Creating Opportunities for Diverse Suppliers in the Electric Energy Industry
dison International, the parent company of Southern California Edi- son, commemorates its 125th anniversary this year, and celebrates its legacy of respecting, valuing, and celebrating diversity. At Southern California Edison (SCE), diversity isn’t just a corporate buzzword. Serving nearly 14 million people in some of the most diverse communities in the nation, SCE serves a mosaic of ethnicities, races, ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, and lifestyles.
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SCE hires employees, suppliers, and partners who reflect that diversity. Cecil House, senior vice president and chief procurement officer, is in charge of the company’s goal of expanding relationships with minority-, woman-, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.
Supplier Diversity
– A Corporate Goal SCE’s Supplier Diversity focus was formalized in 1979, to help bridge the gap in procurement opportunities for diverse business enterprises (DBEs) – helping them effectively participate in competitive procurement and contracting activities that are cost-effective to SCE’s ratepayers. “SCE’s Supplier Diversity is built on the belief that enabling diverse business enterprises to grow and succeed is an integral part of our busi- ness,” House says. “This mirrors the values of the company and reflects the demographics of SCE’s customer base.”
As senior officer for SCE, House understands the unique relationship between business, community, and the economy. “Our efforts are about more than numbers and percentages,” House
says. “We work with people with an entrepreneurial spirit who take pride in exceptional performance. Their businesses power the region’s economy. “We understand the challenges diverse businesses face,” House says, “such as attracting and securing new clients, coping with regulations and paperwork, and staying afloat during hard economic times. As much as anything, our supplier diversity programs are designed to support and as- sist them in dealing with these challenges.”
Supplier Development Key to maintaining and expanding SCE’s strong and vibrant network
of diverse suppliers are numerous outreach, assistance, and development programs. “We encourage our suppliers to continue to grow and succeed,” House says, “and we have instituted a number of programs and workshops to assist them in building their capabilities. This growth provides not only ad- ditional opportunities to the diverse firms, but adds value to the communi- ties they serve, in the form of new jobs and community support.” Each program is designed to provide support to suppliers of vary- ing levels of development and need. For instance, in 2010, the company launched its SCE Supplier University (SCESU), which targets a broad set of suppliers from those poised for growth and expansion to those looking for their first major engagement. The SCESU is a multi layered Learning Center for businesses of differing business maturity levels. The SCESU features hands-on learning environments for suppliers interested in emerging business areas, and assists more mature suppliers through targeted capacity building and individualized coaching programs. SCE also provides technical assistance to businesses through a very successful series of Business Edge Workshops, which cover business fundamentals in areas such as marketing, finance, planning, networking strategies, and certification.
“At SCE, we are working hard to continue our trend of significant an- nual increases in procurement spending with diverse business enterprises. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we are seeking to exceed our 2010 achievement of spending $1.1 billion in this area.” House says. “To
During SCE’s 9th Annual Black History Month celebration, Cecil House (r) presented SCE’s Advancing Diversity Supplier Award to Denise Peoples, president and CEO, Choice Workforce Solutions.
do this, we will continue to expand our efforts to help diverse businesses develop the capabilities to make them even more valuable to their custom- ers, including SCE.”
Edison International in the Community Edison International (EIX) demonstrates its commitment to the com-
munities it serves by supporting the programs and activities of a large number of community-based organizations who in turn serve at-risk, low- income and ethnic populations. EIX’s partnerships with community-based organizations set the stan- dard for California utilities. In 2010, corporate contributions totaled more than $16.5 million.
The company also recently recognized three organizations for their successful efforts in improving the community. Three Community Partner- ship Awards of Excellence were presented to the Black Voice Foundation, National College Resources Foundation, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). “The NAACP is unmatched among institutions for its legacy of ad- vancing civil rights,” House says. “The NAACP has worked tirelessly to ensure equal access to education for African-Americans. We believe that a quality education is critical to developing the next generation of electric utility employees.”
Additional Information For more information about SCE’s Supplier Diversity programs, email
supplierdiversitydevelopment@sce.com or phone (800) 275-4962. You may also visit
www.sce.com/diversity.
Cecil House – A Leader in Diversity Under the leadership of Southern California Edison’s Cecil House,
supplier diversity and procurement opportunities expand every year. In 2010, spending with diverse business enterprises soared to more than $1.1 billion in contracts, an increase of more than $300 million over the previous year. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Columbia University where he earned his MBA, House is the senior vice presi- dent for Safety and the Operations Support, and the company’s chief procurement officer.
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