NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

2.5 billion in the world have inadequate sanitation. For businesses, that’s 2.5 billion opportunities to increase sales of infrastructure, plumbing, hygiene and cleaning products. Unilever has recognized the magnitude of the global sanitation crisis, the potential for solving it and helped lead the formation of the Toilet Board Coalition(TBC) to do their part.

Speaking to Jean-Laurent Ingles, Global Senior VP of Household Care at Unilever, it is evident that senior Unilever executives have taken on tackling the global sanitation crisis with passionate commitment:

“This is right now one of the greatest world catastrophes… The environment is changing and more people are ready to act. People are now developing a better understanding of all the knock-on effects of inadequate sanitation such as: poor healthcare, lack of safety, women’s safety, hindrances to education access, many associated problems for young menstruating women, children’s development, nutrition.”

Mr. Ingles who has been with Unilever since 1991 and is also Chairman of the TBC speaks candidly about the magnitude of the problem and the necessity to pool their resources to solve the problem: “The issue of sanitation is very complex. In order to address issues across the sanitation ecosystem, we need everyone at the table: people in government, corporations and NGOs.”