Unilever’s ambition is to deliver long term sustainable growth while reducing environmental footprint and increasing its social impact. The company's ethos can be summed up in the goal of ‘Making Sustainable Living Commonplace’.

Globally, more than 1 Billion people live in slums and this number is rapidly growing. Unfortunately, slums have the challenge of limited access to safe toilets and drinking water causing serious health implications and over 829,000 deaths per year. Unilever has been bringing access to hygiene and sanitation for all, but with no infrastructure in the slums, this was a challenge.

The objective was to develop a sustainable and scalable solution which addresses sanitation challenges in slums and inspire a behaviour change towards hygiene and regularising healthy habits.

Revenues generated from 'pay-per-use' model at public toilets are never enough to manage operational costs of maintenance. Thus, complex issues such as health and sanitation cannot be addressed by government or any corporate or non-profits alone. It requires interventions creating access to infrastructure and changing behaviors of communities.

Unilever’s holistic model:

i) Location: Priority is given basis low Human Development Index

ii) Inclusive Design & Highest Standards: Inclusively designed for all. Best materials are used for construction, and highest quality standards maintained.

iii) Affordability: Low pricing at $0.01 per day makes all services affordable for underprivileged families.

iv) Behaviour Change: An intensive behaviour change program is carried out reinforcing messages on hygiene and sanitation.

v) Community Engagement and Ownership: The implementation NGOs engage community leaders (primarily women) to support center operations.

Partner Roles: Government (Land & Permissions), Unilever (Technical Leadership, Funding, Hygiene Expertise, Product Supply & Behaviour Change), HSBC (Co-funding)

Unilever developed a holistic and innovative model – Suvidha (Hindi word for convenience) Centres. The Suvidha Centre is a one-of-its-kind, self-sustaining, community hygiene centre, providing access to toilets, drinking water, showers, and laundromats in the heart of the slum. Each centre also doubles as Unilever's largest product experience centre making Unilever’s brands synonymous with sanitation and personal hygiene. For as low as $0.01 per day, each centre runs self-sustainably. Each centre has been inclusively designed for women, children, elderly and persons with disabilities, ensuring no-one is left behind. They are open 24 x 7, brightly lit for safety and operated by women from the community.

These Suvidha Centres are purpose-built and in line with Unilever's commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. The creative strategy pivoted the normal course of action for the business to explore a partnerships and infrastructure angle in order to reach the masses in the slums.

First-hand Experience Of Suvidha Users:

“Suvidha has provided safety for my daughter and peace of mind for me” - Ashwini Waikar (Home-maker)

"“Thanks to Suvidha Centre, my son does not fall ill repetitively and is able to attend school regularly” - Reshma Sheikh (Saleswoman)

Good Health (SDG3) & Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG6)

Over 300,000 people use the centers every year, with 90%+ reporting feeling safe using them. 44% reduction in diarrhoea cases were reported. 95%+ of users feel that the centers have a positive impact on their mental well-being. Open defecation in the slums has reduced by 32%.

Sustainable Cities (SDG11)

Priced at $0.01 per day, each centre breaks even operationally in 9 months.

Gender (SDG5)

94% women feel empowered as they save money, time and focus on other activities.

Business

More than 20 Million products like Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, and Domestos were sampled with the Centres doubling as product experience centres.

The Suvidha Centre helped develop new models for sale and helped an untapped audience to experience the product.

96% users have now renewed their monthly passes for Suvidha Centres.

Unilever is now creating 25 more centres with it's partners.

Scalability

a. WEF recognition as "innovative and scalable model to build healthy cities" across the world.

b. The Government of Mumbai proposed scaling up the model to 100 more centres where Unilever will be knowledge and expertise partner.

Mumbai is India's city of dreams with millions of people migrating to the city every year in search of a better life. This puts tremendous pressure on the infrastructure of the city, and with space and housing always at a premium, most of the populations lands in the slums. Populating these slums more densely every year. 65 million people in Mumbai's slums don’t have toilets at home and therefore depend on community toilets. But, there is just 1 toilet to share between 100 people, and even that 1 toilet is non-functional.

Due to this, people have been defecating in the the open since years. Women and children do not eat after sunset in the fear of having to step out in the dark. Most of them hold in the pressure, until the sun rises.

Public toilets globally are not inclusively designed for women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.