Thames Water, among the water companies under fire for discharging sewage into streams and rivers, wants its customers to protect the environment by opting for paperless billing.
And this campaign has created its own discharge as complaints have flooded into Two Sides about the messaging chosen by Thames Water. On a leaflet inserted with the bills sent to 13.5 million customers, the water company claims that online billing is “better for the planet” asking customers to scan a QR code “to save trees” and urges them to set up “your tree saving… online account”.
Needless to say the communication has been condemned by the paper advocacy group. Two Sides has written to Thames Water CEO Sarah Bentley asking her to stop making misleading claims because they “are damaging consumer and business decision makers’ perceptions of paper’s environmental sustainability and threatening the livelihoods of people in the paper, printing and mailing sector”.
Two Sides has also written to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to point out that Thames Water is using greenwashing and that cost saving, not a concern for the environment, lies at the heart of the campaign. According to Gina Smith, in charge of anti greenwash campaigns at Two Sides, the ASA says that customer communications are not part of its remit and the CMA is focused on consumer goods rather than corporate messaging. Consequently neither body is taking action and Thames Water has not responded to the letters.
The antagonising leaflet includes images of a green leaf, urging customers to turn over a new leaf. “Too much paper though your door?” it asks with an image of a leaf and a picture of a mobile phone with its screen claiming “It’s good to go online.”
Now Two Sides is urging members and others who are Thames Water customers to download a sample letter and to send this to the CEO pointing out that inaccurate claims about paper are harmful to their business.
The action by Thames Water is inline with findings from the latest Trend Tracker Survey that Two Sides is due to publish in the next few weeks. The results show that misconceptions about the environmental impact of paper remain. In early results, Two Sides says that 56% of consumers believe that electronic communication is more environmentally friendly than paper communications, a slight improvement over 2021 when 60% held this view.
Consumers across Europe are also likely to believe that forests are shrinking and that the role of recycling is misunderstood.
Managing director of Two Sides Europe Jonathan Tame says: “While it’s good to see there have been some improvements in consumers’ perceptions, this report shows there remain many misconceptions surrounding print and paper based products’ impact on the environment. Many consumers wrongly perceive European forests are shrinking in size, massively underestimate the paper recycling rate and do not understand the sustainable nature of paper products. These misunderstandings make our work at Two Sides and Love Paper vital.”
