We're changing the way the world sees water
oh yes we are.
Another year of busily bottling, filtering and refilling the stuff that, just by being water, can transform one person and can transform millions of lives. This report includes our numbers, impact stats, partners, products and emissions. It’s what we’ve been doing and what’s next in our mission to deliver the purpose we’re fiercely dedicated to. A snapshot of what can be achieved if we pull together to make a less wasteful world and do business better drop by drop. 2023 was a year with a backdrop of war, punctuated by devastating earthquakes, a submarine tragedy and the unexpected passing of beloved hospitality heroes.
The weather was disappointing, COP confirmed that we’re not on track to cut emissions by 43% by 2030 (as per the Paris Agreement) and the number of emergency food parcels which the Trussell Trust delivered, increased by 16% year on year. That said, there was plenty of good news too. The High Seas Treaty was signed to protect 30% of oceans, London’s hospitality industry revenue grew to 46bn, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and growing on average 7.7% a month – and Belu achieved our highest ever revenue, thanks to our brilliant (and now much bigger) Belu Collective.
We're changing the way the world sees water
oh yes we are.
Another year of busily bottling, filtering and refilling the stuff that, just by being water, can transform one person and can transform millions of lives. This report includes our numbers, impact stats, partners, products and emissions. It’s what we’ve been doing and what’s next in our mission to deliver the purpose we’re fiercely dedicated to. A snapshot of what can be achieved if we pull together to make a less wasteful world and do business better drop by drop.
read more
2023 was a year with a backdrop of war, punctuated by devastating earthquakes, a submarine tragedy and the unexpected passing of beloved hospitality heroes.
The weather was disappointing, COP confirmed that we’re not on track to cut emissions by 43% by 2030 (as per the Paris Agreement) and the number of emergency food parcels which the Trussell Trust delivered, increased by 16% year on year. That said, there was plenty of good news too. The High Seas Treaty was signed to protect 30% of oceans, London’s hospitality industry revenue grew to 46bn, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and growing on average 7.7% a month – and Belu achieved our highest ever revenue, thanks to our brilliant (and now much bigger) Belu Collective.
Purpose
Another year added to our timeline
Another year of making a real difference. That means the figures showing our total impact to date are now bigger than ever:
into new bottles
with clean water
Our Purpose P&L®
At Belu, because we do things differently, we track performance against purpose with our specially developed Purpose P&L.
As a purpose-driven social enterprise, we don’t make profit our sole priority, so our Purpose P&L is more important to us than our traditional profit & loss statement.
Here's how the money flowed in 2023:
Revenue
Operating costs
(that’s everything associated with making and bringing our products to market).
Goals
24,536 LIVES TRANSFORMED
How do we calculate that?
We use WaterAid’s average ‘cost per user’ figures to give a sense of what the £377,038 we have given to WaterAid for 2023 means in terms of lives affected positively with clean water. The money we give to WaterAid is unrestricted, so they decide where it is best spent. Costs vary greatly from country to country and project to project but WaterAid have calculated an average:
The maths : Using average costs from 2014-2017*, the sum began with the total WaterAid spent on their country programmes and regions, plus the cost of the WaterAid UK based Programme Support Unit.
Then what portion of this money was spent on water, sanitation or hygiene was calculated and in each case the total divided by the number of people reached, to result in a ‘cost per life transformed’ by each provision.
We estimate that through WaterAid’s work, the £5,879,155 Belu has given to WaterAid since 2011 will reach 391,944 people with clean water.
Knowing what the money could be used to buy also helps clarify its impact:
£15
£30
£50
could help provide hygiene awareness training to a whole community in Zambia.
Everything we do is underpinned by our commitment to delivering UN Sustainable Development Goals 6,12 and 13. It's written into our company articles and helps us in the pursuit of our purpose to change the way the world sees water by 2030.
Choosing Belu Water makes a real, tangible difference because we work hard to run a business that’s as profitable as can be, we invest in carbon reduction, water stewardship and biodiversity along the way – and then we give all our net profit to WaterAid.
Why WaterAid?
1 in 10 people still don’t have clean water close to home and almost 1 in 5 don’t have a decent toilet of their own. Every minute a newborn dies from infection caused by a lack of clean water and an unclean environment. WaterAid works alongside communities in 22 countries around the world, not only to bring clean water, but to enable people to maintain the water supply, stay healthy, share knowledge, regain dignity and thrive…
Matildah | Zambia
Before WaterAid drilled a borehole and installed a water pump, Matildah and her community had to walk 6km to a well that was cloudy and unsafe, causing bilharzia and diarrhoea. With WaterAid’s help, now Matildah says, ‘Our clean water has changed our lives’.
Read the full story HERE
In the Lusaka community of Zambia, 75 households used to have to do 5-7km walks to fetch cloudy and unsafe water from hand-dug wells, leading to frequent illnesses. In 2016 WaterAid installed a borehole and water pump to provide clean water, eliminating open defecation with installed pit latrines and offering hygiene workshops. The community experienced transformative changes with reduced illnesses, increased livestock, and thriving community activities due to newfound time and safety. Matildah’s journey to the pump decreased from hours to minutes, fostering independence and freeing up her time for communal activities like bible readings and church visits.
"We are just happy, the chickens are happy, the goats are happy, the cows are happy, the pigs are happy. Everyone is happy. The community has grown because people have been encouraged to come closer to the clean water for a better life. There is now more of us so we can have more chickens and other livestock and thrive as a community. I feel very independent now - We can do everything with water! Our dreams have come true because we have water. Our clean water has changed our lives."
Anju | Nepal
At Anju’s school the children were often very ill because the only drinking water source was a polluted well. WaterAid installed a water system and taps so everyone has clean water to drink, wash and clean their clothes.
Read the full story HERE
Anju is 14 and lives in Shailung, in the Dolakha District in Nepal. She attends secondary school and prior to WaterAid’s intervention there was a well near her school where she used to get water from. The water was not clean but there were no other options and Anju would become ill after using it. Everyone who drank the water developed coughs, colds and experienced diarrhoea. Anju would also use the dirty water to try to clean her school uniform. Her school installed taps with a filter to clean the water. Now Anju and her classmates have clean water to drink at school and aren’t getting sick. There is also clean water at home, so she can wash her uniform.
"Now since we have water I can come to school wearing a clean uniform, I can properly clean myself and take a bath and come to school."
Arbind & Rupak | Nepal
Water, sanitation and hygiene interventions helped break the silence around menstruation so girls didn’t need to miss school or feel ostracised. This generated a story which WaterAid used to inspire and influence other communities globally.
Read the full story HERE
Multiple WASH (Water and Sanitation Hygiene) projects were completed at Shree Lekhnath Secondary School in Nepal including the introduction of a new drinking water station, renovations of existing water supply systems and bio-sand filter installation to ensure clean drinking water for all pupils and staff at the school. Hand washing stations were also constructed, as well as a menstrual hygiene management room. As a result of these changes the number of students in the school increased. The menstrual hygiene management room has helped open up conversations around menstruation. Students ask for sanitary pads and are more comfortable in managing their menstrual cycles whilst still attending school. Every Friday the toilets are cleaned by the students. Students are aware of how they can improve their hygiene which enables them to be change agents within their society to improve hygiene and sanitation overall. Students are able to concentrate more on their education and feel more empowered.
Rupak says, "The change begins within us. Once you realise what is good and bad, you start improving. So, if I know how to keep myself healthy, I can share the same with others. Once we are healthy, we can study well and do good things in future."
and Arbind says, "I have become aware of keeping the surrounding area clean. Before I didn't care if the house yard is clean or not. But these days, I put the waste and dirt in the garbage pit which I dug myself. I know this is a very tiny effort I made but I also believe that we must begin small."
Champa | Bangladesh
WaterAid has enabled Champa’s women’s group to run their own water business supplying clean water at a good price and in turn creating capital for investment in other businesses like Champa’s shop.
Read the full story HERE
In the Borokuput area the population is 1,278 and 342 households. Borokuput is next to Kholpetua river, where locals used to get water from for a high price. The next closest water source was 5km away, which women and girls would walk to, often meaning the girls missed school. In 2020, WaterAid opened a Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant in Borokuput, operated by a group of women. The plant has a capacity of 500 litres per hour. The women’s group, ‘Aparajita Nari Dal,’ is thriving, generating an average monthly profit of BDT 10,000 (£75), contributing significantly to their family income. They’ve reinvested BDT 80,000 to expand their business and provided a BDT 50,000 loan to Champa. Now active in decision-making at family and community levels, the group has transformed lives in Borokuput, especially for women, who no longer spend hours collecting water.
Champa took a loan from the RO committee to open her tea shop. She aspires to open a bigger shop and a pharmacy one day. She has taken two loans from RO and managed to successfully pay them both back. Before the RO, she spent a lot of time collecting water each day and didn’t have enough time to spend with her son.
"After the RO plant was built, everyone in our community was very healthy... we don't suffer from those diseases anymore. Our time is also saved, we don't have to waste time anymore for water collection every day. I think the RO plant has made massive improvements in our lives. we couldn't rest in the afternoon since we had to go and collect the water. We had to go there right after our lunch and after we finished work in the morning. We couldn't pick up our children from school, we had to go and collect the water. We couldn't spend enough time with our children...if they played on the side of the road, or were in other danger, we weren't aware of it and we weren't there to oversee what they were doing. So, in terms of taking care of our children, I feel like we have more time to do that now because of the RO plant."
Jane | Zambia
WaterAid introduced a borehole, hand pump, 10kl tanks, outdoor taps, boys and girls’ toilets and showers at Jane’s school, shared with the local health clinic. That resulted in less absenteeism, less sickness and more time for studying.
Read the full story HERE
Prior to WaterAid’s intervention in 2017, students and teachers at the school Jane works at in Kazungula district in Zambia would have to queue for long periods at the hand pump at the nearby clinic or walk to the stream for water and use tiny latrine blocks or the open bush for the bathroom. They experienced lots of absenteeism, especially from teenage girls; many students and teachers got sick from the lack of hand washing facilities and waterborne bugs. Some students even claimed they would get into fights at the water pump due to people pushing the queue. There were many cases of diarrhoea and bilharzia.
In 2017, WaterAid began work on a project funded by Helmsley Charitable Trust. The school now has a borehole, hand pump, two 10k-litre tanks, several outdoor taps, and boys’ and girls’ toilets with a shower in the girls’ toilets. These facilities are shared with the local health clinic and the local community (including teachers housing). The school has a water, sanitation and hygiene club made up of several students who learn and teach others about the importance of good hygiene practices and maintaining the water and sanitation facilities.
Our 2023 carbon
footprint
We're on a journey towards a zero carbon future and we've been working with Climate Partner to map out exactly what we need to do to get there.
We’re still following the PAS 2060 framework, tracking and reducing emissions across our entire supply chain, but we don’t believe that offsetting with carbon credits is the right way to go so we’re not ‘Carbon Neutral’. Instead we’re investing in projects focussed on climate resilience and biodiversity which you can read more about HERE.
Our total carbon footprint increased last year – we’re a growing business so that’s not a surprise. The key positive is that we’ve significantly reduced our carbon intensity and we’ll continue to focus on reviewing and reducing that in the short term.
Longer term we have a pathway set, following the SBTI framework and aligning with the Paris Agreement which aims for a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030 against their baseline in order to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. Our SBTI target is 46% reduction from our 2019 baseline.
This involves us working to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions and continuing to influence our suppliers to reduce their scope 3 emissions – as well as continuing to seek out nature based emission sequestering solutions that deliver significant, measurable, real time impact.
HOW WE KEEP OUR CARBON EMISSIONS LOW
NO EXPORT
Our mineral water comes from the UK and stays in the UK.
PLASTIC (really)
Half the emissions to manufacture vs. aluminium cans and easily recycled vs. cartons.
CLOSED LOOP
We turn used bottles into new bottles – 113,619,318 of them to date.
RECYCLABLE
100% recyclable bottles and maximum recycled content.
LIGHTWEIGHT GLASS
UK made, less material used and less weight to transport.
REFILLABLE
Whether it’s Belu Filter in Action, or the tap. It’s the way forward.
We're setting a high standard for sustainability:
Our commitment through the Science Based Targets Initiative is to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions 46% by 2030 (from 2019 base year) and to measure and reduce scope 3 emissions, in alignment with the Paris Agreement.
We’re signed up to the Courtauld Agreement 2030 which encourages collective action across the UK food chain to reduce emissions, cut waste and manage water sustainably.
We’ve invested in the Waste & Resources Action programme to support its work towards achieving a circular economy, by helping businesses and communities reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources efficiently.
All our sustainability claims are independently verified by Provenance to ensure they’re accurate and unambiguous. Their proof points are proudly displayed throughout our webshop – including ‘carbon measured’ and ‘purpose before profit’ which was new for 2023.
Officially ‘People & Planet first’ according to Social Enterprise World Forum, we have been certified a purpose-driven company that focuses on the impact it can have through operations, revenue, use of surplus and structure.
Packaging footprint
Of our total packaging footprint, only 5.3% is plastic and 55% of that is made from recycled material.
The largest part of our packaging footprint is glass (84%) and this is made from up to 45% recycled material and is fully recyclable.
We know that there is still room for improvement. We’d like a better palette wrap that’s still fit for purpose – and tethered and recycled food grade caps (we’re working on those). We’re always on the lookout for genuine sustainable drinks bottle innovation so if you know of any potential collaboration opportunities, please let us know.
Glass (bottles) - 45% recycled & recyclable
Wood (pallets) - reused & re-usable
Polypropelene (labels)
rPet (bottles) - recycled & recyclable
PET (caps) - recyclable
LDPE (case wrap) - 30% recycled
Polycarbonate (19l coolers) - reusable & recyclable
HDPE (pallet wrap)
Aluminium (caps) - recyclable
Cardboard (trays) - recyclable
Organisational footprint
Our organisational footprint is nearly three times that of 2022 (though still very small comparatively).
That’s because we’ve grown the team again to support the growing business. With more global expansion and filtration operations in mind we’ve upped our flights too with business critical trips to Hong Kong, Singapore and Amsterdam. We’ll continue to track this and make organisational decisions that minimise our footprint – because that’s in our DNA.
2022
15 people
55 tonnes C02
2023
23 people
153 tonnes C02
People
TEAM BELU
At the heart of our business is Team Belu. A purposefully ambitious bunch of like-minded souls who love the buzz of hospitality and always strive for sustainability.
We believe that nurturing a happy and healthy team is best for business and our 2023 ‘Great Place to Work’ scores confirmed that our flexible working, salary transparency, incentives supporting health and wellbeing as well as the way we work towards our shared purpose is giving Team Belu plenty of good reasons to get out of bed in the morning. Read more HERE.
('Carry a Belu tote at all times' isn't in our contract... we just really like them.)
We're always looking for ways to keep on improving our Filtration Offering. Nolan and Luke ventured to Aquatech so we're bang up to date with all the latest technology and insight.
The Business Development team's calendar was well filled with networking, customer meetings and trade events. Here are Jess and Georgia in action.
Brilliant to get to visit our water source in the beautiful Welsh countryside - and to check in with our supply chain partners MSW too.
Some inspiring introduction sessions courtesy of our impact partner WaterAid this year. Always good for newbies (and oldies) to be reminded why we do what we do.
Jen from the customer team kept her steps up with customer visits. Team training and check ins across London and beyond. Accompanied here by Stan.
Our horsebox bar quenched festival goers thirst at two sensational Smoked & Uncut events, hosted by founding Belu Collective members, the PIG hotels.
We love to knowledge share... taking part in plenty of podcasts, presentations and panels. Here's Lydia after a session at the South London Careers Hub Sustainability Summit.
Joe, our first Belu in house engineer joined the team and he's been helping us deliver our best-in-class service ever since.
Even in the rain, long term Belu Collective member Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons is a beautiful place to be, as Nolan discovered at their Bastille day event.
Co Ceo Charlotte enjoyed a good 'float chat' with Milk & More and helped load up with re-useable Belu bottles for thirsty customers.
Over in Hong Kong, Claire has been busy expanding the Belu Collective. Here she is with Filter in Action partners Pizza Express HK after speaking at their ESG event.
WaterAid's 'Art of Change' exhibition was a highlight. Beautiful artworks from some very famous faces being auctioned for an extremely worthy cause.
Our HQ is in Borough Yards and there's often something great to get involved in once it's tools down time... like enjoying a spot of Wimbledon action.
The Beluniverse
Our customers make our world go round. In 2023 96 new partners joined the Belu Collective.
The Belu Collective
We welcomed a wonderfully varied collection of restaurants, hotels, workplaces and more to the Belu Collective in 2023. Here are just a few of our new and renewed partnerships:
At Borough Yard's Akara, sister to Michelin award winning Akoko, the West African menus are accompanied by Belu Filter in Action.
We're delighted that Belu Filter in Action is now free flowing across 18 Pizza Express sites in Hong Kong.
French brasserie Côte renewed our long term partnership and will be continuing to serve Belu mineral water alongside their delectable dishes.
The beautiful Corinthia Hotel now serve our still and sparkling mineral water in glass bottles to guests in their restaurant.
Another year of Belu mineral water being part of the delizioso seasonal Italian menu served up across Ask Italian's restaurants.
Swire Hotel group (one of the founding members of the Belu Collective in Hong Kong) have chosen to expand their Belu water offering into their Continental and Feast Restaurants.
Brilliant Bone Daddies began by trialling Filter in Action - and then rolled it out across the business.
Wonderful to have the impeccable Firmdale Hotels as part of the Belu Collective for another year.
Bao buns and Belu still and sparkling water on tap. It turns out they're perfect partners.
We've been stocked in lovely Gail's branches for a while but their Herne Hill branch was a new addition to the fold this year.
The Bull in at Totnes has caught a lot of attention because of it's excellent sustainability credentials. Serving Belu filtered water was the natural choice for them.
London's Marksman pub is now part of the Belu Collective and we're looking forward to sipping Belu on their roof garden once the sun appears.
We installed Filter in Action in our first Brunning & Price Pub - The Mill House in Surrey and are looking forward to bringing Belu to many more of their venues.
Belu filtration became a staple part of the Zurich team's day as we enabled them to switch out single use and champion refilling.
In Hong Kong, the inimitable Bar Leone now serves Belu filtered water alongside its extensive and exciting cocktail menu.
We took Filter in Action to the slopes at Alpine venue Portetta (the snowy sister to Hampshire's Lime Wood hotel).
Apex hotels, with 8 venues across the UK, have introduced Belu Filter in Action into public areas so guests can refill whenever they like.
The Devonshire is famed for serving up the 'best pint of Guinness in London'. It serves some pretty fantastic filtered water too.
Mott 32, the multi award winning, world class Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong has been an exciting addition to the Belu Collective.
...and there are so many more too - THANK YOU all, for choosing to Drink the Difference.
Our supply partners.
We're very lucky to have a supply chain that's made up of companies that understand our aims and support us in our purpose.
We’re aligned in ‘doing business better’ working closely to improve our sustainability and efficiency. Our filtration partners supplied best-in-class equipment, tailored filter machines and support in servicing and maintenance throughout 2023 and we have had some very useful discussions about developing our product portfolio for the future.
Our long term mineral water partners (who share our values and keep our water flowing) both have inspiring 2023 stories:
Montgomery
Our indispensable mineral water partner, Montgomery Waters installed a new bottling line at the beginning of 2023. Upping their speed of production from 3-4 pallets (up to 5,184 bottles) filled per hour up to an impressive 7-10 pallets per hour (up to 12,000 bottles).
Read more
On average they are now producing 1000 pallets of Belu mineral water per month – a 37% increase. Previously we were sometimes under pressure to get hold of enough stock to fulfil orders, but now, thanks to Montgomery, we are well placed to provide the best possible provision and level of service 100% of the time.
Encirc
Our trailblazing bottle supplier continued with their plans to decarbonise their furnaces, which is essential for reducing their scope 1 emissions (and in turn Belu’s scope 3 emissions from glass production). At their Elton factory, they are working with the HyNet collaboration to bring low carbon hydrogen to Cheshire from 2028.
Read more
This will power local businesses including Encirc’s existing and future furnaces. Meanwhile, collaborations began in Northern Ireland to understand how low-carbon bio fuels can be generated and fed into the gas network, to decarbonise furnaces in Encirc’s County Fermanagh plant. Their rail trials were successful which included taking glass to customer warehouses via rail rather than lorry. Each train takes the equivalent of 66 lorries off the roads so that’s definitely significant for emissions reduction. We look forward to seeing this work continue and hearing more about the benefits of moving to rail transportation.
Impact partners
Water stewardship, thought leadership, conserving habitats and encouraging biodiversity. That’s what we’ve been up to with our impact partners.
WaterAid
Since 2011 we have given WaterAid £5.8m to help transform lives with clean water. But that’s not all. We have a close relationship and have partnered on some very thought-provoking projects this year to build awareness of water scarcity and bringing people together to consider ways to address it.
Thames 21
Blue Marine Foundation
WRAP
The Waste and Resources Action Programme works towards circular economy. We’ve signed up to the Courtauld commitment to reduce waste, cut plastic and consider sustainable water management and we have a horticulture based water stewardship project in the pipeline too so watch this space
Rivers Trust
We’ve continued to support the Rivers Trust by funding their data portal project. Mapping water quality date and the areas across the UK at risk of flooding and drought so that solutions for water stewardship can be put into place. The portal also tracks UK water stewardship projects (like the regeneration work we funded last year around the Montgomery Canal).
Our Strategic partners
Another year of sharing ideas and building brilliant relationships with our strategic partners. And there are some new names included here for 2023.
Connecting businesses and accelerating change towards a more socially progressive and sustainable hospitality industry, through the Food Made Good framework.
NEW for 2023.The organisation behind the international eco-label awarded to hotels and restaurants which commit to sustainable business practices and comply with specific criteria.
NEW for 2023.The professional body for managers and aspiring managers working in hospitality, leisure and tourism. A network for knowledge sharing and progression.
A community created to reward, inspire and educate hospitality professionals. Home of the Good Food Guide and a wealth of resources and benefits.
The world’s largest network of businesses with a social or environmental purpose. Influencing decision makers to create an environment for social enterprises to thrive.
NEW for 2023.The monthly business magazine and daily news resource for hotel professionals. Showcasing innovation and championing achievements within hospitality.
The leading wine media brand, with online wine hub, newsletter and events to showcase fine wines and inspirational stories from the industry.
Awards
We added some new shiny awards to the Belu trophy cabinet in 2023 too.
The prestigious Drinks Business Asian Awards, recognised the growth of Belu filtration in Hong Kong and our commitment to the SDGs, by awarding us their Green Company of the Year award.
We bagged our first Marie Claire Sustainability Award in recognition of being one of ‘the best sustainable brands in the world’.
NatWest & Pioneers Post listed us as one of their 100 top social enterprises and our Co CEO Charlotte deservedly featured on the NatWest WISE 100 list, recognising the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise and mission driven business.
Product
WATER - IN ALL THE BEST WAYS
One of the reasons we've had our highest revenue to date this year is that our products are industry leading.
More customers have been choosing to serve our UK mineral water, mixers and filtered water because of our sustainability credentials, social enterprise model and our customer focussed service.
Filter in Action
With 216 new filtration machines installed in 2023 (our biggest number yet) the total number of Belu machines across the UK and Hong Kong is now 627. So that’s 627 sources of perfectly chilled still or sparkling, hot or ambient, Belu filtered water keeping hotel guests, restaurant customers and office teams happily hydrated.
Read more
We know that this means a lot of bottles are being saved and a lot of carbon footprints are being lowered but excitingly we’ve made a major step forward in measuring this by beginning to track the water usage of our filtration machines. Not only does this mean we can provide customers with accurate data to support their sustainability journeys, it also means they’re able to better understand their water footprint and potentially reduce water wastage.
10.5 million litres
of Belu filtered water poured in 2023*.
14 million
750ml Belu glass bottles saved through Filter in Action in 2023*.
22 million
750ml Belu glass bottles saved through Filter in Action since 2020*.
– that’s enough to reach 15 times around the globe if you laid them end to end.
*based on our NEW usage data
Mixers
Our boldly packaged, lively tonics and mixers still set the standard for sustainability in the category. With 70% recycled glass, sustainably sourced ingredients, lower than average sugar and unique flavour profiles, they’re the best partners for fabulous cocktails or classic combos. In fact, our Classic Tonic bagged a 2023 Great Taste Award which says it all.
Read more
We welcomed independent drinks distributor Pigs Ears to the Belu Collective in 2023 and we’re actively seeking more potential wholesale, retail and stockist opportunities. If you’re looking to shake up your tonic, mixer and soft drink offering with purpose led products, we’d love to hear from you!
Mineral water
Our still and sparkling mineral water is bottled at source in the former volcanic hills of Powys, Wales. It still comes in our ethical lightweight glass bottles which are at least 35% recycled, or our 100% recycled PET* grab and go bottles with natural caps. Both formats are fully recyclable and never for export. This year we streamlined our glass range, keeping 750ml and 330ml, but saying goodbye to the 1l and 500ml formats because they just didn’t stack up sustainably or commercially.
Read more
The elegance of our glass bottles and the on-shelf standout of our ‘purposeful’ grab and go bottles makes Belu the ideal choice for all kinds of hospitality venue. That’s why our mineral water customers range from exclusive luxury hotels like the Firmdale group (Ham Yard, Charlotte Street Hotel & more) to well loved hospitality groups like the Azzuri Group (Zizzi, ASK Italian & more) plus sustainability champions Planet Organic, brilliant bakery Gail’s and Ole & Steen; and so many other hospitality hotspots.
Click HERE to see why long term partners Red Carnation choose to partner with Belu.
(*not the cap and label yet but we’re working on it)
4.2 million
Litres of water sold in RPET in 2023.
8.1 million
Litres of water sold in glass in 2023.
Global
2023 has been a big year for Filter in Action in Hong Kong, with 30 new Belu machines installed, bringing the total number to 52.
Three years after being approached by The Upper House (recently voted number 4 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants) to be their sustainable water partner, Belu Hong Kong is still growing steadily. We don’t export mineral water to Hong Kong, but with new single use plastic legislation and municipal waste charges coming into force, Hong Kong businesses are considering ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, which is where Belu Filter in Action can help.
Drink the difference
How choosing Belu is helping businesses make a measurable difference to their carbon footprints, and supporting their sustainability goals:
Profit
Our final 'P' is Profit.
The output from another year of trading in a hospitality industry which has definitely got its mojo back, and with workplaces which are beginning to buzz again.
Another year of investing to grow and already our larger team, upgraded systems and bigger picture thinking are benefitting our customers and partners through improved service and efficiency. We’re excited to see what the future holds now we are best set for success and for maintaining and increasing our profit figures – so we can keep on delivering real impact.
How our 2023 profit figure looks.
How our 2023 revenue figure looks.
What's next for 2024?
We've got big plans (and we've started actioning some of them already).
Watch out for our new team of service engineers who, along with our dedicated service and maintenance partners, will be busy maintaining and servicing Belu Filtration machines throughout the land. Plus there’s a hi-tech water insight gathering solution for Filter in Action that we’re hoping to roll out (watch this space). We have some very snazzy (and sustainable) refillable bottles in the pipeline and our RPET bottles will be moving to tethered caps at some point soon. We may well have some exciting mixer related news to share, we’ll be adding two more UN SDG’s to our Purpose P&L …and Belu will be launching in at least one more global location this year (hello Belu Singapore!).
A final word from Belu Co-CEOs, Nat & Charlotte.
In a world where there are challenges around every corner, one thing is certain. We all need water. It is so easy for us to take it for granted (it covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface after all) but if we take a moment to notice it, appreciate it and consider life without it. To take small steps towards using a little bit less, to put practices in place at work and at home to conserve it. To support the organisations who are already experts at taking care of it and the charities that ensure it safely reaches the people without, then ‘changing the way the world sees water’ is not an impossible dream. Being able to give £377,038 to WaterAid to help transform lives with clean water for another year is another step towards our goal of investing a total of £15m by 2030 in pursuit of this purpose. And it’s also a privilege that we don’t take lightly. Roll on another year of changing the way the world sees water together.
The credits
Everything we’ve talked about in this Impact Report wouldn’t have happened without the help of a whole network of brilliant businesses and incredible individuals.
