CHICAGO — The Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council Inc. (ChicagoMSDC) recognized Exelon and ComEd as Corporation of the Year at their annual Chicago Business Opportunity Fair, the first time in the Council’s 51-year history that two corporations received the award for empowering minority businesses.
The Corporation of the Year award is given to recognize companies who are champions of supplier diversity and empower minority business success throughout the entire organization. Exelon spent $2 billion with diverse suppliers last year, representing 22 percent of the corporation’s total supplier purchases, and ComEd was the largest contributor to that, with $711 million spent with local and diverse suppliers, which is more than a third of the company’s entire supplier purchasing portfolio.
“We value the partnerships we have with our diverse suppliers, our woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses,” said Bridget Reidy, Exelon’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations, who accepted the award on behalf of Exelon and ComEd. “These partnerships grow our business by helping to identify the best talent, bring innovative technologies to the forefront, and find new ways of doing business.”
The ChicagoMSDC is a premier organization focused on increasing business opportunities between major buying organizations and minority-owned businesses. The mission of the ChicagoMSDC is to certify, develop, connect, and advocate for minority businesses while creating sustainable and profitable relationships between minority suppliers and major buying organizations.
“We are only as successful as the diverse cities and neighborhoods that we serve,” said ComEd President and CEO Anne Pramaggiore. “That’s why we invest in businesses owned and led by women and people of color who come from our communities. We know that forming deep partnerships with these firms makes us a better, stronger, and smarter company, and has a positive impact that ripples through our communities.”
Last year, Exelon was the first energy company inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable Inc. (BDR), a top-level advocacy organization that promotes excellence in corporate supplier diversity. The Billion Dollar Roundtable recognizes corporations that have achieved $1 billion or more in annual direct spending with minority and woman-owned businesses.
In addition to this recognition, DiversityInc recently named Exelon a Top 50 company for Diversity for the second consecutive year. In 2017, Pepco was named “Corporation of the Year” by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Diversity Council (CRMDC), in recognition of the company’s support of diverse certified suppliers.
