As part of its longstanding effort to advance equity in the communities it serves, ComEd spent $963 million, or 43 percent of its total supply chain spend, with businesses owned by women, people of color and veterans in 2022. This brings its spend with diversity-certified suppliers since 2012 to $7.4 billion. Maintaining its commitment to local investment, ComEd spent $651 million of its total diverse spend last year with Illinois-based suppliers. In its 2022 report submitted to the ICC, ComEd detailed its partnership with 650 diversity-certified suppliers, including 159 new partnerships. Diverse suppliers support departments and workstreams across ComEd, including construction, engineering, and materials, among others. Diversity-certified suppliers also play key roles in ComEd programs to help customers reduce their energy use and costs, which are expanding as a result of increased funding from the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act of 2021. Illinois utility companies’ spend with diversity-certified suppliers contributed $11.8 billion to the Illinois GDP from 2017-2020, with $4 billion in purchases from Illinois-based diverse businesses, according to the Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council (IUBDC), which was formed in 2015 to help utilities establish and share best practices for diverse supplier participation and development. Members include Ameren Illinois, Aqua, ComEd, Illinois American Water, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas, and Peoples Gas.