Helping Surfers Against Sewage hold brands accountable for plastic pollution

Every year, Surfers Against Sewage analyses litter collected through its ‘Million Mile Clean’ programme to identify the brands most frequently associated with plastic pollution. Having originally taken place on beaches, this campaign has expanded to include rivers, parks and other outdoor spaces, making the data gathered an increasingly valuable and comprehensive data source on the types of consumer products being found littered around the UK.

Knowing which brands are most prevalent in the litter we drop is only half of the story, however. Surfers Against Sewage were keen to understand how these brands were responding to the plastic pollution crisis: what commitments they had made, whether these were being delivered, and where they stood on key policy measures designed to reduce waste.

To support the development of Surfers Against Sewage’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ report, Resource Futures examined the environmental commitments and policy engagement of the twelve brands most frequently identified through the Million Mile Clean programme.

We carried out an evidence-based review of each brand’s publicly available sustainability commitments and performance reporting. This included:

• Assessing sustainability strategies and targets
• Reviewing reported progress against commitments over time
• Identifying changes or reductions in ambition where targets had been revised
• Examining media coverage and public allegations relating to greenwashing
• Analysing relevant data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment framework

As lobbying activity is typically undertaken through industry associations rather than individual brands, our experts reviewed these brands’ positions on key waste and recycling policies – including Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – through actions and stances taken by the trade associations and industry bodies representing the brands. This provided an understanding of how far the industry advocacy these brands support aligns with stated sustainability commitments.

Alongside this we developed a glossary of terms to help make the complex policy landscape and potentially unfamiliar sustainability terminology more accessible to the report’s intended audience.

Our research revealed a significant gap between many brands’ public sustainability commitments and their reported progress. The findings highlighted numerous examples where targets had not been met, ambitions had been scaled back, or commitments had evolved without clear accountability. The recent announcement that expanding the Emissions Trading Scheme to inclue Energy from Waste (EfW) will be delayed to align with the EU (likely to around 2031) removes another incentive to tackle problem plastics.

The project also demonstrated the opportunities presented by reuse systems to reduce littering and where brands were failing to take action in this space. Additional evidence was provided on how policies such as DRS and EPR could help to reduce pollution and improve resource management, while drawing attention to efforts by these brands, and the trade bodies that represent them, to delay or weaken their implementation.

The Dirty Dozen project demonstrates how independent research can support greater transparency and accountability around environmental commitments. By combining evidence review, policy analysis and accessible communication, our research equipped campaigners and citizens with detailed, reliable information about the environmental performance and attitudes towards sustainability of some of the UK’s most recognisable consumer brands.

The findings were incorporated into Surfers Against Sewage’s published brand audit report and shared widely with the press and through its communications and social media channels, informing public discussion around plastic pollution, corporate responsibility and effective policy solutions.