Stakeholder Advisory Panel

The panel is made up of eminent individuals with broad experience in business, community relations and environmental issues.

The panel Chairman is Will Hutton, Chief Executive of the Work Foundation and one of the UK’s leading commentators on social and political affairs.

Deputy Chairman is John Roberts, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and until recently the Chief Executive of United Utilities.

The other panel members are Diane Coyle, an award-winning financial journalist, radio presenter and economist; Lord Julian Hunt, an eminent scientist and internationally recognised expert on climate change; and Shaks Ghosh, a board member of the Sector Skills Development Agency and former CEO of charity for homeless people Crisis, who is an expert on issues of social policy and diversity.

"We welcome the opportunity to comment on EDF Energy’s Sustainability Performance Report for 2007.  This was a challenging year for the energy industry, with volatile and rising wholesale prices, unseasonable weather, a turbulent market and increasing media and political scrutiny. Throughout we were pleased to have the opportunity to discuss strategic issues with senior management, who were consistently open and frank and to provide a voice for the many stakeholders of the company.

From our personal involvement - and the evidence provided in this report - we believe that EDF Energy has a well balanced, long-term approach to running the business and does its best to deliver its mission - “to bring sustainable energy solutions home to everyone”. Despite some external scepticism of the energy sector, this is a company that genuinely tries to embed its public promises on sustainability, social and environmental performance, into its internal operations. This approach has a critical role to play in the face of some of the biggest challenges facing the energy industry today, such as energy affordability, security of supply and climate change.  

The Stakeholder Advisory Panel was established in 2006 and we were invited for our advice throughout 2007 as EDF Energy developed its current position on sustainability. Our independence has been fully respected by the company. We have brought our joint experience to bear on the gamut of social and environmental policy matters, commenting on the creation of Our Climate Commitments which were launched in June 2007 and Our Social Commitments which were launched in February 2008. We were engaged in discussion on specific issues such as fuel poverty and the beginning of EDF Energy’s preparation for Ofgem’s distribution price review (DPCR5). We have sought and been offered assurance about the integrity of EDF Energy’s approach to pricing.

Strong governance is critical to the successful operation of any business. The opportunity to advise and influence the creation of this Sustainability Performance Report is a welcome and important part of the process. We have worked with Csrnetwork, the independent assurors, to support the assurance process and provide our views on how key issues might be reflected in the report.

In summary, the panel considers this to be an important report for EDF Energy in its transition to become a genuinely sustainable business.  The case studies are many and varied, exploring the work the company has been doing to address the challenges facing the energy industry, and society at large. 

There is more to do; some issues are highly problematic. But we acknowledge that EDF Energy has recognised the scale of the challenge and are encouraged by the way it has responded in 2007 with an ambitious strategy and stretching targets.  We look forward to working with EDF Energy in 2008 and beyond as it continues to deliver against the targets it has set itself."

Will Hutton, Chief Executive of The Work Foundation and Chair of EDF Energy's Stakeholder Advisory Panel