Business

Businesses are increasingly addressing WASH in the workplace, often within the broader context of mainstreaming water stewardship, improving worker welfare, and the realizing the human rights to water and sanitation. However, to meet the ambition of the SDGs, more needs to be done, especially to reach women and girls.

To address WASH challenges in the workplace, communities where workers live, and across supply chains, your company can:

1. Access resources that that support the business case for WASH investments and assess your company’s WASH impact areas.

 

2. Ensure all employees have access to clean drinking water, safe sanitation, and appropriate hygiene in the workplace.

 

3. Mitigate negative impacts on community WASH by improving water efficiency, managing pollutants, and treating wastewater as part of a broader water stewardship framework.

 

4. Leverage your company’s position to promote and require clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for workers in the workplace and responsible water stewardship by your company’s suppliers.

 

5. Collaborate with and support governments to ensure WASH provision in communities.

  • WASH4Work Resource: Engage with local and national governments and development partners, including through the Sanitation and Water for All political dialogue at national and global levels.

 

6. Engage employees in promoting accepted WASH in the workplace, supply chain and communities.

  • WASH4Work Resource: To be identified.

 

7. Communicate widely (through e.g. corporate reporting) to consumers and stakeholders about the importance that the company places on WASH and actions they can take to support WASH delivery at scale through actions set out in WASH4Work.

  • WASH4Work Resource: WASH4Work Infographic.

 

8. Work with WASH4Work partners to implement on the ground action, learn from others, and share experiences.

  • WASH4Work Resource: WASH4Work Partners.

 

These actions will be updated over time

Overall WASH4Work Resource: The forthcoming WASH4Work Action Framework will outline these contributions in more detail, and provide further guidance and resources to interested companies.

Government

To help create an enabling environment for business action, Governments can:

  • Include business within national dialogues on delivery of WASH.
  • Develop and/or implement standards for WASH within the workplace, including setting an example by ensuring safe WASH in all public sector workplaces.
  • Reflect the role of business in government policy, strategies and plans.
  • WASH4Work Resource: ILO Training Tool for WASH in the Workplace

Public & Civil Society

In support of Business, the Public and Civil Society (citizens, workers, consumers, NGOs) can:

  • Call on governments to enable business to achieve adequate WASH for employees.
  • Encourage companies to do more to respect and promote the rights to water and sanitation, in the workplace, supply chains and in communities where companies operate.
  • Recognize companies providing and promoting WASH for workers, in supply chains, and communities.

Private sector outreach is being conducted through the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and other partners. Feedback from respective member companies / endorsers is continuously being sought in order to ensure that WASH4Work outputs and activities are of value to the private sector. If your company would like to contribute to WASH4Work, please email the WASH4Work Secretariat at wash4work@wateractionhub.org

WASH4Work