This November 19, on World Toilet Day, Kimberly-Clark renews its commitment to its Toilets Change Lives program, a multi-national commercial program that leverages the power of its well-known brands to educate consumers and help solve the global sanitation crisis.
The United Nations General Assembly officially designated World Toilet Day in 2013 to raise awareness and inspire efforts to tackle the global sanitation crisis. A lack of basic sanitation affects more than 2.4 billion people around the world, making ‘access to water and sanitation for all’ an important platform for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The reality of what this means for so many people is profound. Countless children miss school because of the spread of life-threatening diseases and infection from a lack of basic sanitation. And millions of girls miss school every month because menstruation becomes too hard to manage without access to proper facilities.
“Access to safe, clean, sanitation facilities should be a basic, human right,” said Mauricio Troncoso, vice president and managing director for Western Europe for Kimberly-Clark Corporation. “The nature of our business gives us a unique understanding of sanitation and toilets, and the opportunity to improve and change lives for the better.”
One of the keys to solving the crisis is the Toilet Board Coalition, a business led public-private partnership co-founded by Kimberly-Clark. Now in its fourth year, its members are multinational corporations, development experts, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and social investors who share a joint vision and mission to support and accelerate commercially sustainable business models dedicated to building smart, sustainable sanitation systems for the future while delivering sanitation to all.
With the help of Kimberly-Clark leaders with a wide variety of skills from marketing, sales, finance, research, logistics and human resources, the Toilet Board Coalition is providing access to innovation and support for business processes that help entrepreneurs focus on the goal – to provide sustainable access to a proper toilet.
“This model works because it’s about mutual benefit. Kimberly-Clark can gain so much from working with entrepreneurial young businesses,” added Troncoso, who also was recently named chairman for the Toilet Board Coalition. “Thus far, we’ve been given direct insight into consumer behavior and we’ve been greatly inspired by the enthusiasm and drive of our mentees. And at the same time, we can help provide the expertise that will get growing businesses over the start line, to start solving the issue for good.”
In addition, Kimberly-Clark is rallying employees, customers and consumers behind a large-scale multi-national program titled Toilets Change Lives. It brings the global sanitation crisis to the forefront through its well-known global brands to help fund potentially life-saving programs.
http://investor.kimberly-clark.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1000147