Duke Energy
Melody Birmingham is SVP at Duke Energy.
PUF examines our industry's drive to diversify its workforce and spend. This section focuses on the progress at Duke Energy described by its SVP Melody Birmingham.
PUF: What's going on in the supply chain system for Duke Energy in regard to supplier diversity?
Melody Birmingham: The supplier diversity area is not only important to me in my role as Chief Procurement Officer, but also to our company as well. At Duke Energy, supplier diversity is more than a program. It's a pillar of our strategy to help meet the ever-changing needs of our customers and communities.
It's an integral part of our supply chain operations. What I'm proud of is since 2015, Duke Energy has spent more than a billion dollars annually with diverse businesses. In 2020, we spent a total of $1.3 billion on both direct and indirect diverse suppliers, and $4.2 billion with local suppliers.
We continue to raise the bar and are committed to increasing our direct annual spend with our Tier 1 diverse suppliers to $1 billion. These are the suppliers that Duke Energy does business with directly.
This emphasizes our support to grow diverse suppliers and the equity of contracts awarded for larger scope and budgeted projects.
PUF: Why is it so good for Duke Energy?