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Pennon Group PLC

LSE: PNN40Mixed / Improving· Provisional
0 followersWater & sewerage utility·Exeter, United Kingdom·Founded 1989
www.pennon-group.co.uk

FTSE 250 water utility group that owns and operates South West Water, Bristol Water and SES Water, serving 1.7 million customers across south-west England and Surrey.

40/100
Mixed / Improving· Provisional

ClimateTicker Green Score · how it's calculated

Greenwashing risk: highData confidence: high

Why it's on ClimateTicker

Pennon Group is a regulated UK water utility with genuine climate adaptation relevance — securing clean water supply under climate stress — and real, SBTi-validated emissions targets and improving CDP scores. However, its flagship subsidiary South West Water has the worst sewage-spill record in England and Wales, multiple criminal convictions, and a £24m Ofwat enforcement package, which severely undercut the group's green narrative and expose a material gap between marketing and operational reality.

adaptationPennon earns revenue through regulated water and wastewater charges to ~1.7 million households and businesses in south-west England and Surrey, via its three subsidiaries (South West Water, Bristol Water, SES Water), supplemented by a growing captive renewables arm (Pennon Power).

Commitments & Certifications

CDP: A- (Climate Change & Water Security) ↗other: GRESB Public Disclosure Score 93 — top among industry peers ↗other: Sustainalytics ESG Top Rated — 2nd of 50 water utilities globally; risk score 11.7 (low) ↗other: FT/Statista Europe's Climate Leaders 2025 — ranked 6th overall of 600 ↗SBTi: Near-term targets validated ↗

Controversy & Greenwashing Watch

highExpanded coastal community group legal action (Leigh Day)

Law firm Leigh Day expanded its landmark group legal claim against South West Water and Pennon over sewage pollution to cover seven additional coastal communities across Devon and Cornwall — the first such environmental group claim by coastal communities against a UK water company.source ↗

highOfwat £24m enforcement package for wastewater failures

Ofwat imposed a £24m penalty on South West Water in September 2025 after finding the company failed to meet legal obligations in managing its wastewater treatment works and network.source ↗

highBrixham cryptosporidiosis outbreak — criminal conviction & £1.85m fine

South West Water pleaded guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption after a Cryptosporidium outbreak in May 2024 affected ~16,000 properties, causing hundreds of illnesses and hospitalising multiple residents; fined £1.85m in June 2025.source ↗

mediumBill increases of ~33% while paying £24.5m dividends amid worst spills

South West Water raised customer bills by a third in April 2025 — directly after the EA published the worst spill data in the sector — while Pennon Group had issued £24.5m in dividends to shareholders in January 2024, drawing public and political criticism.source ↗

highWorst sewage-spill record in England & Wales (2024)

South West Water's storm overflows spilled for 544,429 hours in 2024 — the highest of any company in England and Wales — including one overflow that discharged for nearly the entire year.source ↗

high14 consecutive years at EA's lowest pollution rating

South West Water has received the Environment Agency's lowest ('one-star') pollution performance rating for 14 straight years, placing it in the 'needs improvement' category sector-wide.source ↗

medium2023 criminal fine: £2.1m for legacy sewage-works offences

South West Water was fined £2.1m in April 2023 for environmental offences at five sewage works sites in Devon and Cornwall occurring between 2016 and 2020, including a spill that killed thousands of fish.source ↗

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