WASH Pledge

The WASH Pledge Self- Assessment Tool is a facility level excel-based tool that helps companies assess the level of WASH facilities, help identify gaps in comparison to leading international practices as well as evaluate the implementation on yearly basis. It helps companies to measure, set targets and monitor progress based on the compliance score calculated by the tool for each criterion and thus supports decision making regarding investment and priority action.

Once completed, it provides an overall rating for the assessed facility based on each of the categories below:

• General
• Workplace Water Supply
• Workplace Sanitation
• Workplace Hygiene
• Value/Supply Chain WASH
• Community WASH

The self-assessment tool is now available for download in English and Spanish.

For instructions on how to use the tool, please refer to Page 24 on the WASH Pledge: Guiding Principles or the cover tab of the Self-Assessment tool.

This publication includes a set of guiding principles that will support companies in their efforts to implement WASH at the workplace – an essential first step for businesses supporting global objectives related to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. This document also provides guidance and tools to help businesses assess their WASH conditions at the workplace, as well as along its value chain, including suppliers and surrounding workplace and/or worker communities.

As you read through the guiding principles and begin to assess and implement WASH within your operations, we encourage you to share your experiences with us so that others can benefit from what you have learned. In this rapidly evolving global economy, where social license to operate, reputational risk and access to natural resources have become increasingly important to success, WASH should be a key aspect of any company’s sustainability strategy.

This publication provides a business case for companies to implement WASH at the workplace and it also showcases the action that signatories of the WASH at the workplace Pledge have taken to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

The business case for investing in WASH is clear. While every dollar invested returns USD $5 in benefits for sanitation and USD $2 for water, one in every three people still goes without access to safe sanitary facilities and one in every ten does not have access to clean and safe water when needed. The impact potential for WASH investments is immense.

For this reason, 47 companies have committed and are implementing the WASH Pledge, touching over 2.4 million employees in close to 6,000 sites in 170 countries. By signing the WASH Pledge, companies ensure that within three years, all their employees in operations across the globe have access to water and sanitation, and that the company takes an active role in promoting safe hygiene practices at work and beyond. The WASH Pledge Self-assessment tool lays out 32 provisions on what is considered international best practice on WASH at the workplace.

The WASH Pledge communications toolkit has been created for signatories of the WASH Pledge.

Please use this communications toolkit to help spread the word about your commitment to invest in a safer, healthier, more productive workforce.

• Use the information provided here as a guidance for your media releases or news alerts.
• Use the sample social media posts to announce your pledge commitment. Please make sure you tag us so that we can share your commitment to ensuring WASH in your business.
• Encourage other businesses or peers to join the commitment by sharing the link to the WASH pledge site.
• You can use the resources provided in the toolkit to be circulated amongst your staff/stakeholders and spread the word.
• We encourage all Pledge signatories to submit a case study after implementing the Pledge in their business. Please refer to the case study template provided in this toolkit for guidance.