Water supply and sanitation are essential for poverty alleviation, health improvement and for sustainable development. However, although access to water has improved during the last decades, there is still some way to go to respond to the huge challenge that lies in front of us: 900 million people are still lacking access to drinking water. If estimates show that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on access to water will be met in 2015, there are still some important geographical disparities to be tackled (e.g. 37% of people lacking access to water live in Sub-Saharan Africa). And urban population growth in the coming decades will exacerbate the challenge. The question of improved access to sanitation is even more problematic, as estimates show that the MDG sanitation target is probably to be missed by 1 billion people. Lack of access triggers tremendous economic losses: in Africa it represents 5% of the continent GDP per year ($28.4 billion) . However, investing in water makes sense from a strict economic point of view, as studies show that $1 invested can bring from $3 to $34 return in terms of GDP .

There is an impressive number of initiatives throughout the world that aims at tackling the problem, led by governments, aid agencies, NGOs and even business. Despite considerable efforts, initiatives fail to have a big impact, and projects that can be successful at a small scale appear difficult to replicate and scale-up. The main barriers that hinder progress in improving access are financial (e.g. aid dependence), institutional (e.g. weak government, lack of management capacity, scale issues), environmental (e.g. water scarcity and quality), technical (e.g. lack of decentralized solutions at scale, low cost and low maintenance solutions), and social (e.g. lack of ownership, gender issues). In particular infrastructure maintenance is a critical issue in itself - a significant amount of investment is directed at new infrastructures whereas it should also be invested in existing systems, so that they can be sustainably managed in the long run .

Business has a lot to contribute in improving access to water and sanitation. It has first a capacity to reach large markets and to scale up initiatives. Business is also an innovation provider and can provide simple and affordable technical solutions. It can also contribute through its financing capacity.

There is a real business case for improving access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

People without access:

• Are limited in their ability to take an active role in wealth creation;
• Simply cannot afford most of the goods and services generated by business and agriculture;
• Are more likely to be victims of poor health that, in turn, reduces their ability to be productive employees thereby imposing costs on society.

Improving access to water and sanitation presents a business opportunity. New pipes, pumps, measurement and monitoring devices, and billing and report keeping systems will be required to modernize and expand water infrastructure. Industries that are not directly related to the provision of water and sanitation services will be able to enter new markets provided that water for production and a healthy and productive workforce are available. Thus improving access to water and sanitation has the possibility of creating huge employment and sales opportunities for large and small businesses alike. Further, there is a moral imperative for all of society, including business to meet the challenge of improving access to water and sanitation in parts of the world where access is an issue.

Building on the work that it has done in 2008 during the UN International Year of Sanitation , the WBCSD has kicked-off in 2011 a new pathway on access to water and sanitation, which objective is to increase and enhance the effectiveness of business sector’s engagement in the provision of equitable and sustainable access to water and sanitation.

For more information, please contact berger@wbcsd.org