DALLAS, Nov. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
Since its inception in 2014, the Toilets Change Lives program
has helped improve access to sanitation to approximately 300,000
people in need. Several Kimberly-Clark brands, including Andrex,
Scott and Neve, have partnered with key retailers in 10 countries
to sell special promotional packs that help support potentially
life-saving programs through donations to NGOs such as UNICEF,
Water for People and WaterAid.
In India, for example,
Kimberly-Clark has partnered with Charities Aid Foundation India to
address the issue of open defecation through work to provide clean,
safe toilets in schools and early child development centers.
Additionally, the company is creating a sustainable market-driven
model in partnership with the Toilet Board Coalition and Svadha, a
sanitation focused social enterprise. The program trains villagers
to become 'Sani-preneurs' who can build and sell toilets. This
holistic approach, which galvanizes both demand and supply of
toilets, aims to bring a sustainable solution to open defecation in
India.
"We're asking our consumers and our employees to purchase our
products, share posts and stories through social media to enable
contributions, or consider donating to support the cause," said
Lisa Morden, Global Sustainability
director for Kimberly-Clark. "Through our Sustainability 2022
strategy, we hope to improve the social and physical well-being of
people in need around the world, and make a lasting difference that
realizes our company's purpose of making lives better."
For more information about Kimberly-Clark's commitment to
sanitation or to access the work of our brands related to the
issue, search "Toilets Change Lives" on Facebook.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are
an indispensable part of life for people in 175 countries. Every
day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust
Kimberly-Clark's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance
their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex,
Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds
the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries. To keep up with
the latest news and to learn more about the company's 144-year
history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on
Facebook or Twitter.
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