AIKEN, S.C. - An EM contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is dedicated to advancing small, diverse businesses, committing nearly $1.3 billion to them at the local, regional and national level over the past five years.
“Sixty cents of every dollar we spent last year went to a small business, a significant percentage of which are women- and minority-owned," said Lisa Tanner, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) senior manager of Supply Chain Excellence and small business liaison officer. “When we work to place a service contract or make a purchase, we begin at the gates to our site and work outward. We want to create jobs and grow our local businesses."
Since 2018, funding allocated by SRNS to small businesses to procure materials and services to operate SRS supported the creation of 15,700 local jobs and 82,800 regional positions.
“The current long-term expansion at SRNS is unprecedented, and the key to that expansion
and economic growth has been our community and the foundation on which we have always built, which is small business," said Lance Waddell, SRNS senior vice president, Business Services.
The small businesses provide SRS support through services such as environmental consulting and engineering, information technology, maintenance and human resources.
According to Tanner, SRNS support of small business includes helping the companies grow through the award-winning SRNS Mentor-Protégé Program.
“Our company not only recognizes a monetary responsibility to support local and regional companies and industry, but we also have a genuine concern for their maturing and well-being," said Tanner. “And our mentor-protégé program accomplishes this goal."
SRNS recognizes the integral role mentor-protégé companies play in filling specialized job functions and finding cost efficiencies for the site.
“Key members of our management team have played a vital role in mentoring through the SRNS Mentor-Protégé Center of Excellence Program, providing their perspective to small businesses on how to maximize their capabilities and impact at SRS," said Jay Johnson, SRNS deputy vice president, Contracts and Supply Chain Management. “This unique experience has increased the value they add to DOE missions."
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management