Central to our vision of being a world class utility operator is our reputation for high standards in respect of business and ethics. Our success depends on reinforcing this reputation among all those with an interest in our business as well as in the communities in which we operate. Our commitment to such standards is reflected in our business principles which summarise our business philosophy and the main policies we apply across our organisation
Strategy and governance
Traditionally our approach to corporate responsibility (CR) has centred on the environmental effects of our business, our employees and customers and our work in the community. Given the restructuring of the group in the last 18 months, we have reviewed our CR strategy with the aim of focusing on those areas that matter most to the business and where the work we do can support the group's wider vision. As a result, we are placing greater emphasis on two particular areas - climate change (where the water sector faces tougher challenges than most other industries) and promoting and attracting the skills we need to develop solutions to the future challenges of running our business.
To support this new policy, we have reviewed and reinforced our CR governance process. The changes include the introduction of a Community Investment Committee of the Board to approve and monitor the group's CR policy and action plan and report progress to the Board. We have also strengthened our internal governance around all key CR policies and performance indicators and created a CR Panel to monitor progress quarterly and report to the Executive Leadership Team.