From left to right: Joppe Cramwinckel, Director WBCSD Water Program, Virginia Roaf, Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation, Carlo Galli, Technical and Strategic Advisor Water Resources, Nestlé, Dorothea Wiplinger, Sustainability Manager, Borealis AG, Alfred Stern, Executive VP Polyolefins, Borealis AG, during the launch event.
The pledge for access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is now launched. By signing it companies commit to providing appropriate access to safe WASH for all employees under direct company control within three years of signature. Borealis AG, EDF, Greif, Nestlé, Deloitte LLP, Unilever, Hindustran Construction Company and Roche Group have already committed. As presented today by Dorothea Wiplinger from Borealis and Carlo Galli from Nestlé, there is a tangible business benefit, for e.g. in terms of employees' health and satisfaction, and there is space for improvement even for companies who already present leading practices in this area, especially in terms of hygiene education. The guiding principles developed together with the pledge provide information about good practice in terms of water, sanitation and hygiene, and drawing companies' attention to issues like special needs for women, disabled or elderly people, cultural sensitivies and others. As emphasized by Virginia Roaf, advisor to the UN special rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, business has a responsibility to respect human rights, even in locations where appropriate government regulation is not in place, acknowledging however that States are of course human right's duty bearers in the first place.
Appropriate access to WASH in companies' direct operations is a necessary first step. If the 180+ WBCSD member companies were to implement the pledge, over 15 million employees would have access to safe WASH at the workplace. However, this is only the start of the business contribution on the journey to increasing sustainable access for the billions of people who go without. Businesses are indeed encouraged to go beyond their fence line and engage with supply chains and surrounding communities to scale up impact.
Listen to Carlo Galli from Nestlé explaining why in his perspective committing and implementing this pledge is an important step for the business community at large:
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