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13 Jun

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ANGLIAN WATER HAS ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS AD BANNED FOR OMITTING SEWAGE RECORD

The east England water provider's TV ad, with positive environmental claims, was
said to be misleading as it didn't mention the negative effects of its sewage
dumping.

Sarah Taaffe-Maguire

Business reporter @taaffems

Tuesday 13 June 2023 03:32, UK


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Why you can trust Sky News

Anglian Water must include information about its sewage discharge, and the
negative impact the company has, when making environmental claims in ads, the
advertising watchdog has said.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a challenge by nine
complainants that Anglian Water ads were misleading because they omitted the
company's history of releasing sewage.



The TV and video on demand ad - which appeared in September and October last
year - cannot be aired in its current format again and the ASA has said future
adverts must be "adequately qualified" when making environmental claims and must
not omit "material information" about the negative impact the company had on the
environment.

In the ad, the water provider for the east of England, said it was creating
wetlands to clear water using nature. It also said it was protecting nature,
using tanks to collect rain to prevent flooding. "In fact, everything they do
today is for tomorrow", a voiceover said.

Read more
Good news on fall in sewage spills only highlights the scale of the challenge
facing water companies
Why addressing sewage spills was not a priority for the water industry or for
Ofwat



In reaching its decision, the ASA considered the fact Anglian Water had fallen
below expected standards in a number of environmental performance assessments
(EPA).

Latest EPA reports, from 2021, showed Anglian Water performed "below target" for
the number of sewerage pollution incidents and for compliance with their
discharge permit.


MORE ON POLLUTION

 * Unexpected symptoms of poor air quality revealed - as smoke from Canadian
   fires blankets part of US

 * Glasgow LEZ: Everything you need to know as enforcement begins

 * Why addressing sewage spills was not a priority for the water industry or for
   Ofwat


RELATED TOPICS:

 * Pollution

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2:32



Calls for sewage crackdown
Marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) organised a mass
"paddle out" at 12 bathing water locations around the UK, calling on water
companies to stem the tide of human waste pouring into rivers and seas.
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Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) mass 'paddle out'

Performance was also "significantly below target" for the number of serious
pollution incidents. Enforcement action was also taken against the company over
recent years for environmental permitting regulations offences.

It was accepted by the ASA that Anglian Water carries out activities that could
have a positive impact on the environment, but it also carried out harmful
activities, which contradicted the impression created in the ad.

Advertisement

As a result, the omission of the harmful activities was deemed to be misleading,
and a breach of advertising codes.

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Codes say the basis of environmental claims must be clear, and that unqualified
claims could mislead if they omit significant information.

But Anglian Water denies this. It said it had an overwhelmingly positive impact
on the environment when all activities are taken into account and it did not
believe that any significant information had been omitted from the advertising
campaign.

The company no longer builds storm overflows and it works to remove them and
reduce the frequency of their use, it said. Anglian Water said it was true to
say that all the work they were actively engaged in was to secure a more
prosperous future for the region.

Water companies across the UK have come under pressure after the Environment
Agency said a total of 301,091 spills were recorded last year - 824 a day on
average. Water companies were urged by the agency to improve the maintenance,
management and investment of their systems.

Firms across the UK apologised for "not acting quickly enough" and said they'd
spend £10bn to prevent spills.


RELATED TOPICS

 * Pollution



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