ATLANTA (May 23, 2024) — The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) today announced the winners of its Business Diversity Awards during the 40th Annual Business Diversity Conference. The awards were judged by an esteemed panel of energy industry professionals and recognize companies for their outstanding efforts to advance purchasing opportunities for diverse suppliers, including minority-, women-, veteran-, and LGBTQ-owned businesses, within the investor-owned electric power industry. The winners were evaluated over a two-year period.
CenterPoint Energy has earned the EEI Excellence Award. This award is presented to an EEI member company that demonstrates stellar contributions in diverse supplier inclusion, development, growth, partnership, sustainability, and economic impact. CenterPoint Energy’s comprehensive approach to supplier diversity helped distinguish the company from this year’s other competitive entries. Noteworthy features that were clear differentiators included CEO and executive-level involvement; a supplier diversity strategy embedded across operational structure and values; impactful diverse supplier development and mentoring initiatives; an internal and external supplier diversity training program coupled with impactful case studies and storytelling; and its prime supplier “Supplier Diversity Pledge” and key performance indicator scorecard accountability mechanism.
CenterPoint Energy also has done meaningful and expansive community outreach and engagement with the city, business resources partners, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Over the two-year evaluation period, CenterPoint Energy’s spend with diverse suppliers exceeded $1.1 billion. Over the same span, the company’s prime suppliers reported more than $136 million in second-tier spend.
Evergy has earned the EEI Innovation Award. This award is presented to an EEI member company that has implemented and executed innovative supplier diversity practices that have delivered benefits for both diverse suppliers and for the company. The innovative practices for which Evergy is being honored include the ACCELERATE program that was carefully designed to meet diverse suppliers where they are and to help them reach next-level performance; its dynamic partnership with key prime supplier Burns & McDonnell to administer the ACCELERATE program; its approach to second-tier suppliers, which requires regular prime supplier participation and reporting; and its robust diverse community and business resource partner engagement.
Over the two-year evaluation period, Evergy’s spend with diverse suppliers totaled close to $700 million.
Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. has earned the EEI Prime Supplier Leadership Award. This award is presented to a prime supplier that exemplifies leadership in diverse supplier inclusion, outreach, and mentoring in its supply chain. Burns & McDonnell distinguished itself from this year’s strong competition through its comprehensive approach to supplier diversity development. This includes Burns & McDonnell’s collaboration with Evergy to establish and administer the ACCELERATE program; the company’s efforts to provide diverse suppliers with opportunities to co-locate at its offices; and the involvement of the company’s leadership and executive team to educate, coach, and mentor diverse suppliers.
The judges also applauded Burns & McDonnell’s efforts to create events for diverse suppliers to network and connect, including the diverse supplier recognition event that awarded four scholarships for diverse partners to attend Dartmouth University’s executive training program.
Burns & McDonnell spent more than $529 million, or 17 percent of its U.S. operating unit spend, with small and diverse suppliers in 2023.
Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3) has earned the EEI Diverse Supplier Performance Award. This award is presented to a diverse supplier that performs superior work and that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion. S3 has developed a track record of providing superior service to its clients and of quickly removing barriers to success.
The judges also were impressed by S3’s efforts to engage with groups such as the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, National Minority Supplier Development Council, IT Diversity Careers, GI Jobs, and Military Spouse Employment Partnership to help identify new talent.
S3 has participated in and sponsored numerous community and charitable programs and has volunteered to lead Ameren’s Supplier Diversity Matchmaker events, which introduce Ameren’s leaders and prime suppliers to small and diverse suppliers.
Charlotte Blount-Lewis has earned the EEI Business Diversity Legacy Award. This award was created in honor of the 40th Annual EEI Business Diversity Conference and celebrates the origins of these enduring business diversity programs.
Charlotte Blount-Lewis was an EEI employee from 1982 to 1997 and helped lead the development of the industry’s business diversity programs. She helped to organize the first Business Diversity Conference in 1984. The conference continues to bring together electric companies and diverse suppliers 40 years later. You can listen to Blount-Lewis reflect on these efforts and the legacy of EEI’s Business Diversity Conference on the Electric Perspectives podcast.
Shirley King (posthumously), David K. Owens, Deborah Matthews, Kwame Canty, and LaVonne M. Rose have earned the EEI Historic Pacesetter Award. This award honors EEI employees and retirees who have dedicated significant time to helping ensure the sustained legacy of EEI’s business diversity programs throughout the decades.
“This year’s Business Diversity Award winners have shown great leadership and commitment to supporting well-qualified suppliers,” said EEI President and CEO Dan Brouillette. “These efforts help ensure we always obtain the best products and services for our customers while creating new business opportunities that support our local economies. The winners should be very proud of the work they’re doing to serve their communities, and I congratulate them for leading by example.”
