In 2021 SoCalGas set a record with 42% - nearly $1 billion – of all our goods and services purchased from women, minority, LGTBQ, and disabled veteran business enterprises

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) today announced that Chief Executive Officer, Scott Drury, was named 2022 CEO Diversity Champion by the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council (SCMSDC), which represents more than 1,500 certified minority-owned businesses and is the leading minority business certifying organization in Southern California. Mr. Drury was recognized by SCMSDC for embodying "the leadership needed to advance diversity and inclusion in contracting," and for featuring supplier diversity as a centerpiece of SoCalGas' ASPIRE 2045 sustainability strategy.

"Behind every success and achievement is a champion and leader who inspires and clears the path to empower their team to achieve their best," said Virginia Gomez, President and CEO of Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council. "SoCalGas' CEO Scott Drury embodies the visionary leadership needed to advance diversity and inclusion in contracting."

"SoCalGas is a leader in sustainability with innovations across our business, including in the communities we serve," said SoCalGas CEO Scott Drury. "Last year we set a record with 42% - nearly $1 billion – of all our goods and services purchased from women, minority, LGBTQ, and disabled veteran business enterprises. Our Aspire 2045 plan includes a goal to do even more to support diverse suppliers and to invest another $50 million over the next five years in underserved communities. I am grateful to our partners at SCMSDC and to the entire team at SoCalGas whose great work helped us reach these important milestones."

Over the last five years, SoCalGas has spent $3.9 billion with diverse business enterprises and has exceeded the CPUC's diverse business spending goals for 29 consecutive years. SoCalGas' ASPIRE 2045 sustainability strategy, includes an even bolder goal to achieve 45% spending with diverse business enterprises by 2025.

SoCalGas partners with the SCMSDC throughout the year for various programs including technical assistance classes, providing fundamentals to business owners in accounting, finance, and management, creating a stronger business plan, pitching competition, and identifying solutions and strategies to grow their businesses.

SoCalGas also helped launch the SCMSDC's corporate council in 2022 to help identify new innovative strategies and bring in new suppliers and other corporations to create and leverage for economic opportunities for diverse suppliers.

More information about SoCalGas' commitment to supplier diversity can be found in its 2021 Supplier Diversity Annual Report. SoCalGas invites diverse businesses to engage and learn more about the Supplier Diversity Program at socalgas.com/for-your-business/supplier-diversity.

The company's ASPIRE 2045 sustainability strategy covers a broad range of goals and initiatives aimed at achieving a safe, reliable, resilient, affordable, and equitable energy transition to net zero.

Last month, SoCalGas was awarded the top "Business Transformation Award" at the 2022 Responsible Business Awards, hosted by Reuters Events, for having established truly transformative sustainability priorities with the potential to create impact at scale in the energy sector and beyond.

To learn more about sustainability initiatives at SoCalGas, click here.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transition—providing electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment.

SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply to core customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by landfills, and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), an energy infrastructure company based in San Diego.

For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company