Firmenich has recently launched its third case study with Wharton School’s Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the University of Pennsylvania. The case study demonstrates how business can be a catalyst for societal innovation and make a concrete contribution to SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation.
Specifically, the case illustrates how Firmenich reinvents the toilet experience in low income countries through its malodor control technologies – by eliminating the unpleasant smell of public toilets helping to contain the spread of diseases from human waste.
With the understanding that smell can present the greatest barrier that keeps people away from using toilets, the company has a clear motivation to engage and provide solutions.
This is all very relevant as the lack of access to safe sanitation facilities remains a reality to 4.5 billion people worldwide. This can cause serious epidemics and affects child mortality. Following a 4-year research partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with a co-investment of USD 13 million in total, Firmenich launched a range of breakthrough malodor control technologies in 2017. These solutions have started to play a key role in affordable cleaning products in South Africa and Bangladesh, to make safe toilets smell good in an affordable way.