Working group 9 Sanitation as a business sanitation marketing / public awareness

1. Working group 9 • Sanitation as a business sanitation marketing / public awareness 2nd ADB Sanitation Dialogue May 23 – 25 2011 Manila, Philippines www.susana.org

2. participants • Jack Sim – WTO • Benjie Ng Ser Kwei – WTO • Katharina Kurianowski – WTO / GIZ • Jonathan Parkinson – IWA • Chris Zurbruegg – EAWAG • Dr. Kulwant Singh – UN Habitat MEK-WATSAN / WAC • AviSarkar – UN Habitat UN Human Settlement Programme Laos

3. agenda • Welcome / Introduction • Presentation WG9 – Katharina Kurianowski / Jack Sim • Presentation & discussion of WG9 factsheets • discussion round on future work of WG9

4. summary • WG 9 presentation highlighted the need of cooperation among the different SuSanA working groups in order to move “sanitation as a business” forward • identified core strength of WG9: not being entirely technology focused encourages people of all expert fields to be involved in the process • role clarity in involvement of other working groups • WG4 does not concentrate on how to move from open defecation to sanitation, e.g. WG is not focusing on getting people to use sanitation, but plays a role when talking about up-grading certain sanitation models a/o urban sanitation

5. summary • discussion included the following topics • economics & cost of different sanitation systems • technology issues • sanitation as a business concepts • case studies / different experiences with sanitation business models

6. sanitation as a business – cost & economics • in order to make sanitation as a business work, we need: • a standardized approach to cost estimation, (even-though there is a certain need of flexibility, the use of a standardized framework in cost calculations is needed in order to compare different sanitation models and their costs) • to include the operational cost (which are oftentimes not included in calculations) • only after the development of this framework it makes sense to develop a general database of different sanitation models and their costs

7. sanitation as a business – cost & economics • challenge: wide range of technologies & models • only costs of technologies is insufficient, data / calculations should also include other parts/ characteristics of model (e.g. toilet + shelter) • disregard of value gained from reuse of human excreta in calculations; and focus on agriculture  restriction to only one sector  there are others markets where one could use human excreta (e.g. sludge as fuel for industries) • we need financially sustainable sanitation models • subsidies for capital investments: pro & con • look at different size systems or components of a system • companies combine systems • consider that markets differ and are viable

8. sanitation as a business • goal: to find business feasibility • many things in sanitation are not yet considered economically viable (ex: treated waste water transported from Asia to Australia instead of seawater  weight balance) • technologies can work with the right incentives • need of a significant portfolio of options to impress and inspire people to follow the example • we have to keep in mind that product can also be a service (sludge emptying service as a business opportunity) • costumer is not always a household

9. sanitation as a business • how do we ensure that sanitation becomes a business in terms of “selling toilets like toothpaste”? • make the product more attractive (e.g. use different color bowls) • provide not only pan/bowl but different sanitation products (shelter, cleaning products etc) • Decentralized small scale models vs big scale models – what is more important for changing the situation at the BoP • argument: big scale does not need big promotion boost, with the large companies on board the change would automatically effect lives of many

10. sanitation as a business • market-based approach vs donor-based approach: • key problem with donor-based projects: considers only single parts of the bigger (sanitation) picture • projects are divided into small parts which doesn’t allow to think outside of the box • ToRs are oftentimes too structured to give room for innovation • partnerships are essential • cross-sector partnerships (link sanitation to education, industry, health sector) • ! building partnerships is time consuming !

11. sanitation as a business - technology issues • technology and design has to meet the social needs of users! • research on local characteristics (social, cultural etc) is essential • marketing has to be adapted to local conditions • technology does not play a vital role in moving people from open defecation to sanitation, but plays a role when talking about up-grading certain sanitation models a/o urban sanitation

12. sanitation as a business – experiences • European Investment Bank: • looks at market within a city from an investment perspective : • who is providing services • what type of products does market offer • what operators are already in play • how could we build up on them • different market types within cities • Community toilets in India (e.g. Sulabh) • worked when toilets owned by the whole community • every household had to pay a small maintenance fee of about 30 Rupees (in some cases only male adults pay, women + children are free)

13. sanitation as a business – experiences • general problem: unsuccessful sanitation projects / programs are not well documented, but useful in terms of lessons learnt • one example: ILTS – integrated low cost sanitation program • 30 year old scheme, not successful • why? subsidy components very small, only sold pan and not the superstructure • gov’t developed financial package: toilet + superstructure for not more than 250 USD; subsidies: 50 % from state gov’t, 40 % from local gov’t, 10 % from users ( the 10 % could be funded by corporations, CSR programs)

14. sanitation as a business – experiences • other projects / initiatives mentioned • Total Sanitation Marketing (contact person: AlmuthWeitz) • OMEGAR project • revolution in wastewater mngt in Asia • ADB funded • STUN project (coop with UN Habitat Nepal) • phosphorus and other nutrient recovery from urine • producing fertilizer from urine • study in Kalkutta • cleaning of sanitation facilities under the ownership of the community

15. future of WG9: cooperation is key sanitation as a BUSINESS Technology WG 4 technologies WG 4 sanitation options Product WG 2 costs Cost WG 8 emergency & reconstruction Delivery WG 7 urban & rural sanitation WG 9 awareness & marketing Promotion Distribution WG 10 operation & maintenance Financing WG 2 costs & economics Maintenance Upgrading