Utility Week

8 | 8TH - 14TH FEBRUARY 2019 | UTILITY WEEK A UtilityWeek c ampaign "If you have opaque pricing, provide poor service (compared with the best sectors, not your own past) and use every trick in the book to get customers onto high tariffs, you will be untrusted. This is an existential issue for sectors like energy. We are on the verge of monumental change, driven by digitisation and decarbonisation. "Earning trust from the public, press and policymakers is the only way we as busi- nesses can justify a leading role in shaping the new market. Failure to do so will lead to Blockbuster-like failures, but those who can emerge as consumer champions and value- driven innovators can be the Netflixes of this new world." Rob Doepel, UK and Ireland energy mar- ket leader at professional services firm EY, says many large energy companies do good work in communities, and always have. However, they don't always get the recogni- tion they deserve for it because they don't shout about their purpose. "Companies which lead with a strong purpose oŽen have a better conversation with their customers and wider stakeholders," he says. In the current price control – PR19 – Ofwat expects a "step-change" in the way companies are engaging with their custom- ers. Carolyn Cooksey, head of customer insight at Anglian Water, says that, if they are to get customers to trust them and believe they genuinely have customer interests at heart, the water companies must show how they've listened to their customers and acted on their views. Like other water companies, Anglian claims to have already made meaningful customer insight and engagement a "crucial part of its business planning process". What the sector needs to get better at is showing how that engagement then changes what it does. "Our services are vital for customers, the local economy and the environment," Cooksey points out, "so why would we not reflect all of these stakeholders' needs in our plans and actions?" Luis Correia da Silva, partner at consul- tancy firm Oxera, says the foundations of a company's public image are built on trust, and trust is fortified through communica- tion, engagement and commitment. He believes that UK utilities have come "a long way" in considering all sources of capital, including social, human and natu- ral, and this is "clearly articulated" in their business plans. "They are far ahead of other industries such as financial services and big tech," he adds. However, Correia da Silva suggests that utility companies need to put more focus continued from previous page Put the environment on a par with other business priorities W hile the water sector still has work to do, our latest scorecards have revealed a welcome step-change in environmental ambition in companies' new PR19 business plans that can also deliver a step-change in their reputations. So how can companies best demonstrate their good environmental work to their customers? First, water companies have listened, and responded, to their customers' passion for improving nature. Companies that have consulted their customers around their new business plans have found that the environment was among their customers' highest priori- ties. Seeking their customers' input into the direction of their working plans is a key move in demonstrating that their pri- orities are aligned with those of their customer base. The likelihood of success for water companies' pro- jects – with all the customer satisfaction that can bring – gains a boost when the companies work with expert environment organisations. From delivering transforma- tive projects on the ground to joint-lobbying government, collaborating with much valued and expert groups means that the projects water companies work on are more likely to deliver environmental successes that their custom- ers will see and appreciate. Working closely with respected independent organisations can also enhance the visibility of environment commitments. But making a real organisa- tional shiŽ to put the envi- ronment on a par with other decision-making priorities is key to improving utilities' envi- ronmental credibility. Putting the environment at the core of businesses decisions will affect organisational choices, and customers will recognise this – any real change in public image will come from a change within the company ethos. This may be a barrier that some water companies come up against, with many still not routinely factoring natural capital into their planning. Ultimately, if they want to change their reputations utili- ties also have to meet the scale of the challenge. With our environment under rising pres- sure and nature increasingly at risk, we need to find truly ambitious and innovative solu- tions to address many utility- related issues, solutions that integrate natural processes and restore the environment. Doing so will not only gain companies recognition for being guardians of our treasured wildlife, landscapes and environment, both in assessments like our scorecard and with their customers, it will also help to guarantee the natural resources they need for a thriving business in future. Water Hannah Freeman Chair, Blueprint for Water, and conservation policy officer, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Analysis "Companies which lead with a strong purpose often have a better conversation with their customers and wider stakeholders." ROB DOEPEL, UK AND IRELAND ENERGY MARKET LEADER, EY "It is the little but personal things that matter to people, and we need to look at a local approach to water to capture public imagination," MEL KARAM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BRISTOL WATER

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