Investment in sanitation brings a steep return

Investment in clean water supplies and good bathroom facilities “often drive a steep return” according to findings from research by global charity, Water Aid.

The research report Boosting business: why investing in water, sanitation and hygiene pays off’, shows that investing in water and sanitation, at home, in the community and at work, can “foster a host of socio-economic benefits for employees and their families - boosting productivity, reducing sickness and absenteeism and cutting medical and sick pay costs.”

According to the report, for every $1 spent, the combined apparel sector factories (ready-made garment and leather) delivered a $1.32 return on investment, while the tea sector projects combined saw a $2.05 return. WaterAid said its research found that the best results were where investments in the workplace and supply chains were supported by interventions in the wider community where employees’ live.

Water Aid said it ran “first-of-its-kind pilot projects” between 2018 and 2022 in collaboration with Diageo, Gap, HSBC, Twinings and now-former Unilever Ekaterra.

The study looked at ten workplaces and communities in four countries and sectors – ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh, leather tanneries in India, tea estates in Kenya and India and with smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Each project, Water Aid said, documented the effect of investment in water, sanitation and hygiene on productivity, absenteeism, attrition, punctuality and the number of medical incidents at each workplace. And they each included projections for the next ten years.