Collaborative Excellence Award
Recognising world-class approaches to integrated working between supply chain partners and utilities, and the role this plays in delivering resilient and efficient lifeline services.
Collaborative Excellence Award
Recognising world-class approaches to integrated working between supply chain partners and utilities, and the role this plays in delivering resilient and efficient lifeline services.
Arup, Binnies and Thames Water
Engineering Collaboration: Delivering Better Outcomes Through Behavioural Science
White Horse Reservoir is turning collaboration into a measurable delivery capability. More than 1,000 people across Thames Water, the Arup-Binnies Technical Partner and specialist partners work through a shared behavioural, governance and knowledge framework. This approach delivers six key milestones without baseline variance, while FUSE saved 11 weeks on deliverables. Wellbeing, recognition and relationship sentiment improved alongside zero RIDDOR incidents across 657,450 hours worked. Independently recognised under ISO 44001 as the “gold standard of collaboration”, the approach provides a replicable model for delivering complex utility infrastructure.
Detectronic, Yorkshire Water, Marvel Group and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Water Industry Academy
To deliver one of the UK water sector’s largest monitoring programmes, Detectronic and Yorkshire Water recognised that traditional recruitment could not meet the scale required. In response, a multi-partner collaboration with Marvel Group and Rotherham Council created the Water Industry Academy, a fully integrated training and employment model. Local candidates are recruited, trained and deployed directly into live operational roles within weeks. The initiative has already delivered over 20,000 installations to date, while achieving 100 percent training retention and employment outcomes, proving that collaboration can accelerate infrastructure delivery while creating a sustainable and inclusive workforce pipeline.
E.ON Next and Kraken Technologies
Maximising MHHS success by leading from the front
The Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) programme, although necessary, posed a major risk to the energy sector. E.ON Next was first to begin migrating customers and also to achieve the Industry Programme’s milestone of migrating 90% of its portfolio. However, the company saw this as a collaborative mission, not a race, with Kraken as its principal delivery partner and operating platform supplier (along with co-ordination/collaboration involving over a dozen partners). Throughout, the company demonstrated industry stewardship and collaborative excellence, sharing findings and elevating standards for the regulator/wider industry. Consequently, E.ON Next has developed a blueprint for on-time, at-scale, zero-disruption MHHS delivery.
National Energy Action
Warm Homes, Healthy Futures
Warm Homes, Healthy Futures (WHHF) is the UK's largest integrated health and energy support programme, bringing together health services, community organisations, and energy sector partners to tackle fuel poverty and poor health outcomes. Delivered through a nationally coordinated, locally tailored model, the programme has supported more than 35,000 vulnerable people, unlocked £5.3 million in additional income, trained over 2,000 frontline professionals, and established more than 400 referral partnerships. By embedding energy support within healthcare pathways, the collaboration is transforming how households access help, improving wellbeing, reducing inequalities, and creating a scalable blueprint for preventative, cross-sector support.
Southern Water & Samotics
From pilot to programme: scaling early warning as one team
In twelve months, the Southern Water–Samotics partnership has helped prevent more than 74 pollution incidents, nearly doubled its monitored assets to over 2,300, and grown validated cost avoidance from £4.3 million to £24 million. What began as a trial is now a £7 million, six-year framework, and a genuinely integrated way of working. Side by side with Southern Water's control room teams, Samotics developed a new capability to detect bursts in rising mains, the failure behind 70% of the company's serious pollution incidents, and the partnership is now extending into Southern Water's clean drinking-water network.
The Consumer Council for Water and Taylor McKenzie Research
Water Voice
When an essential service needs to improve, customers need more than a one-off survey; they need a voice that leads to genuine action. Following the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) and Taylor McKenzie Research created Water Voice: a national accountability programme involving 1,000+ community members across 16 company areas in England and Wales. Members set priorities, shape research and challenge senior executives directly. Water companies submit action plans, published and tracked by CCW. The first Accountability cycle, held in Spring 2026, resulted in 332 publicly tracked actions, turning consumer insight into visible, tangible change.
Utilita Giving
One Call That's All
One Call, That’s All (OCTA) is a £2.3m collaborative pilot created to transform how people experiencing financial hardship access support. One simple referral leads to a holistic Discovery Conversation, immediate help where needed and one trusted caseworker for up to 12 months, while specialist partners coordinate income maximisation, debt advice, food, fuel and essential household support behind the scenes. The customer doesn’t navigate the system; the system works around them. OCTA has supported 1,599 customers, secured over £1m in realised income gains and identified £2.95m in income, alongside significant improvements in stress, food security, confidence and hope.
Yorkshire Water, Netmore and M Group Water
A smarter future - Rolling out smart water meters
Yorkshire Water, Netmore and M Group Water (MGW) have built an integrated delivery partnership for the Asset Management Period 8 with their smart metering programme. The partnership takes a collaborative end to end approach, combining customer engagement, field operations, network connectivity, commercial governance and data-driven decision making. This has enabled the partnership to maintain delivery momentum, improve customer outcomes and support the successful rollout of the UK's largest smart metering programmes. The three partners work to a single operational plan with joint governance, solving problems at source instead of trading risk.