Stellantis Auto Maker To Include Two Cannabis Companies In Development Program For Black Businesses

One World Pharma OWPC, a Las Vegas-based cannabis producer with grow operations in Colombia, and Isiah International are among the 13 businesses to have been selected to participate in the pilot for a development program conducted by the National Business League (NBL) and automaker Stellantis STLA.

“This partnership represents a milestone for our continued execution on the exacting standards we have set for ourselves as an ESG leader,” said Isiah Thomas, chairman and CEO of Isiah International, and vice chairman and CEO of One World Pharma. 

Thomas, a former NBA Hall of Famer, said his companies share Stellantis’s dedication to developing relationships with Black businesses for future contracting and procurement opportunities. The program’s long-term goal is to help develop over 2.9 million Black businesses.

Mark Stewart, COO of Stellantis North America said the Stellantis-National Business League Black Supplier Development Program addresses the "need to take direct, decisive and intentional action to bring economic opportunity to communities that have been denied equal access to the marketplace for far too long.

“To confirm, in a very intentional way, that our ability to realize the full promise of our country is to ensure that its economic systems are open to all, equally,” said Stewart, whose company is the sixth-largest automaker worldwide, owning Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot and other portfolio brands.

One World Pharma said in a release that by 2025, the bioplastic needs for a typical auto manufacturer will require approximately 30,000 metric tons of hemp fiber in the production of 100,000 tons of bioplastics. The Company’s long-term visions are to eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOC) and plastics through hemp-derived bioplastic production.

“We are extremely proud to work with Stellantis and the NBL, alongside the other companies that form the initial collective of the National Black Supplier Development Program,” concluded Thomas.

Photos by Thomas Tucker and Jeff W on Unsplash.