OPG Embracing Equity and Diversity in its Supply Chain

Originally published in the WBE Canada Magazine; Issue 8. Read our full magazine HERE.

By: Meagan Snow, Senior Manager of Strategic Programs & Supplier Relationship Management,  OPG

As one of North America’s largest electricity generators, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is committed to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the company’s Supply Chain.

Publicly owned by the Province of Ontario, OPG meets about half of the province’s power needs through a diverse generating fleet that includes nuclear, hydroelectric, natural gas, biomass, and solar technology. Through our Climate Change Plan, published in 2020, we are committed to becoming a net-zero company by 2040 and helping to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050.

To continue to succeed and meet all of our goals, we know it’s imperative to partner with diverse, sustainable, and socially responsible businesses. We procure more than $2.7 billion yearly for materials and services in operations and projects. We purchase goods and services from approximately 2,000 active suppliers and are proud to support local, diverse, and Indigenous businesses. We recognize the value of equity seeking suppliers to help create innovative solutions, products, and services. We want to be reflective of the communities we serve. This will help us to drive competition, reduce risk, and continuously bring value to our customers.

OPG has established a Supplier Diversity program and spending targets, encouraging procurement from diverse vendors and supplier partnerships with businesses owned and operated by equity-seeking group members. This program represents a building block in the development of a sustainable and diverse supply chain with a direct impact on economic empowerment for equity seeking groups. All areas of our business are measured for achieving responsible sourcing goals. Last year, we achieved $18 million for diverse procurement and $58 million for Indigenous contract awards. Each year, OPG publicly updates its progress on Indigenous procurement and related goals outlined in its Reconciliation Action Plan. In addition, our vendor partners are supportive of our journey and work towards targets that we establish annually.
We are also committed to achieving excellence in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) through our 10-year ED&I strategy, which OPG released in 2022. Our plan, which is based on the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Benchmark outlining global best practices, identifies four areas of focus (Foundation, People, Connection, Community), 15 strategic ED&I priorities, and nearly 100 initiatives planned between 2020 and 2030. As we embrace equity, the strategy will serve as our roadmap to become one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers by 2023 and a global leader in ED&I best practices by 2030.

We empower our employees to have access to training from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) on supplier diversity to ensure we are working together to be a leader in this space. In addition, we actively recognize our staff that are helping to lead change. We have also created a Community of Practice with our energy counterparts to help us learn from each other and collaborate to expand our reach. Together, we are working to ensure a more sustainable future, which includes a cleaner environment, a stronger economy, and a diverse workforce.

To secure our clean energy future, OPG is growing and investing in our hydroelectric and nuclear fleets, as well as, developing Small Modular Reactors, which will create new supply opportunities. Requests for Proposals are posted on Ariba to ensure a fair and transparent process for the vendor community. We encourage all WBE members to please register on Ariba to receive timely notifications. OPG’s suppliers are expected to comply with OPG’s Supplier Code of Conduct and Code of Business Conduct. OPG has recently engaged a third party to conduct ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) evaluations through our value chain. Suppliers will be evaluated in the categories of Environmental Performance, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.

We are proud members of WBE Canada and have awarded several contracts to WBE certified women-owned businesses. We look forward to new business opportunities as we advance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the energy sector and look forward to connecting with you.

Meaghan Snow

Meaghan is the Senior Manager of Strategic Programs & Supplier Relationship Management. She has led OPG’s Supply Chain ED&I journey since 2021. She has 14 years of Nuclear and Supply Chain experience and has held various roles from Senior Manager of Business System Integration to Process Specialist. She has also held procurement roles in the private sector. She has strong relationships with our business stakeholders which supports the engagement of our programs. Meaghan holds a degree in Business Administration and Management, a Certification in Business, Management, and Operations, and is a graduate of the Women in Leadership from Cornell University. In addition, holds a MicroMasters in Supply Chain from MIT. She is highly skilled in Supplier Diversity, Indigenous Economic Engagement, Inventory Management, Procurement, Business Planning, Statistical Data Analysis, Continuous Improvement, and Leadership.