The “WASH Benefits Accounting Framework” was developed to help companies calculate and communicate the socio-economic, environmental, and institutional benefits of investments in safely managed and climate-resilient WASH services.
The cover page of the "WASH Benefits Accounting Framework. The subtitle says "A Standardize Approach for Estimating and Valuing the Multiple Benefits of Corporate Investments in Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Access, Standardized Methods Report." Logos for WASH4Work, LimnoTech, and CEO Water Mandate are above a photos of hands holding water.

Location:
Global

Clients:
Pacific Institute

Partners:
WASH4Work, CEO Water Mandate

Service Areas:

Our Expert:

WASH4Work, the CEO Water Mandate, the Pacific Institute, and LimnoTech launched and released the “WASH Benefits Accounting Framework” in 2024. This standardized accounting framework is designed to help companies calculate and communicate the multiple benefits of investments in safely managed and climate-resilient WASH (Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Access) services.

The Challenge

The risks of unsafe WASH services for businesses and communities are increasing. As of 2022, 2.2 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking water, 3.5 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation, and 2 billion people still lacked basic hygiene services (WHO & UNICEF, 2023). Whether related to worker health and safety or business reputation, there is a compelling and clear economic case for businesses to demonstrate leadership by addressing this situation. As corporate water goals and targets expand in response to growing water-related risks, stakeholders have expressed the need for standardized methods for implementing and accounting for the multiple benefits of WASH activities.

How We Helped

In partnership with WASH4Work, the CEO Water Mandate, and the Pacific Institute (along with feedback, support, and pilots by The Coca-Cola Company, Diageo, Microsoft, Orbia, and Reckitt, as well as input from implementing partners Agua Segura, Global Water Challenge, The Coca-Cola Foundation, UNICEF Colombia, WaterAid, and Water.org), LimnoTech developed the “WASH Benefits Accounting Framework” to help companies calculate and communicate the socio-economic, environmental, and institutional benefits of investments in safely managed and climate-resilient WASH services. The Framework attempts to harmonize existing WASH impact indicators and streamline approaches that account for a range of outputs, outcomes, and impacts of WASH activities, presenting both current leading practices (core indicators) and the evolving expectations of WASH stakeholders (advanced indicators).

Practical yet detailed calculation methods (e.g., number of beneficiaries, volume provided, service level, incidence of communicable diseases) are provided to help corporate water stewardship practitioners and their implementing partners assess the effectiveness of WASH interventions, calculate the value of investments to mitigate the increasing business risks of unsafe WASH, and drive continuous improvement. A four-step process to facilitate corporate adoption of WASH benefits accounting is also described, which includes:

  1. Understand WASH risks and identify gaps in WASH access;
  2. Define WASH project goals, activities, and partners;
  3. Select WASH benefits indicators and methods; and
  4. Gather project data and calculate WASH benefits.

To learn how this Framework can support your company in making impactful WASH investments, download and read the summary and standardized methods reports.

WASH Benefits Accounting Framework Guidance for Use Webinar

The “WASH Benefits Accounting Framework, Guidance for Use Webinar” is presented by Cheryl Hicks (WASH4Work), Nate Jacobson (LimnoTech), Wendy Larson (LimnoTech), and Susana Margolin (Orbia).

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