Bluephage becomes the first biotech company specializing in microbiological water analysis to achieve B Corp certification

Bluephage, a benchmark company in the biotechnology sector specializing in products for microbiological water analysis, has become a B Corp for compiling with the highest standards in terms of social and environmental performance, transparency, and corporate responsibility.

B Corporations (or B Corps) lead a global movement of people using the power of business to make a
positive impact. They are a growing group of nearly 4,000 companies working to create systemic change and build an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative economic model for everyone and the planet. Bluephage was born in 2016 at the University of Barcelona as a spin-off to promote and commercialize a patented technology developed at the University of Barcelona by the Health-Related Water Microbiology – MARS group, to reduce the result time of microbial water analysis to only 5 hours. For more than three decades, the MARS group has been studying bacteriophages as indicators of the microbiological quality of water, and this work has been the basis for the creation of the company Bluephage.

“At Bluephage, we are committed to our vision of Safe Water for a Better World and our mission to help millions of people around the world obtain safe water for drinking, hygiene, and agricultural uses. We will now reinforce these goals of social, economic, and environmental sustainability with the B Corporation Certification,” says Enric Queralt, CEO of Bluephage.

In an international context where more than 2.5 billion people do not have access to safe water,
Bluephage takes on the social responsibility to provide a cost-effective and accessible solution for
water testing laboratories, water supply, and sanitation companies, as well as water and health
authorities to perform regular environmental water testing reliably, quickly and efficiently. In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number six – “Ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all” – Bluephage’s vision and purpose are to help thousands of
people obtain safe drinking water.

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the fourth edition of the Guidelines for
Drinking Water Quality. The chapter on water safety plans recommends using more robust indicators,
such as bacteriophages, for microbial water quality testing and more frequent water testing for fecal
indicator organisms to detect contamination and prevent waterborne diseases.

In early 2021, the European Commission adopted a new Drinking Water Directive that requires testing
for coliphages as a viral indicator in water because when this virus is present, other pathogenic viruses
may appear in the environment but in lower concentrations. Thus, monitoring this viral indicator can
prevent some diseases related to human viruses. Given this reality, the innovation offered by
Bluephage is a revolutionary method to simplify and accelerate the detection and enumeration of
coliphages in water.

B Corp Certification measures management performance across the company and covers five key impact areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. The certification process is rigorous, must score more than 80 points, and provide evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices, including energy supply, water, and waste use, workers’ compensation, diversity, and corporate transparency. To complete certification, the company must legally incorporate its commitment to social purpose into its company bylaws.

Enric Queralt, CEO of Bluephage, comments: “Since 2016, Bluephage has been working to impact the
prevention of a global water-related crisis positively, and now, in 2021, we are very proud to have
achieved B Corporation certification. This certification recognizes and reinforces our mission, vision, values, how we engage with all our stakeholders and supply chain and ensure this commitment to our customers.”

Recent attention in the biotechnology and water testing sector makes Bluephage’s B Corp certification
a significant step and signals a shift towards greater accountability and transparency in the industry.
B Corp certification of Bluephage is a remarkable step and signals a shift towards greater accountability and transparency in the sector.

Pablo Sanchez, CEO of B Lab Spain, says: “We are delighted to welcome Bluephage to the B Corp
community. This community works to reduce inequality, respect and regenerate the environment,
strengthen communities and create high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose. Bluephage is a new
member of the B Corp community, demonstrating by example how these results can be achieved”.