Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 11TH - 17TH OCTOBER 2019 | 19 Operations & Assets cent of the national average, which is 249. • One of industry's lowest drinking water acceptability complaint rates. • Catchment management approach to reducing metaldehyde recognised by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) as leading. • Never subject to punitive DWI transforma- tion programmes. • Eighty-four per cent blockage reduction in 2018 a†er 2,000 Keep it Clear visits. • On track for four-star Environment Agency Environmental Performance Assessment. Operating in extreme weather during the Beast from the East and the summer heat- wave, Anglian successfully ensured security of water supply for its customers with no interruptions. In 2018 Anglian launched Water Resources East, a programme that pioneers a collaborative approach to resource planning in the region, including agriculture, energy and the environment. This has built on its existing work chairing the industry's Long Term Water Resources Planning Report, which the National Infrastructure Commis- sion has drawn on in its own reports. Furthermore, Anglian has created a cam- paign called Smarter Drop, which has been working with people in the town of New- market and the surrounding villages to cut water use. The town has become an inno- vation hub, with more than 100 partners participating in more than 95 projects that bring creative and forward-thinking tools, processes and campaigns to Newmarket first for testing. Through this campaign, the people of Newmarket are helping Anglian to innovate and build the water company of the future. In regard to innovation, in early 2018 Anglian made its smart pressure controls available to Cape Town during the South African city's drought, saving the city 45 mil- lion litres a day, three-quarters of the total demand reduction. Recognising that utilities are facing increased scrutiny from the public, Anglian has taken its steps to improve the percep- tion of the business and the wider sector. To achieve this, it has attempted to enhance transparency by committing itself to reducing debt and gearing, changing its board so inde- pendent non-executive directors are in the majority, and making a commitment to rein- vest £165 million in drought resilience and customer experience during this asset man- agement plan period. Anglian says that it has been the most decisive and done the most to respond to this legitimacy challenge. In response to the growing climate crisis, Anglian committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2017/18 it recorded a capital carbon drop of 57 per cent and a reduction in oper- ational carbon of 19.6 per cent. Moreover, Anglian's director of asset management, as chair of the government's Green Construc- tion Board Infrastructure Working Group, delivered an initiative under which both the government and industry pledged to save 24 million tonnes of carbon and £1.46 billion per year by 2050. In the years since 1989, Anglian cus- tomers have had the lowest bill increases, only 10 per cent compared with an industry average of 46 per cent. From 2015 to today, Anglian has reduced its bills by 10 per cent, the most by any company and twice the industry average. What the judges said… The judges described this as a superb entry that stood out as an example of a utility with a clear understanding of its role in terms of corporate responsibility and with clear evidence of strong leadership management, business transformation, long-term thinking and good all-round performance. They also noted how this entry showed there was much going on in terms of dealing with the important issues of the moment in 2018 – legitimacy and leakage – along with some very clear measures on how to deal with it. A confident company, happy to deal with difficult things. It chose to make changes, ensured employee engagement and scored lots of number ones with judges – including its long- term thinking on a green bond. Anglian Water on Awards night at London's Grosvenor House Hotel with guest host Sue Perkins (left) and Utility Week editor Suzanne Heneghan (right).  The 2019 Utility Week Awards shortlist will sooon be announced. Sponsorship opportunities are available – for more information contact Utility Week business development manager Ben Hammond at benhammond@fav-house.com or on 01342

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