BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine Names PG&E as One of America's Best Companies For Diversity

Utility Recognized for 8th Straight Year for Supporting Economic Development, Job Creation

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Jul 13, 2012, 12:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) was recognized for the eighth consecutive year by BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine as one of the "40 Best Companies for Diversity." The national publication, one of the most respected and influential magazines for African Americans, recognized PG&E's supplier diversity program and the diverse representation on its Board of Directors as key strengths.

"Diversity is integral to PG&E's core values and strategy," said Bill Harper, PG&E's Vice President in talent management and Chief Diversity Officer. "Our 20,000 employees proudly hold themselves to high standards in supporting diversity and inclusion. Earning this honor from such a highly regarded organization for eight years in a row is a credit to our employees' commitment to living our values in providing safe and reliable gas and electric services to our customers."

In selecting the top 40, BLACK ENTERPRISE conducted a comprehensive outreach effort to CEOs and diversity executives at the top-grossing 1,000 publicly traded companies and the 50 leading global companies with significant U.S. operations. BLACK ENTERPRISE's corporate diversity survey focused primarily on activities related to the participation of African Americans and other ethnic minority groups in four key areas: supplier diversity, senior management, board involvement, and employee base.

"Corporations are growing their diverse supply chain network," said Cliff Hocker of BLACK ENTERPRISE. "The companies on our list value supplier diversity and demonstrate their commitment by expanding contracting opportunities and development programs with minority vendors."

According to the survey, PG&E has developed one of the nation's leading supplier diversity programs that support economic development and job creation in the communities it serves. In 2011, the company spent more than $1.61 billion (or 36.6 percent) of its procurement funds on products and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, and service-disabled veterans. PG&E's total spending on African American-owned business enterprises also reached an all-time high of $265 million, an increase of $62 million (or 30.7 percent) over 2010.

In addition, PG&E's leadership upholds the company's strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Half of PG&E's Board of Directors have diverse backgrounds – four are ethnic minorities and two are women. All members of the company's leadership team take required diversity and inclusion training.

PG&E was also recently recognized by DiversityInc magazine as the "Top Regional Utility for Diversity" and one of its "Top 10 Companies in Supplier Diversity." The utility was also listed as one of "America's Top Corporations For Women's Business Enterprises" by the Women Business Enterprise National Council, listed as one of the "25 Best Companies in Supplier Diversity by HispanicBusiness Magazine, and named Corporation of the Year by the Northern California Minority Supplier Development Council. In addition, PG&E was selected as a co-recipient of the Supplier Diversity Innovation Award by Edison Electric Institute.

For information on PG&E's diversity and inclusion efforts and the company's supplier diversity program, visit www.pge.com/about/company/diversityinclusion/.

The complete report, including methodology and selection criteria, is available online and in the July issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine.

About BLACK ENTERPRISE
BLACK ENTERPRISE is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. Since 1970, BLACK ENTERPRISE has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers.

About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom or www.pgecurrents.com.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company