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The Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance recently named DTE its member of the year. The Alliance is a group of electric utilities working together to develop a “greener” supply chain for the industry. “For more than a decade, DTE has lead by example, supported members, shared best practices, and helped companies across the value chain improve their sustainability performance,” said Chris Peterson, Alliance Executive Director. “This award is recognition of their leadership in supply chain sustainability.” According to Tony Tomczak, DTE vice president and chief procurement officer, the company’s leadership is rooted in collaboration -- with suppliers and with other utilities. “We’re a charter utility member of the Alliance and it’s an honor to be recognized,” he said. “We remain committed to the Alliance because many of the products and services we purchase are unique to our industry. Sharing best practices and learning from other utilities is the most efficient way to develop a more environmentally-friendly nationwide supply chain.” One example of the company’s collaborative work is The Sustainability Project, a recently-launched online tool that lets businesses identify, benchmark, plan and prioritize environmental best practices according to their industry. DTE encourages its vendors to take advantage of this resource and use of the online tool is increasing. “We’re also developing sustainability training for the diverse supplier community and using sustainability data in our sourcing decisions,” Tomczak said. “We’ve accomplished a lot in this space, but there’s still more to do. We’re helping to build the utility industry sustainable supply chain of the future and we’re just getting started.”