Who knew? Yesterday was World Toilet Day! As explained by the good people at http://www.worldtoiletday.org/:
“World Toilet Day is observed annually on 19 November. This international day of action aims to break the taboo around toilets and draw attention to the global sanitation challenge. … World Toilet Day brings together different groups, such as media, the private sector, development organisations and civil society in a global movement to advocate for safe toilets. Since its inception in 2001, World Toilet Day has become an important platform to demand action from governments and to reach out to wider audiences by showing that toilets can be fun and sexy as well as vital to life.”
Why is this important?
- 2.5 billion people do not have a clean toilet
- 1.1 billion people defecate in the open
- Investing $1 in sanitation generates a return of $5
This reminds me of the phenomenal work done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (see: Strategic CSR - Toilets) and others to improve this situation. It is astounding that we still face basic health challenges like this in the twenty-first century.
For more discussion of this subject, see this op-ed piece that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/opinion/bill-gates-cant-build-a-toilet.html
I am travelling on Friday, so I will see you on Monday.
Have a good weekend
David
David Chandler & Bill Werther
Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: http://www.sagepub.com/chandler3e/
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: http://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/
