New research reveals that water companies in England are using tactics similar to those found in the fossil fuel and tobacco industries to downplay their environmental impact. These tactics include greenwashing, which is the practice of misleading the public about the environmental benefits of a product or service.
Researchers examined the communications from nine major water and sewage companies and found they used 22 greenwashing tactics. These tactics aim to mislead the public, misrepresent scientific research, shift blame for pollution, and delay action on environmental issues. According to Dr. Alex Ford from the University of Portsmouth, this behavior prolongs environmental injustice and misleads both the public and government agencies.
One alarming example is how water companies rebrand sewage treatment facilities as “water recycling centres.” They also refer to untreated sewage discharges into waterways as “heavily diluted rainwater,” ignoring the health risks involved. Between 2019 and 2023, these companies released untreated sewage into English waterways for a staggering 12.7 million hours.
The study analyzed companies like Thames Water, Southern Water, and others. As it turns out, some companies have manipulated language around raw sewage discharges, presenting the public with a false choice between flooding vulnerable areas or allowing sewage to overflow.
Furthermore, these companies often blame customers for sewer overflows, claiming that everyday items like wet wipes are to blame. This distracts from the underlying issues of aging infrastructure. They even exaggerated the costs of fixing these problems, citing figures as high as £660 billion.
Prof. Jamie Woodward of the University of Manchester highlighted the serious effects of sewage discharges, linking them to microplastic pollution in rivers. Public trust in these water companies is currently low, and people deserve more transparency and clearer communication regarding sewage pollution, according to experts.
The paper argues for stricter regulations to combat greenwashing and urges investment in sustainable solutions like wetland restoration and upgrading sewer systems. This study comes amid growing public demand for accountability, especially after the government announced an independent commission to improve water sector regulations.
Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, responded to the study by stating they are one of the most transparent sectors globally. They claimed to have made real-time storm overflow data publicly available and recognized the need to reduce sewage spills, pledging significant investments toward the natural environment.
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