Belu & WaterAid: A backstory
Belu was set up in 2007 with the intention of proving that there was a way for business to create positive impact in the world.
You’d think being a planet made up of 71% water, we’d have an abundance of the stuff to go around. However, water needs to be purified, clean and free of contaminants to be safe enough to drink, bathe in and use for cooking. Did you know almost 1 in 10 people still don’t have clean water close to home – that’s a massive 703 million globally – and almost 1 in 5 people don’t have a decent toilet of their own?
Over a million women and newborn babies die each year from preventable infections linked to unclean births, and almost 2 billion people don’t have handwashing facilities at home. We don’t think that’s right or fair, given we can turn on a tap in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore (where we operate globally) and receive clean water without a second thought.
Belu was set up to show the power that business can have and the real world impact of using profit for a good cause. The money we give to WaterAid helps fund their work across 22 countries and means that thousands of people can build better lives and futures. With clean water close to home, people are healthier, women and girls spend less time collecting water, children have freedom to play and adults can earn a living. Water has a knock on effect in so many aspects of life from our infrastructure and sanitation in hospitals to agriculture, food growth and ability to build businesses, increase employment and life quality. Whole communities thrive.
Since 2011, Belu has given WaterAid more than £5.8 million, enough to transform over 330,000 lives worldwide with clean water.
What work does Belu fund?
Anything and everything. We mean it. From installing taps, toilets, boreholes and wells to staffing, admin and influencing government policies around water, toilets and hygiene. We give to WaterAid on a flexible funding basis (also known as unrestricted funding) which means WaterAid allocates the money where it’s most needed and can have the greatest impact. This method of funding provides WaterAid with the flexibility to effectively pursue their mission, freedom to innovate, financial security to plan ahead and a greater ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Why does Belu choose to fund WaterAid’s work in this way?
Belu’s funding enables WaterAid to work closely alongside communities and with partners over the long-term, increasing the sustainability of their operations. It means they can help strengthen networks of people and institutions to work together so that these services can continue to have an impact in years to come.
In the Analamanga region of Madagascar, flexible funding has enabled WaterAid to build toilets and handwashing facilities in schools and health centres. It has also helped them engage people at a local, regional and national level to establish strong systems for planning, monitoring and regulating services for the long-term.
When emergency situations occur, such as a flood or disease outbreak, WaterAid can use flexible funds to quickly respond to challenging situations. In May 2024, WaterAid used unrestricted funds to respond quickly to provide communities with clean drinking water when cyclone Remal brought flooding to Patuakhali district, Bangladesh.
Flexible funding also gives WaterAid freedom to test new approaches, gather insight and evidence and to progress and innovate on their work. As a result, even more lives are changed for good.
What about other impact partnerships?
Alongside our partnership with WaterAid, we have many other impact partners we work with, including The Rivers Trust, Thames21, WRAP, SE:UK and Blue Marine Foundation. You can read more about those partnerships here. These partnerships involve impact investments made by Belu for specific nature-based projects across the UK. In this instance we can point to particular projects that customers have helped to fund, such as the restoration of the River Ravensbourne and Glassmill Pond in Bromley, South London. You can read more about this project here.
For enquiries about our partnerships, contact [email protected].
