It was the question of the day at last week’s conference for New Jersey’s utility suppliers: At a time when the word “diversity” has become a target, why show up to an event built around it?
Nobody ducked the question.
But no one who answered it wanted their name attached to the answer.
Yes, that’s the business world we live in right now.
“Just because people don’t like the word doesn’t mean that diversity is not still very important in all areas of business and specifically infrastructure,” one executive said.
And the winners are …
The Supplier Development Council presented seven awards at its 28th annual conference:
- Innovation: PSEG
- Emerging Diverse Supplier: H.C. Constructors, Inc.
- Supplier of the Year: Ferreira Construction
- Trailblazer: Bianca Reyes, SDC president and strategic supplier development manager at PSEG
- Sustainability & Equity: New Jersey American Water
- Lifetime Achievement: Robin Berg Tabakin, Technoforce LLC
- Strategic Partner: Burns & McDonnell
Another, a supplier whose company protects gas pipelines from corrosion, pointed out that her firm is woman-owned, and that utilities still rely on businesses like hers, and on the diverse subcontractors they team with, to meet their supplier goals.
A board member of the group running the event said its mission hadn’t shrunk.
“If anything, it’s expanded,” the board member said.
The group had already made that point in its own way, by changing its name.
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For its 28th annual conference, held at The Palace at Somerset Park, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ Supplier Diversity Development Council operated as the Supplier Development Council. The word “diversity” is gone, and the change will become permanent once a resolution formalizing it is approved.
The council called it an expanded focus.
“This reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that all New Jersey-based businesses have access to the resources, information, and opportunities needed to compete and grow in the utility sector,” the council said in a statement.
Listen to the program, and you could hear the new vocabulary at work.
BPU Commissioner Joseph Coviello rarely said “diverse” without company. He talked about “small, diverse, and qualified” businesses, and he made sure no one mistook opportunity for a handout.
“This does not mean lowering standards or compromising quality,” he said.
He also tied it to the issue every ratepayer cares about.
“We do not have to choose between responsible spending and expanding opportunity,” he said.
Bianca Reyes, the council’s president and a strategic supplier development manager at PSEG, made the same pitch. More qualified suppliers mean more competition and more innovation, and that means better value for customers, she said.
“Building a stronger New Jersey isn’t just about how much we invest; it’s about how wisely we invest, who we engage, and the value we deliver,” she said.
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This is not a small matter.
New Jersey’s utilities spend billions a year on goods and services, according to the council. Who gets that work is a real question. And leads to real opportunities.
Off the record, the answer hasn’t changed.
“Our supply chain has to look like the communities we serve, and that means that we have to include qualified suppliers of all kinds,” a utility representative said.
The head of a regional supplier group put it in terms of the state itself.
“New Jersey per capita is the most diverse state in the nation, and so we have to be sure that we have opportunities like this to uplift the businesses that uplift our communities,” she said.
And the people who put on the event made sure it did more than talk. The conference’s own vendors, from its photographer and videographer to the company that made the signage, were women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
“Supplier development, supplier diversity is intentional,” conference chair Jessica Dahl told the crowd.
So, the word is coming off the council’s name. The work, by every account, isn’t going anywhere.
Nobody ducked the question. They just answered it quietly.
