Utility Week

40 | AUGUST 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Event Running before we can walk Utilities have big ambitions to adapt for net zero, but many lack the fundamental data to enable the transition. This was a key finding from a recent virtual debate hosted by Utility Week and Appian. F or almost all utility organisations, the UK's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 has triggered or accelerated major strategic transforma- tion programmes. This is a key finding that emerged from research recently conducted by Utility Week in association with low-code automation specialist Appian, where 90 per cent of respondents agreed that the target has had a notable impact on the way their organisation thinks about its purpose and the future opportunities it should pursue*. To achieve these strategic pivots, many organisations have also already recognised that there is a need to rethink pre-existing technology and digitalisation strategies. In our research, 46 per cent of the 44 senior leaders canvassed felt that their organisa- tion's ambitions to reposition for a net zero future had already had a significant impact on the outcomes targeted from digital trans- formation. A further 43 per cent said digi- tal transformation expectations had been "slightly" impacted by new net zero goals. At a virtual discussion event hosted by Utility Week and Appian, however, it soon became clear that although there is increasing alignment between digitalisa- tion strategies and net zero ambitions, many organisations today lack the basic data foun- dations they need to substantially decar- bonise their asset bases, operations and processes. Furthermore, for some, getting these foundations in place is not yet seen as a priority across all relevant business units. Sharing progress The roundtable event, which welcomed senior operational leaders from across the energy and water sectors, heard some encouraging examples of the ways in which companies are striving to reduce their impact on the environment and improve resilience to the impacts of climate change. For example, a gas network representa- tive described a "bold" project to use envi- ronmental modelling as a driving factor in the way it prioritises where to progress next with the industry's mandatory mains replacement programme. Meanwhile, attendees from both gas and water network owners, said they are increas- ingly looking for ways in which to complete remediation work on pipes using "no-dig" technologies, so that emissions relating to leakage can be tackled without having to trade-off the benefits with emissions created through excavation. At one water company, the integration of environmental planning into asset manage- ment and investment planning had gone Quotes from attendees: "We need data that will give us the confidence today to execute low or no regrets innovation that will give us the foundation for a vision in the longer term and work our way towards it." "In the same way as the gas mains replacement programme, the need to provide the evidence base for our net zero transition is part of a fixed and future-focused work programme. But understanding what data we're going to need to support that, and where it will come from, is hard." "Delivering net zero needs to be a continuous, business as usual discussion - part of our mindset around how we deliver for customers. Not something that sits within innovation."

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