What is an essential good or service? Recent months have seen some heated debates on this point. In Wales, one supermarket got into trouble by classifying period products as non-essential. In Ireland, a dog boutique selling canine accessories was able to stay open as it also sold pet food. Sustainability First has a long history of working with the...

Of all the utilities, water is probably the least prone to radical change. The first water infrastructure – wells and even some disposal of sewage - was developed over 6000 years ago. Water infrastructure in the Roman empire was more sophisticated than other utilities would achieve until well into the industrial revolution (and believe it or not so...

Following the publication of the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the National Infrastructure Strategy at the end of November, the past few weeks have seen a surge in interest in how well the duties of regulators, and their guiding strategic policy statements, enable essential service sectors to respond to 21 st century challeng...

The last few weeks have seen important moves in the financial community to improve and increase reporting in terms of climate issues. Whilst the work of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures [i] is to be warmly welcomed in terms of helping to tackle climate risk, on its own, this will not lead to resilience in UK utilities. Althou...

The underlying principles that policy makers and regulators use to guide their every-day decisions need to be transformed if we are to survive and thrive through Covid-19 and the biodiversity and climate crises . Sustainability First's latest Viewpoint: A question of principle? paper examines the need to change our economic approach - such as how w...

Price-control design is both complex and 'mission-critical'. At stake is how the £billions of funding allowed by the regulator for DNO investment and operations will be shaped for the coming five years and beyond. Rightly, there is a strong focus on cost-efficiency. But concern about past returns shouldn't wholly dictate the future. In getting the ...

Last week I spoke on a panel at a webinar hosted by Enertechnos, a company which produces low loss cables for the electricity distribution sector and who have just produced a report on how losses impact our ability to meet net zero. We have consistently argued that Ofgem is not putting enough focus on the important question of losses in its approac...

It was great to see the conclusions of the Citizens Climate Assembly published last week, having looked in depth [1] at the French equivalent. As an advocate of citizens assemblies and deliberative engagement more broadly, and given the crucial importance of tackling climate change, I am clear that the report deserves to be taken seriously and read...

Sustainability First's Fair for the Future Project is helping energy, telecoms and water companies, policy makers and regulators better address the politics, ethics and practical application of fairness and the environment in the utility sectors. It became clear to us as we were talking to utilities about this that there was a wide audience for a g...

Even before the Covid crisis and the climate emergency movement, the notion that capitalism had to be about more than simply short-term shareholder returns had been growing worldwide. The World Economic Forum, US industry bodies, leading financiers including the Governor of the Bank of England, the Chief Executive of Ofwat and the British Academy h...

By Paul Bignell ​ As health practitioners, scientists, economists and those in government continue to navigate the country through the Coronavirus crisis some eight months on; fire-fighting simmering virus hotspots whilst simultaneously attempting to reinvigorate the economy; those tasked with looking further into a post-Corona future have so far b...

There's been a recent wave of good news around deliberative engagement on climate change. Last week the UK Climate Assembly produced an interim briefing on the question of a green recovery and the French equivalent produced its full 460 page report with 150 recommendations. It was uplifting to see Le Monde covering that report in depth including a ...

Interview with Tim O'Riordan Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia 29th May 2020  Please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background, and what sustainability means to you? Well, I began as a geographer and I taught for 40 years as a professor of environmental science, at the University of ...

It is a widespread ask from environmental groups, including Sustainability First, that as we emerge from the current crisis the focus must be on a green recovery. Ahead of the Petersburg Climate Dialogue recently Britain's Business Secretary Alok Sharma said that "the world must work together, as it has to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, to sup...

It's not surprising that groups like Sustainability First are calling for a focus on a green recovery from the current crisis. But what does the population at large think? We know that concerns about climate change had been rising rapidly up the agenda but are they now being pushed back down as people are faced with much more immediate financial an...

Sustainability First's Fair for the Future Project was launched two years ago to answer the questions: how should utilities such as energy, water and communications better address the politics of fairness and the environment in a disrupted world? How might fairer, more sustainable business models contribute to this? and What are the implications of...

I've been struck over the last few weeks how in responding to the Covid-19 crisis neither Ofgem nor Ofwat has either consulted or proactively communicated their approach to the Customer Engagement Groups (CEGs), User Groups or Customer Challenge Groups (CCGs) that they required companies to set up. For example, Rachel Fletcher's letter to water com...

In the face of the wide-ranging impacts of the coronavirus crisis, Ofgem have rightly said that they are reviewing their Forward Work Plan to allow more focus on short term issues around consumer protection and also to avoid over-burdening companies, acknowledging that the regulatory process can be demanding. As a part of that re-prioritisation, Su...

The coronavirus is the biggest shock in a generation.Peter Hennessy has said that we will look back and divide history into 'BC' and 'AC' – Before and After Corona.We are currently living in 'DC' - During Corona.Utilities are flat out on business continuity and resilience. But can we build a bridge through the pandemic to a more sustainable place o...

With the coronavirus, everything is up in the air.It is forcing us to rethink the relationship between business, the state and society.This blog is based on a letter that I wrote to the Financial Times in response to an article by Jonathan Ford on 'stakeholderism'.The letter was printed on 16 th March. Jonathan Ford rightly points out that 'Stakeho...