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...

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...

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...

Putting on a hard hat and standing next to a digger can be a difficult photo opportunity to resist.As the Infrastructure revolution gathers pace, we can expect more pictures from across the country as new MPs do just this.There are many good reasons to do so. With significant regional inequality, 'levelling up' is the fair thing to do – between reg...

2020 is already a defining year for the climate crisis.The COP26 Climate Conference in November will ensure all eyes are focused on the need for action.Turning talk into a meaningful international agreement on net-zero is not plain sailing. With the Government's 2050 net zero commitment, it is also a significant opportunity to show leadership at ho...

We've had a decisive election result – but what has changed in the utility space?  Some companies may feel that they have 'dodged a bullet' and that they are now 'off the hook' in terms of delivering on fairness and the environment.  That they are now free to return to 'business as usual'.  We strongly disagree and consider that our ...

​ Over the last year, debate on the future of capitalism and 'inclusive capitalism' has taken off. A focus on corporate purpose has been at the heart. What this actually means and how to embed purpose in a meaningful way – so this doesn't just lead to CSR 'purpose-wash' – occupies many column inches. Last week the British Academy released its groun...

Guest Blog from Richard Hall, Chief Energy Economist, Citizens Advice To go alongside our recent Fair for the Future Project working note on 'Changes in the consumer lived experience in regard to fairness and the environment' , Rich has shared his perspective from Citizens Advice. We live in uncertain times.Some basic assumptions about how society ...

In the face of the nationalisation challenge, and concerns around social justice and democratic deficits, many energy and water companies have started to ask themselves fundamental questions about what they are there to do and the impact that they want to have as a business. Across a whole range of sectors, academics, politicians, and of course com...

As we get back to work after the break, many of us will be reflecting on the fact that Christmas is often a time of excess.A time when much gets consumed – and much gets wasted: food, packaging and unwanted presents to name but a few. At the end of December the government published its eagerly anticipated Our waste, our resources: a strategy for En...

With almost a quarter of the population living on incomes below the poverty line (after housing costs), and with nearly one in three children living in poverty and the rate rising, the issue of fairness is very much in the public spotlight. As providers of universally used essential services, energy and water companies are in the front line of thes...

Uncertainty and risk relating to fairness and the environment are not new in the UK energy and water sectors.However, new challenges faced by the sectors demand a fundamental rethink of today's treatment and handling of both – be this by government, regulators, company managements and/or their investors.This is not simply about a nationalization ch...

The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Climate change that may exceed 1.5° warming unless 'rapid and far-reaching measures are taken.'What Michael Gove has called 'the unfrozen moment'. What do these three disruptors – technological, climate and societal - mean for the UK energy and water sectors and what challenges do they pose for policy makers and re...

Don't get tangled up in the pipes and wires or purely hung up on returns, says Sustainability First Director, Sharon Darcy.  Instead ensure public interest outcomes flow through the RIIO2 framework 'like the lettering in a stick of rock' RIIO2, the new price control for energy networks, may not sound the most exciting development in the energy...