Ameren’s suppliers and business partners play an important role in helping us create a more sustainable energy future. Our goal is to build a supply chain that supports Ameren’s sustainability priorities. This includes defining a strategy to integrate our supply chain platform with corporate Sustainability/ESG strategy and collaborating with suppliers and business partners to identify ways to operate more sustainably.
Essential to this approach is partnering with suppliers who are responsibly managing the environmental, social and economic impacts of their business. We do this by ensuring the goods and services we purchase, including office products, are sustainable; socio-economic issues, such as inequality, are addressed; and working conditions of suppliers' employees are acceptable.
In addition, Ameren is keeping our downstream impacts in mind. Our Investment Recovery Program responsibly coordinates the selling and/or divestment of scrap, surplus, substation and distribution transformers and oil-filled electrical equipment, transmission material, energy center equipment, retired fleet and other assets, as part of our sustainability priorities.
In 2022, 3,615 suppliers were in Ameren’s supply chain. The following includes the supplier count associated with Ameren’s lines of business. Some Ameren suppliers contract with multiple lines of Ameren businesses and are counted in multiple categories.
1,275
1,964
495
1,106
Ameren’s 3,615 suppliers are in 49 states. The total spend with suppliers was more than $3.4 billion in 2022. Ameren managed strategic supplier relationships and expectations through more than 56 scorecards and executive business reviews to measure performance and develop corrective action plans. Some areas of focus were safety, quality, supplier diversity, on-time delivery, etc. In addition, executive meetings were conducted with strategic suppliers and Ameren senior leadership.
Our procurement department evaluates suppliers based on specific criteria (i.e., safety, quality, supplier diversity) both during the initial screening and contract renewal. This includes monitoring strategic suppliers for Environmental Management Systems that have received external certifications (i.e., according to the ISO 14001 standards).
Emphasizing the importance of contracting with women-owned, veteran-owned and minority-owned firms, in 2022 Ameren spent nearly $1.1 billion with diverse suppliers. Ameren encourages suppliers to have the same commitment in their use of materials and services from their base of diverse suppliers and contractors. Learn more about becoming an Ameren Diverse Supplier.