CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (ChicagoMSDC) recognized Exelon and ComEd as Corporation of the Year at their annual Chicago Business Opportunity Fair, the first time in the Council’s 51-year history that two corporations received the award for empowering minority businesses.

The Corporation of the Year award is given to recognize companies who are champions of supplier diversity and empower minority business success throughout the entire organization. Exelon spent over $2 billion with diverse suppliers last year, representing 22 percent of the corporation’s total supplier purchases, and ComEd was the largest contributor to that, with $711 million spent with local and diverse suppliers, which is more than a third of the company’s entire supplier purchasing portfolio.

“We value the partnerships we have with our diverse suppliers, our woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses,” said Bridget Reidy, Exelon’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations, who accepted the award on behalf of Exelon and ComEd. “These partnerships grow our business by helping to identify the best talent, bring innovative technologies to the forefront, and find new ways of doing business.”

The ChicagoMSDC is a premier organization focused on increasing business opportunities between major buying organizations and minority-owned businesses. The mission of the ChicagoMSDC is to certify, develop, connect, and advocate for minority businesses while creating sustainable and profitable relationships between minority suppliers and major buying organizations.

“We are only as successful as the diverse cities and neighborhoods that we serve,” said ComEd President and CEO Anne Pramaggiore. “That’s why we invest in businesses owned and led by women and people of color who come from our communities. We know that forming deep partnerships with these firms makes us a better, stronger and smarter company, and has a positive impact that ripples through our communities.”

Last year, Exelon was the first energy company inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable Inc. (BDR), a top-level advocacy organization that promotes excellence in corporate supplier diversity. The Billion Dollar Roundtable recognizes corporations that have achieved $1 billion or more in annual direct spending with minority and woman-owned businesses.

In addition to this recognition, DiversityInc recently named Exelon a Top 50 company for Diversity for the second consecutive year. In 2017, Pepco was named “Corporation of the Year” by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Diversity Council (CRMDC), in recognition of the company’s support of diverse certified suppliers.

About Exelon Corporation

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is a Fortune 100 energy company with the largest number of utility customers in the U.S. Exelon does business in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada and had 2017 revenue of $33.5 billion. Exelon’s six utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to approximately 10 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania through its Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco subsidiaries. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with more than 32,700 megawatts of nuclear, gas, wind, solar and hydroelectric generating capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Follow Exelon on Twitter @Exelon.

About ComEd

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.