Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages Becomes a Certified B Corp, Earning One of the Highest Scores in the Beverage Industry and the Highest Ever for a Water Brand

HILO, HAWAII, Aug. 13, 2025 - Waiakea — the beverage company that pioneered the use of 100% post-consumer recycled bottles, built its own 501(c)(3) Kokua Initiative to uplift Hawaii’s communities, and prioritizes sustainable sourcing — has officially been recognized as a Certified B Corporation™, joining a global movement of companies using business as a force for good.

The B Impact Assessment, overseen by nonprofit B Lab, rigorously evaluates a company’s operations across five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. To attain a passing mark, a brand must score 80. Waiakea scored 126.6, a score that not only exceeded the threshold by more than 50%, but placed the brand in the top 5 percent of all B Corps globally. To date, only a handful of beverage brands have crossed the 120-point threshold. Waiakea is not only among the top brands in beverage, it leads the category for water.

“We have been working towards this achievement for several years and are very excited to receive such an incredible score and certification by B Lab.” said Ryan Emmons, Waiakea’s founder and CEO. “We’ve always viewed it as our kuleana to care for the land, be a catalyst for change in our industry, and bring our community with us on the journey. This achievement follows our reincorporation in 2023 as a Public Benefit Corporation that is legally obligated to pursue our triple bottom line model that prioritizes people and planet.”

Waiakea’s standout achievements include:

• Circular packaging, with all OceanPlast™, bottles made from 100% post-consumer recycled oceanbound plastic.
• Sustainable sourcing, drawing a fraction of a single percentage point from one of the most renewable aquifers on Earth, with a recharge rate of more than 898 million gallons per day.
• Commitment to community, by founding and scaling the award-winning Kokua Initiative, which has partnered with 175+ other non-profits, community leaders, and organizations to impact over  556,000 lives through ‘aina (land) based conservation projects and programs to help the most vulnerable. 

This achievement speaks to the brand’s foundational core value, Live Aloha, which has guided the company since day one. Remembering its roots has helped a company from the small town of Hilo be a guiding light for the entire beverage and consumer packaged goods industry. For Waiakea, that future is clear, sustainable, and full of purpose. 

About Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages:

Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages was founded in Hilo, Hawai‘i in 2012, with the stated mission of sustainably providing naturally healthy Hawaiian coffee and water products while contributing to and promoting clean water access, conservation, and education for those in need in Hawai’i and throughout the world. Available at over 55,000 retail locations across the nation, including Whole Foods, 7-Eleven, Walmart, and more. Waiakea was the first in the U.S. and all of North America to use 100% post-consumer recycled packaging in 2012, and continues to be the enviro-tech leader of its category for this, its sustainable sourcing, its role as a catalyst in the circular bottle to bottle economy, and more. Its award-winning taste is derived from its filtration through 14,000 feet of volcanic rock making it naturally alkaline and electrolyte-rich. Through its non-profit foundation, the Kokua initiative, Waiakea works to empower the people of Hawai'i through a “3 piko” approach, a traditional Hawaiian concept honoring the past, present, and future generations,  that encourages educational opportunities, 'aina-based conservation & sustainability, and support for the most vulnerable in our community. Since its inception, the project has impacted over 556,000 people in Hawai’i.

For more information, please visit the Waiakea website and follow along on Instagram @Waiakea.