Little Green Change, an environmental education group based in Lyme Regis, Dorset, has turned down a grant of £4,825 from South West Water’s (SWW) community fund, citing concerns over “greenwashing.” The not-for-profit social enterprise, which runs sustainability and environmental awareness programs across South West England, stated that accepting the funds would contradict its mission to promote genuine environmental responsibility.
The organisation accused SWW of prioritising shareholder interests over necessary investments to prevent pollution. In a Facebook statement, Little Green Change noted that while the funding offer—made through the ActionFunder platform—was financially significant given its annual income of £21,000, the group could not overlook SWW’s environmental record.
According to the organisation, South West Water’s outdated infrastructure has led to frequent discharges of sewage into rivers and coastal waters, including the River Lim in Lyme Regis, harming local ecosystems. The group criticised the company for continuing to raise customer bills while contributing to environmental degradation.
In response, South West Water expressed disappointment at the rejection, reiterating its commitment to reducing pollution and outlining plans to invest £760 million over the next five years to limit storm overflow use and improve water quality across the region.
