Resilience, one of the four themes of Ofwat’s 2019 price review, will take centre stage today at London’s Kia Oval, with senior figures from across the water sector gathering to discuss what ‘resilience in the round’ should look like in practice and how water companies can learn from the past experiences and best practices of other sectors.
Experts from the worlds of food manufacturing, cyber-security and academia will share their unique insights on how resilience features in their organisations and they’ll also offer some real-world examples of when that resilience has been put to the test.
Today’s event will also feature the publication of Ofwat’s ‘Resilience in the round: Building resilience for the future’ report, which offers water companies some food for thought on how best to entrench resilience into long-term business planning and processes, with a selection of case studies from companies and organisations across a range of industries.
Speaking in advance of the event, Ofwat Senior Director of Strategy and Planning John Russell said:
“Given the crucial service they provide to their customers, water companies must ensure they are thinking long-term about resilience – operational, financial and corporate. They must ensure they are prepared for the many – often unpredictable – challenges the future may hold, such as climate change, cyber-attacks or extreme weather events. Through today’s event and our ‘Resilience in the round: Building resilience for the future’ report, Ofwat is aiming to help companies get a better understanding of what resilience means in practice, by exploring best practice in the water sector and beyond”.
Food industry expert and keynote speaker Helen Munday from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said:
“I’m very much looking forward to discussing best-practise examples of how the food and drink supply chain elements work with one another to ensure resilience. It’s incredibly important that different industries speak with one another to share these experiences, which can ensure long-term future proofing.”
Cyber-security expert and keynote speaker Hugo Rosemont from the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space (ADS) Group said:
“To manage cyber security and other threats properly, company boards must play the key role to create the necessary structures and make sure the right culture is in place throughout their organisation. Key steps include: providing staff training all the way through to having a formal incident management plan in place to deal with any situations as and when they arise.”
For further information: Fintan Hastings Senior Associate – Media Relations, 0121 644 7642, 074 5801 6085 or [email protected]