PG&E Continues to Set Records with $2.5 Billion in 2015 Diverse Spend

03/07/2016

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) today announced that it spent a record $2.5 billion with diverse suppliers in 2015, accounting for 44 percent of its total procurement. For the fourth straight year, diverse suppliers accounted for $2 billion-plus of the utility’s spend and more than 40 percent of the utility’s total spend for the third year in a row.

In addition, PG&E eclipsed the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) diverse spending goal of 21.5 percent for the 10th consecutive year.

“By building a supplier network that taps into California's extraordinary diversity, we are helping to create greater economic opportunity in our local communities as we work to provide our customers with energy that is safe, reliable, affordable and clean,” said PG&E Chairman, CEO and President Tony Earley.

In 2015, PG&E established new spending standards in all reporting categories:

INCREASE

CATEGORY

2015

2014

FROM 2014

Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)

$1.591B

$1.365B

$226.1M/17 percent

Women Business Enterprise (WBE)

723.1M

621.9M

$101.2M/16 percent

Service Disabled Veteran (DVBE)

154.6M

125.1M

$29.5M/24 percent

Over the last 35 years, PG&E has been committed to supporting a diverse supply chain. The company has developed one of the leading supplier diversity programs in the energy industry.

PG&E’s dedication to supplier diversity is shown in numerous ways. In addition to maintaining high levels of spend with diverse suppliers, PG&E has focused on elevating the quality of its supplier diversity program by addressing key success factors for suppliers:

PG&E was the first utility and one of the initial 26 companies to participate in President Obama’s SupplierPay Pledge, which encourages large corporations to develop ways to assist small business suppliers address financial challenges.
In 2014, PG&E introduced “Diverse Suppliers are Cyber-Secure,” a technical assistance program to raise cybersecurity awareness within the small and diverse business community by highlighting the risks associated with cybercrime and resources to help mitigate risks.
PG&E has actively supported the development of its diverse suppliers through mentorship, scholarships, opportunity identification and value chain analysis. In addition, PG&E’s formal Supplier Development Program has matched 30 diverse suppliers with PG&E senior executive mentors.
In 2012, PG&E was the first energy company to add LGBT-owned enterprises, certified by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), to its supplier diversity program. Last year, PG&E also played hosts to the first LGBT Business Builder sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, NGLCC, Golden Gate Business Association and CPUC.

PG&E’s Supply Chain Responsibility Department has produced many industry-leading events to support diverse businesses. Some of the most popular have been workshops that provide networking opportunities and information to help enterprises compete for PG&E’s business.

For example, PG&E partnered with an internationally-known advisory firm last year to educate diverse consulting service suppliers on the company’s key initiatives and consulting opportunities. PG&E has also held workshops to educate Hispanic, African-American and Disabled Veteran-owned businesses on how to compete for utility business.

PG&E has also been an active participant in organizations such as the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce and an active sponsor or participant in activities such as the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California EXPO ’15 Annual Conference.

PG&E’s diversity programs have received numerous honors in the past year (partial list):

Minority Business News (MBNUSA) Magazine named Earley to its 2015 “Best of the Decade” list in recognition of the company’s long-standing record of supporting minority business development through its supplier diversity programs.
Recognized in 2015 by Black Enterprise as one of the “40 Best Companies for Diversity.” The publication cited PG&E’s Supplier Diversity Program as a strength.
Received a perfect 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2016 Corporate Equality Index for its consistently strong commitment to embrace diversity and inclusion.
The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named PG&E to its “2015 Million Dollar Club” for the second consecutive year for spending $477 million with Hispanic-owned businesses in 2014.
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) recognized PG&E on its 2014 list of “America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises.”

PG&E’s Supply Chain Responsibility website contains more information about the program. The site also provides details on how to become a certified diverse supplier.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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What Diverse Suppliers Are Saying About Working with PG&E

“PG&E stands by its goal to establish and maintain stable, successful, competitive diversified suppliers in the PG&E supply chain to meet current and future company demands. We’re pleased to be invited to participate in the 2016 Supplier Development Program which provides assistance for suppliers to build capacity and meet PG&E’s future needs. As a women-owned and operated engineering firm looking to grow, we’re thrilled to be a part of this unique program.”

-- Christine Baginski, CEO, ASWB Engineering
ASWB Engineering is a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE) that has been in business for more than 30 years. ASWB Engineering is an engineering, training and energy management consulting firm that’s committed to improving the science of energy management.

“PG&E has been very instrumental in supporting the growth of JETA Corporation by enabling us to secure multiple relationships with more than 3,000 manufacturers throughout North America and Europe. This has helped us to expand our sourcing capabilities and product knowledge in support of the energy channel we serve. Embracing many of PG&E’s recommendations surrounding code of conduct, supplier diversity and sustainability programs, JETA Corporation has been able to expand opportunities and has become an invaluable supplier supporting a number of mechanical contractors working in the energy sector.”

-- Linda Grow, CEO/Owner, JETA Corporation
A Native American woman-owned business, JETA Corporation provides all types of industrial, electrical, tools, specialized equipment, supplies, materials, safety and construction equipment for the maintenance and operational needs of their customers.

“PG&E has shown a commitment to the development of its business relationships with MBE vendors, particularly in the energy sector. The assistance to MBEs from PG&E is brilliant. It keeps PG&E with a constant supply of qualified and growing MBE vendors and helps these businesses develop opportunities and successes beyond the borders of PG&E. If more corporate entities took the interest that PG&E has in MBEs, there would be a lot more successful MBEs to offer products and services to corporate America.”

-- Rickey Hart, CEO, RDAF Energy Solutions, LLC
RDAF Energy Solutions, LLC, is an energy consulting and management company that engages in the marketing and sale of natural gas to commercial, municipal IOU and governmental entities within the natural gas and power marketplace in the continental United States. RDAF provides services such as commodity purchasing, pipeline capacity management, risk management and hedging strategies, cost of service analysis and daily/monthly pipeline interface.