Water company executives in the United Kingdom are raking in massive bonuses despite those companies being the source of multiple harmful sewage spills, according to The Guardian.
What's happening?
United Utilities CEO Louise Beardmore enjoyed a £420,000 ($543,417) bonus in 2024, taking her total annual compensation to £1.4 million ($1.8 million). This is despite the company illegally pumping 140 million of liters of raw sewage into Lake Windermere in the U.K.'s famed Lake District.
What's more, United Utilities was found to be the most polluting water company in the U.K. in 2023.
Beardmore was highly cognizant of how bad that looks.
"I'm very alive, as is the board, on the focus of executive remuneration," she said in front of the U.K. parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee, per The Guardian.
"Two-thirds of my remuneration is regarding outcomes for customers and the environment. … Our performance isn't good enough … we have one of the highest rates of internal sewer flooding across the country."
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Beardmore isn't alone in claiming huge paychecks, either. Severn Trent CEO Liv Garfield received £3.2 million ($4.1 million) in 2024, including a £584,000 ($755,608) bonus. Meanwhile, Severn Trent was fined £2 million ($2.6 million) for spilling 260 million liters of sewage into the River Trent.
Garfield remained defensive about her compensation, however, saying, "We've been the best performing company on the issues customers care about most … on a whole range of metrics we are a very good company.
Why is executive compensation among polluting companies important?
Sewage dumping has major effects on marine ecosystems. Windermere was host to massive algae blooms as a result of sewage dumping, which chokes out other life by absorbing vast quantities of oxygen in the water. Algae also produce toxins that can be harmful to people and animals.
Unless executive compensation is tied to a company's environmental performance, there is little incentive to stop harmful polluting activity.
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Definitely 💯 What's being done about executive compensation among polluting companies?
Luckily, the British government has introduced new legislation that would allow the regulation authority to stop executives of polluting companies from receiving bonuses.
Other sectors are proactively leading on this front. Supermarket chain Tesco has managed to change its compensation structure in order to prioritize the reduction of food waste, for example.
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