Belu is not a B Corp because we take a different route. We are a social enterprise that gives 100% of net profits to WaterAid, embed purpose into our ownership and governance, and report transparently on our impact. We also choose a long-term net zero pathway rather than relying on carbon neutral claims that depend heavily on offsetting.
What is a B Corp and why do businesses choose it?
A B Corp is a company that has been independently certified to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, governance and transparency.
To achieve certification, businesses go through a detailed assessment that looks at how they are run and how they show up in the world. This includes their decision making, how they treat their people, their impact on communities, their environmental performance and how responsibly they serve their customers.
For many companies, becoming a B Corp is a clear signal that they are balancing profit with purpose and holding themselves to an independent standard.
Why Belu isn’t a B Corp
Put simply, we are a business that thinks and does things differently. We could apply for B Corp status and we’re not against brands that do. It’s a good first step into moving the world towards a more sustainable future.
Our model goes beyond certification because it is built into how the business is owned, governed and run every day. We give 100% of our net profits to fund clean water projects through WaterAid. We are owned by a charity, the Belu Foundation, and our articles of association are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This means our purpose is not something we prove through a badge. It is written into how our business operates.
Since 2011 we have given over £6.5m to WaterAid. That funding has helped transform lives in places like Madagascar, Nepal and Malawi with access to clean water and sanitation. It is a big part of why we exist and why our partners choose to work with us.
B Corp is one framework, but it is not the only way to be a responsible business. For us, the structure of our business and the decisions we make every day go further than certification alone. We focus on impact first. We’ve signed up for The Better Business Act which is a flagship policy campaign from B Lab UK. Their mission is simple but transformative: to amend UK law so that every company aligns the interests of shareholders with those of wider society and the environment.
What we do instead
Rather than pursuing certification, we focus on building a business where purpose is visible in everything we do.
Our governance model ensures that profit flows directly into impact. Being foundation owned means decisions are made in line with our mission, and we have a legal commitment to give 100% of our profit into our purpose.
We also prioritise transparency. Each year we publish our Purpose in Progress report, which takes an honest look at our impact, our people, our product and our profit. It is not just about what has gone well, but where we need to improve.
Most importantly, we focus on measurable impact. Every part of the business connects back to real outcomes. That includes funding clean water access through WaterAid, reducing our environmental footprint across our operations and supply chain, and working with our impact partners across the UK to support better water stewardship.
Why we aren’t carbon neutral
You might notice we do not claim to be carbon neutral. That is a deliberate choice. While we used to carbon offset, we moved away from that decision in 2021 to a nature-based solutions model in a strategic decision to prioritise impact first activity with real tangible outcomes. Nature based solutions deliver the same positive outcomes as many offsetting projects but are not verified to the same standard so therefore cannot be called offsetting.
Carbon neutral typically means balancing emissions by offsetting them, often through projects like tree planting or renewable energy. While this can play a role, it can also allow businesses to compensate for emissions without significantly reducing them at source.
In simple terms, a company could continue to emit high levels of carbon, buy offsets and still call itself carbon neutral. That does not reflect the level of change needed to address climate challenges or deliver against goals like responsible consumption and climate action.
Our approach: on a journey to a zero carbon future
Instead of aiming for carbon neutrality, we are focused on reaching net zero.
Net zero takes a different approach. It starts with measuring emissions across the whole business and supply chain, then reducing them as much as possible, and only offsetting what cannot yet be removed.
For Belu, this is a more honest and more ambitious way forward. It requires real change in how we operate, from how our products are made and packaged to how they are transported and used. It also means working closely with our supply chain and investing in long term climate solutions that deliver real impact.
For example we work closely with our glass manufacturer Encirc to reduce the amount of glass needed to produce our bottle. We light-weight our glass so that its lighter to ship therefore saving significant carbon.
Doing business differently
Belu exists to challenge the idea that business has to choose between profit and purpose.
We are not a B Corp, and we are not carbon neutral.
Instead, we are a social enterprise that gives all profits away, a business designed to deliver impact first, and a brand committed to long term climate action.
We believe that is a better way to do business.
