Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 15TH - 21ST FEBRUARY 2019 | 13 investment and apprenticeships to educa- tional programmes in schools, community funds and charity partnerships. This is in addition to the support for customers in vul- nerable circumstances." Jane Asscher, chief executive and found- ing partner of 23red, says it is easy to forget that utilities are more than businesses, they are emergency services She says: "While there is a grow- ing list of legislation-led initiatives to protect vulnerable customers, such as the Priority Services Regis- ter, Debt Assignment Protocol and Pre-Payment Meter price protection, these don't go far enough to support the most vulnerable in society. How companies implement and reach customers is crucial to genuinely support vulnerable customers." In a recent blog post on Sustain- ability First, Sharon Darcy goes further and says utilities need to consider their public purpose, phi- losophy and public service†values. Darcy, a member of Ofgem's Consumer Progress Panel – set up to provide advice on the imple- mentation of the Competition and Markets Authority energy market investigation remedies – writes: "Many energy and water companies have started to ask themselves fun- damental questions about what they are there to do and the impact they want to have as a business. Across a whole range of sectors, academics, politicians, and companies themselves are becoming more engaged in these questions about corporate purpose." In December last year, Sustainability First's Fair for the Future project held a "major workshop" on what a "Sustainable Licence to Operate" might look like in the water and energy sectors in terms of purpose and values. She says: "The strawman proposes that companies need to ask themselves: ' rst, if they've got the basics of service delivery right and if they are compliant with their current statutory and licence conditions (including in terms of fairness and the environment); and second, whether they may need to reinterpret their public purpose for the future given the role they play in delivering shared social, environmental, economic and political 'systems' value." Darcy says the "exponential changes" facing the sector mean legitimacy is likely to remain an "ongoing issue" for water and energy companies. And it also found that the need to "re-evaluate" the purpose of businesses is not limited to utilities. It is an issue across the economy. Utilities need to take a long, hard look at what they are here for and how they can best serve customers. To have a positive impact on society and the envi- ronment, utilities need to shout louder about their achievements, respond to their critics on occa- sions when they fall short and be ready to demonstrate their com- mitment to today's customers and those of tomorrow. They need to be ready for di— cult con- versations and be at the forefront of what e˜ ectively needs to be a public awareness campaign on the value of utilities. If they can get this right, they and the people they serve will be able to reap the rewards together. Pledging action Anglian Water won the coveted 2018 Utility of the Year Award a er impressing the independ- ent panel of experts over the rigorous two-stage judging process with its strong leader- ship, business transformation, long-term thinking and all-round performance. Anglian was described by the Utility Week award judges as a "con- dent company, ready to get on the front foot without losing its focus on operational excellence". Peter Simpson, chief executive of Anglian Water, said winning the award was testament to all the hard work of the company's sta… , partners and suppliers. He said: "Water, along with other utilities, is vital in powering our region's busi- nesses and local economy, and in the East of England we face some unique challenges, being the driest, but fastest growing region in the UK." Highlighting some of the company's initiatives and achievements in 2018, he said: "We've made a pledge to tackle plastic waste across the East of England, launched state-of-the- art technology to drive down leakage even further, concluded our biggest ever consultation with our customers, issued a second green bond to generate sustainable - nance, and been awarded - rst place in the water industry league for customer service by our regulator." The company was also recently recognised for its commitment to its employees. Anglian Water beat the likes of Google, Ikea and Apple to be named the UK's best place to work in a list compiled by employer review site Glassdoor. Sharing best practice for sustainability Major utilities including EDF, SSE, Iberdrola, Engie, Orsted and Tideway recently teamed up to launch a sustainable - nance hub for European businesses. A total of 16 companies co-founded the Cor- porate Forum on Sustainable Finance initiative, which launched on 16 January. Its aim is to encourage businesses and policymakers to view sustainable - nance as "critical" in the drive to limit global warming. Founded by companies from across the util- ities, transport, built environment and - nance sectors, the forum will act as a permanent network in which businesses can share best practice advice and collaborate to drive greater investment in green infrastructure projects. Speci- cally, the group will lobby for ambi- tious standards and regulatory frameworks for sustainable - nance instruments, promote best practice on impact reporting and promote green projects to investors. By joining the forum, member companies also commit to "deeply integrating" sustain- ability into their respective - nancial strategies. Sustainable - nance is becoming an increasingly prominent issue for investors. European sustainability bank Tridos estimates that in the UK alone, the socially responsible investing market will grow by 173 per cent to reach £48 billion by 2027. "Utilties have started to ask themselves questions about what they are there to do and the impact they want to have." SHARON DARCY, SUSTAINABILITY FIRST

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