The UK’s advertising regulator banned an advert by Anglian Water Group Ltd. because it didn’t reflect an environmental record that includes serious pollution incidents.
The TV advert from Anglian featured new pipes and large tanks being built to help protect nature, the environment and provide water security, with a voiceover saying “everything they do today is for tomorrow.” While the water company was taking positive environmental steps, the advert omitted the negative impact of sewage discharges and Anglian’s below-target performance, the Advertising Standards Authority said in a ruling.
Public anger is growing toward England’s privatized water companies as sewage discharge into rivers and the sea increases. Restrictions on water use last summer due to extreme weather also frustrated households as Britain’s system suffers from widespread leaks.
The first ban of a water company advert is part of a wider crackdown on greenwashing. A week ago, the UK watchdog banned a handful of newspaper, TV and poster adverts from Shell Plc, Repsol SA and Petronas International Corp. for touting investments in renewable energy without mentioning the extent of each company’s polluting activities.
Read More: Shell, Repsol, Petronas Ads Banned in UK for Greenwashing
The Environment Agency fined Anglian £2.65 million ($3.3 million) in April, the biggest penalty imposed on a water company for an environmental offense in almost two years. The company scrapped a dividend for most investors weeks after Britain’s regulator clamped down on payments to shareholders and the company was fined for allowing raw sewage to flow into the sea.
Anglian, which has a two-star rating out of four for its environmental performance, said it accepted the ruling and had removed the advert, which ran in September and October last year.
In its original submission to the regulator, the company said it didn’t believe the adverts were misleading, and that Anglian had an “overwhelmingly positive impact on the environment.”
Read More: Anglian Water Slashes Dividends After Fine for Spilling Sewage