Our move away from carbon offsets
We moved away from carbon offsetting in 2021 to increase our impact and make it more measurable.
Five years on, we’re reflecting on a big change we made to our carbon management approach. We decided to move away from the traditional carbon offsetting model we had been using to make up for the carbon emissions the business was producing. We switched to something different, more futureproof, more measurable – and, we think, better all round.
In 2021, Belu moved from carbon credits to investment in climate resilience and nature-based solutions. We call these our impact investments and they’re a key part of our Purpose P&L.
Before this change, Belu was certified carbon neutral to BSI PAS2060 standard (in fact we were the first UK water brand carbon neutral to this standard). That’s because we’d spent years understanding where our emissions are generated, then working with our supply partners to reduce our emissions overall, and the remaining emissions we generated were being offset by the carbon credits we were buying.
Making the decision to move to a new methodology meant we were no longer certified carbon neutral to the PAS 2060 standard. While we still follow the PAS 2060 framework as a robust benchmark, we no longer meet the formal carbon neutral criteria because we no longer offset emissions in the recognised way.
We believe this was a small price to pay if it allows us to make more meaningful environmental impact closer to home and help improve the health of rivers and waterways across the UK.
We are now on a journey to reduce the carbon intensity of our full product lifecycle and to reach zero carbon. We’ll do that by continuing to review our scope 3 emissions through our supply chain and by continuing to change consumer habits in the workplace and hospitality sectors.
As part of our journey towards zero carbon, over the years we have…
Held firmly to our no export policy for mineral water bottles, despite the constant stream of enquiries. It would be wrong to ship such a heavy product overseas, and of course, we believe the same when it comes to people importing bottled water or empty glass bottles to the UK.
Championed closed-loop manufacturing through the use of recycled content in our products, and by turning used bottles into new bottles (143.8m and counting!)
Made and filled all our glass mineral water bottles in the UK and designed the bottles to be lightweight, reducing the amount of material required to make them. We currently have the lightest UK made glass mineral water bottles on the market.
Maximised the use of recycled content throughout our business and ensured wherever possible, everything is 100% recyclable too. We were also the first UK water brand to get its whole plastics range into 100% RPET.
Scaled our filtration business and introduced more refillable options into our product mix.
It’s taken a few years for us to start seeing the results of our decision to move away from carbon offsetting play out, but we felt in order to make a tangible impact on the planet, rather than relying on remote projects we couldn’t easily access and measure, it was the right decision to make.
Pre-2021 carbon offsetting
Prior to 2021 we invested in a number of innovative global offsetting projects including the Song Ong Hydropower project in Vietnam, the Akkihebbal Hydro Power project and Community Wind Farm in India, Paradigm Water Purification project in Kenya and BAESA Hydroelectric Project in Brazil amongst others. All projects were linked to water, or took place in countries in which WaterAid worked. The projects were all independently verified to the universally recognised gold standard for carbon credits at a minimum. From 2010 to 2021, Belu’s total carbon offset was approximately 53,972 tonnes of CO2e and we spent £125k to offset this.
Ultimately we decided that despite that fact these global projects were hugely impactful in themselves and also allowed us to offset our carbon and obtain carbon neutral status, it would be better to focus on reducing our carbon intensity, review our supply chain and operations and invest in nature-based projects in the UK, where Belu operates. We are also operating in Hong Kong and Singapore and currently looking into nature-based solutions prospects in these regions.
UK nature-based projects
To date we have invested £140k into nature-based solutions across the UK.
Here are a couple of examples of the water stewardship projects this money has helped support:
Leaky Dans at Montgomery canal
We worked with the Canal & River Trust to create leaky dams which provided a natural filter for chemical runoff from local farms and prevented silt clogging up the Montgomery Canal in Wales. Read more about this project here.
River restoration in South London
We part-funded a restoration project for the River Ravensbourne and Glassmill Pond to improve the plant species, ecosystems and wildlife habitats in Bromley. Read more about our trip here.
WRAP
Through our membership with WRAP, we have been involved in the River Medway based ‘Holistic Water for Horticulture project’ which highlights a new, proactive approach to sustainability for businesses. By embracing circular economy principles, reducing waste, and promoting responsible water management practices, it’s a positive example for the food and drink industry and demonstrates the significant impact that businesses can have in creating a more sustainable future. You can find out more about Belu’s partnership with WRAP here.
Blue Marine Foundation
In 2024 we launched a new impact partnership with Blue Marine Foundation which is aiming to develop a new model for investment in biodiversity through key projects like the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project, and Solent Seascape Project, which can then be replicated nationally and globally, to strengthen a shift in the sector from restoration to broader marine protection.
International recognition
We have been widely recognised for our sustainable efforts over the years, from being named drinks business Asia’s Green Company of the Year in 2023, to winning a Marie Claire award for sustainability in the food & drinks sector, to multiple royal awards including both the Queen’s Award and King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development. These awards clearly illustrate that despite not being ‘officially carbon neutral’ we are doing all the right things from a sustainability perspective. Moving away from carbon offsetting is only adding to the good story.
We aren’t afraid to go against the grain.
Our water stewardship projects have a combined replenishment value of 990m³ and have so far created around 300m of new habitats for wildlife, as calculated by the Rivers Trust and tracked on our portal here.
Water footprinting
We have actively managed our own mineral water source in Powys, Wales, using telemetry (the process of automatically collecting, measuring, and transmitting data from remote sources to a central location for analysis) to ensure we manage our impact efficiently. We’ve always mapped our carbon footprint, so mapping our water footprint seemed like a natural progression in the journey of managing this precious resource.
We started by mapping our supply chain using the Belu water stewardship portal, developed by the River’s Trust, so that we could identify any areas faced with water scarcity or other associated risk. The mapping of data allows us to start to work on our own internal targets for management and also allows us to actively participate in projects that help regeneration.
Pioneering a new strategy
We aren’t alone in moving away from carbon offsets. In late 2023 the energy giant OVO announced they would knock offsets down to only 10% of their overall emissions in a bid to improve transparency in their carbon accounting. They published their ‘Plan Zero’ strategy in November 2023, outlining their commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2035 while considerably reducing reliance on carbon offsets in order to focus on energy efficiency for its customers.
Google has also shifted its thinking on achieving carbon neutrality, moving away from mass-purchasing carbon offsets. The company now aims to reach net-zero by 2030 through absolute emission reductions and investment in carbon removal projects.
