Corporate ‘Toilet Coalition’ Takes Care of Business of Sanitation
This article originally posted on ImpactAlpha
As the classic children’s book says, “Everyone poops.”
That makes the global sanitation crisis an opportunity for top global corporations to deepen their relationship with an emerging class of global consumers and their own employees. The UN estimates that more than a third of the world’s population, or 2.5 billion people, lack basic sanitation services such as toilets and latrines.
Lack of sanitation leads to multiple health and economic challenges, including children, particularly girls, missing school and reduced productivity due to illness. Universal access to sanitation is No. 6 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The coalition of companies, investors, sanitation experts and non-profit organizations wants to scale market-based solutions to sanitation. TBC’s corporate members – consumer-goods giants Unilever, LIXIL, Kimberly-Clark and Firmenich – know how to run businesses. Experts at bringing complex solutions to scale, from creating demand to building supply chains, they have a deep understanding of consumer incentives and business models.For the Toilet Board Coalition, a new toilet innovation accelerator, taking care of business is just good business. A World Bank report, “The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India,” found that improving sanitation infrastructure in India alone could be a $152 billion market. The TBC is the world’s first business-led accelerator.
