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Jason Sharpe will speak at the Utility Week Congress on 14 October on the challenge of rebuilding customer trust. He says: "Earning the loyalty of consumers is about consistent delivery of outstanding ser- vice. That's how you build trust plain and simple." Personal notes: What has been the most successful or challenging experience of your career? Aer a 26-year career work- ing across a lot of different industries, from supermarkets to finance and technology, Ovo En- ergy is without doubt the most People & Opinion Utility Week community Speaker's corner Jason Sharpe, managing director, Ovo Energy challenging and rewarding. It's also the place where I've had to most rigorously apply the motto of ex-General Electric chief, Jack Welsh: 'communicate, com- municate, communicate'. Doubling your customer base in less than six months provides the ultimate test of whether you're really communicating across a company or not. When you're growing that quickly, it only takes one or two small mistakes to set you off course. Making sure everyone knows what's important at that moment, and what's changing daily (in Ovo's case oen hourly), makes the difference between executing well or not at all." Which five people you would invite to your dream dinner party and why? Johnny Ives – he's an Essex boy done good, and I'm also an Essex boy. Ives is the driving force be- hind some of the very significant innovations which have put Apple where it is today. His self-belief and drive means he's willing to take risks, but he also has a genu- inely brilliant intuition for what's going to work in his market. Malcolm Gladwell – we're always trying to do things dif- ferently at Ovo and this is an ap- proach Gladwell has pretty much cornered in his field. Whether it's marketing, crime, education or race, he is always guaranteed to present a view that challenges accepted understanding. Malala Yousafza – aged 17, she's already done more for education, poverty and women's rights than most people do in a lifetime. She is eloquent, dedicated and incred- ibly brave. David Attenborough – he's one of the UK's most brilliant scientists, but he's also a national treasure because he's made the extraordinary things he has expe- rienced accessible to everybody. Kylie Minogue – a guilty pleasure I'll admit, but I love her music and I bet she'd be the life and soul. Name four items you keep on your desk/with you at work that reveal something about your interests/personality. It's so easy to get distracted by 'stuff', and a clear desk makes me feel like I'm in control, so during the day there's nothing in front of me apart from my laptop, iPhone, pad and pen. And occasionally a mug of peppermint tea. The main event Find out more about the 2nd Annual Utility Week Congress at: www.uw-congress.net A WrI breakdown of shale gas plays and water scarcity for the UK shows that 13 per cent of planned sites are in areas where water stress in "extremely high". A further 61 per cent are in areas of high or high to medium water stress. progress for shale gas in the UK will be further complicated by the high population density around most planned sites, according to WrI. the body foresees antagonism between domestic and industrial water needs. 6.2% Average national carbon reduction needed year on year to prevent global warming exceeding 2C. 2.9% the UK's average annual reduction between 2008 and 2013 4.8% Amount UK emissions fell in 2012/13 1.7% e7 nations' carbon emissions reduction in 2012/13 0.2% G7 nations' carbon emissions reduction in 2012/13 Two degrees of separation pwC's sixth annual Low Carbon Economy Index, subtitled 2 Degrees of Separation – Ambition & Reality, warns that if the world is to keep global warming under 2C, national efforts to reduce carbon emissions need to be increased fivefold. For the first time since it started publishing its carbon analysis, its latest report also revealed that e7 countries outperformed the G7 in carbon reduction. pwC said this showed that it was possible to "maintain economic growth while slowing the rate of growth in emis- sions". fracking and water scarcity in the uK Source: WRI Low Low to medium Medium to high High Extremely high Shale play 13% 21% 40% 9% 17% Wessex Weald Bowland UK Northern Petroleum System Midland Valley