Water firms use ‘greenwashing’ tactics to mislead consumers and government

England’s major water and sewage companies, including the North West’s United Utilities, are ‘greenwashing’ the public and government, according to a new report.

A study, published in Nature Water, claims the privatised companies are using strategies which mirror those of the tobacco and fossil fuel industries to mislead the public and government.

The research – by environmental experts from The University of Manchester and the University of Portsmouth, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) and an independent scientist – uncovered widespread use of greenwashing and disinformation tactics by England’s nine major water and sewage companies.

They say it has highlighted how the companies have misrepresented their environmental performance while facing scrutiny for discharging 12.7 million hours of untreated wastewater into English waterways between 2019 and 2023.

The researchers – including Prof Jamie Woodward from the Department of Geography at The University of Manchester – analysed their communications, including websites, social media, evidence given to Parliamentary committees and public reports, comparing their strategies to a framework of 28 greenwashing tactics commonly used by tobacco, alcohol, fossil fuel and chemical companies.

They found evidence of use of 22 of these tactics in the water sector, including strategies to downplay environmental harm, misrepresent information, undermine scientific research, shift blame and delay action.

The study – which comes at a time of increasing public and legal pressure, with six investigations into the water companies and their regulators taking place in 2024 – suggests that the companies softened the language around raw sewage discharges by rebranding sewage treatment facilities as “water recycling centres” or describing overflows as containing “heavily diluted rainwater”, even when untreated sewage was present and posed a threat to public health.

Many of the companies claimed the effects of sewage spills were “minimal” or “temporary”, despite limited evidence and ongoing ecological harm.

Of the 370,000+ storm sewage overflow discharges (CSOs) in 2020, only 11% were investigated by the Environment Agency for impact, meaning no one can truly know that the impact is minimal.

Some companies even use emotive language and highlight that schools and hospitals could be flooded without the discharge from CSOs, presenting the public with a binary choice of spilling sewage into public places, or into the river.

Public campaigns also blamed customers for sewage overflows, often claiming wet wipes were the primary cause, while downplaying problems with infrastructure.

Companies then exaggerated the cost of solving these issues, quoting figures as high as £660bn, to manage expectations around investment and reform.

Prof Woodward’s research has linked the discharge of sewage and untreated wastewater with widespread microplastic contamination of UK riverbeds.

He said: “Public trust in these companies is at an all-time low – the public deserve much clearer communication from the water companies and full transparency on the scale and impact of sewage pollution.

“Dumping sewage degrades precious ecosystems and poses a real and present danger to public health.”

The study argues that these tactics distract from the urgent need to upgrade aging infrastructure, much of which was built in the 20th century.

The companies – 70% of which are owned by foreign investors – have reportedly distributed £76bn to shareholders since privatisation in 1989, while building up more than £56b in debt and neglecting vital upgrades.

“These companies have adopted a playbook of denial, deflection, and distraction, similar to other major polluting industries, to protect profits at the expense of the environment and public health” added Prof Alex Ford from the University of Portsmouth.

The paper calls for stricter regulation of industry communications to combat greenwashing and misinformation, and urges policymakers to prioritise transparency to safeguard water security in the face of climate change.

The authors also highlight the need for greater investment in sustainable solutions, such as restoring wetlands, alongside modernising sewerage systems.

Prof Woodward added: “The financial exploitation of water resources in England raises globally important issues around water security and environmental stewardship,

“There needs to be much more careful scrutiny of water company communications and of the organisations and individuals responsible for environmental management.”

TheBusinessDesk.com approached United Utilities for a comment, and it responded with a statement from Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, which said: “Contrary to the claims of this paper the English water sector is one of the most transparent in the world.

“Last year England became the first country in the world to make near-real time storm overflow data publicly available. In addition, data on company performance is regularly published by the sector’s regulators.

“However, we recognise more needs to be done to end sewage spills and have previously apologised for not doing enough. Companies are poised to invest the largest amount of money ever on the natural environment – including more than £11bn to almost halve spills from storm overflows by 2030.”