SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) received an overall “A” grade for its 2016 supplier diversity accomplishments from The Greenlining Institute. This is the second consecutive year the energy company achieved top marks in Greenlining’s recently released 2017 Supplier Diversity Report Card.

“We very much value the insights in Greenlining Institute’s annual report card and the group’s advocacy of supplier diversity. PG&E recognizes that diverse suppliers are essential partners in helping us improve the services we provide to our customers. Their expertise and innovation are key to helping us build California’s energy network of tomorrow. At the same time, working with diverse suppliers increases economic opportunities in our local communities,” said Pacific Gas and Electric Company President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Stavropoulos.

Annual grades for supplier diversity performance by California’s utility, telecommunications and water companies are issued by the Oakland, Calif.-based policy, research, organizing and leadership coalition that works for racial and economic justice.

In its report card, Greenlining said, “PG&E continues to lead the utilities in supplier diversity in both performance and dedication to its program.” Out of the four California energy companies included in the report, PG&E’s 2016 diverse spend of $2.85 billion was the highest. Greenlining noted PG&E has “increased procurement in almost every reporting category between 2015 and 2016.”

Greenlining also gave PG&E an “A” grade for its spend with minority women and service-disabled veteran business enterprises. In addition, PG&E received an “A-” grade for its spend with all minority business enterprises.

Greenlining’s report card scored companies on their supplier diversity performance in California. The organization took three factors into consideration in giving PG&E its “A” grade:

• PERFORMANCE AND PROGRESS: A letter grade is assigned for each category of diverse spend based on a company’s performance relative to its peers in “legacy” utilities such as energy, cable, telephone and wireless companies.
• INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT: This factor gauges a company’s commitment to supplier diversity. Among the considerations: when a supplier diversity program was implemented and its five-year track record. PG&E’s diverse supplier spend has been at least $2 billion since 2012.
• NUMBER OF SUPPLIERS ENGAGED: Greenlining’s analysis includes, but doesn’t grade, the company’s number of diverse suppliers. The number of suppliers provides context for how dollars—and opportunities—are distributed amongst suppliers. In 2016, PG&E worked with more diverse suppliers (978) as direct suppliers and subcontractors than the other three energy utility companies.

PG&E has been committed to supporting a diverse supply chain for 36 years while developing one of the state’s leading supplier diversity programs. In 2016, PG&E spent a record $2.85 billion with diverse suppliers, accounting for 44 percent of its total procurement budget.

Over the last 12 months, PG&E’s supplier diversity program has been nationally recognized:

• In May, PG&E was named as one of the top utilities in the nation for diversity by DiversityInc.
• Last December, PG&E was inducted into the Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame for its support of supplier diversity and women’s business development.
• Last December, PG&E was named Corporation of the Year by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce for its outstanding support and dedication to ensuring fairness and equal opportunity for LGBT suppliers, customers and employees.

PG&E’s Supplier Diversity 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 energy companies 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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