is fantastic at getting in front of people and sending a bold message.

What impact do you want to have at work? I want to leave the business in a better place than when I joined it. I want to take a hard look at the problems and challenges I face in my role today, so the next person in my role doesn’t have those same challenge. There might be different challenges – or maybe I’ll create new ones – but I want to make a difference while I’m here, both from a procurement perspective and a VisAbility one.

To find more about opportunities with Greg in procurement, or other functions that make impact, click here to search our current openings.