Duke Energy Values Supplier Diversity
Duke Energy’s overall supply chain includes more than 20,000 suppliers of non-fuel materials and services, mostly from domestic sources. The company spends about $8 billion annually, which includes capital expenditures on new power plant construction and other major projects. Our expenditures are split fairly equally between services and materials/equipment purchases.
Diverse suppliers bring great value to Duke Energy and the communities we serve. Diverse suppliers include businesses owned by minorities, women or veterans, service-disabled veterans and those located in Historically Underutilized Business zones (HUBZones).
Our total spend (excluding fuel) has decreased about $1.5 billion over the past three years, with a $600 million decrease in 2013 alone. This is primarily because of the completion of several large construction projects. The decrease has negatively affected our spend with diverse suppliers, which fell in 2013 for the first time in several years. However, spend with diverse suppliers as a percentage of total spend continued to increase, rising from about 6 percent in 2010 to 11 percent in 2013.
We work proactively to build relationships with current diverse suppliers as well as identify new suppliers. For example, in 2013 we served as the host sponsor of the 10th Annual Energizing Powerful Connections conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Along with four other utilities, we provided networking opportunities for utility-experienced diverse suppliers.
We also encourage our Tier I suppliers to focus on and engage with diverse suppliers. As a result of this and other efforts, we saw an increase in the number of Tier I suppliers that reported their Tier II diverse supplier spending in 2013. We see this increase as a strong signal for future results.
Duke Energy’s supplier diversity initiatives received several recognitions in 2013, including:
- A nomination for the National Minority Supplier Development Council Corporation of the Year Award
- The 2013 Corporate Partner of the Year Award, from the North Carolina Institute for Minority Economic Development Working with Diverse Suppliers