At Satellite Industries, we are proud to participate in World Toilet Day 2024 on November 19th – an international observance dedicated to raising awareness about the critical role that safe sanitation plays in creating healthier, more peaceful communities. This day is part of taking action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: sanitation and water for all by 2030.
This year’s theme, “Sanitation for Peace”, focuses on how access to toilets and proper sanitation can foster safety, security, and harmony in societies worldwide.
Why Sanitation for Peace Matters
More than 3.6 billion people around the world still live without access to safely managed sanitation systems. This lack of access can lead to severe public health crises, including the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera, which disrupts the peace and stability of communities. Furthermore, inadequate sanitation disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including women and children, exposing them to health risks and violence, especially in conflict zones or during humanitarian crises.
The theme “Sanitation for Peace” highlights how providing safe, clean, and accessible toilets can promote peaceful coexistence by improving public health, reducing inequalities, and restoring dignity. When sanitation needs are met, communities are healthier, economies are more stable, and societies can focus on growth and development.
How Satellite Industries is Contributing to Sanitation for Peace
At Satellite Industries, we are committed to improving global sanitation through our innovative portable restroom and sanitation solutions. Our products provide a critical service in areas where permanent sanitation infrastructure is not available, whether due to conflict, disaster, or remote locations.
By delivering safe, hygienic, and durable sanitation units, we are helping communities safeguard their health and well-being. Our solutions are deployed in diverse settings, from urban events to rural areas and even in crisis response situations, ensuring that people have access to toilets in times of need. This contributes to a sense of security and helps prevent the spread of diseases that destabilize communities.
Sustainability as a Pathway to Peace
Our commitment to sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. By creating environmentally friendly products that reduce water usage, minimize waste, and are built to last, we contribute not only to cleaner communities but also to a healthier planet. Sustainable sanitation helps prevent environmental degradation, which can fuel conflict over scarce resources.
We are proud to share our Sustainability Video, which showcases the ways in which we are advancing our sustainability initiatives. By focusing on both innovation and eco-responsibility, we aim to support global efforts to ensure everyone has access to sanitation while protecting our natural environment.
Our campaign for sustainable development
Join Us in Supporting Sanitation for Peace
As we celebrate World Toilet Day 2024, we stand with the global community in advocating for safe sanitation for all. At Satellite Industries, we are dedicated to driving positive change by providing essential sanitation services that improve lives, promote health, and contribute to global peace.
Safe sanitation is not just a necessity—it is a building block for peace, dignity, and equality. Join us in raising awareness and taking action to ensure that no one is left behind in the mission for universal access to toilets.
We sat down with Georges Köller, our Managing Director EMEA, to discuss the company’s role in supporting World Toilet Day and its impact on the industry.
Why is World Toilet Day an important event for Satellite Industries to recognize, and how does it align with our company’s values and mission?
In the regions where Satellite started to develop first (US, Europe, Asia), we today take sanitation for granted. A portable toilet is an efficiency tool at a construction site, saving valuable time, and a convenience at festival, that makes people stay longer and enjoy the event. We often forget about the fact that in many other parts of the world, a portable toilet is saving lives. Unfortunately, there has been enough recent reminders across the world, whether it’s the hurricanes that hit the US or the floods that devastated parts of Spain, that our products play an essential role.
The theme of this year's World Toilet Day is "Safe Sanitation for All." How do you see Satellite Industries contributing to the global effort to provide safe sanitation, especially in areas where it's most needed?
Whenever a disaster hits, there is the death toll associated with the immediate event. But every available analysis shows that the death toll of the “2nd wave”, caused by lack of drinking water and safe sanitation, is significantly higher. Be that after the earthquakes that hit Haiti or Turkey or any other similar situation. Time is of the essence, and Satellite’s many decades of experience working with government bodies like FEMA or similar emergency management agencies around the world ensure that we can get our products to those areas as fast as possible. Sometimes road or sewage infrastructure is so badly damaged that at first it sounds like our products can’t get used until infrastructure is rebuilt, but even when all the sewage plants are flooded or destroyed, it’s substantially safer to collect all the human waste in a portable toilet and then pump it to one central place, far away from where people live or sleep, than to just allow the public to go wherever. That same logic applies to more permanent emergency situations like refugee camps or slums, and that is where Satellite plays one of its most significant roles worldwide.
How does the lack of access to proper sanitation affect communities, and what role do you think businesses like ours can play in addressing these challenges?
Whether it’s in the informal settlements (slums) of Johannesburg or Rio, or after the floods in Poland or recently in Spain, it’s when access to running water and the able to safely flush away waste is no longer given, that portable toilets are recognized at their true value and put in the forefront. Satellite has been a founding member of all trade associations across the world in the portable toilet, including the one in South Africa, and we continue to educate government and parastatal bodies on the importance of proper sanitation in those circumstances.
What steps is Satellite Industries taking to enhance its impact in the sanitation sector and continue driving innovation in line with SDG 6 (sanitation and water for all by 2030)?
Satellite continues to expand globally and not only brings the idea of portable sanitation to new countries every year, but also continues to invest in new products continuously. Whether that is larger scale production equipment, to allow cost increases to stay limited, or whether it’s developing new products, such as the madamePee female urinal, that gives a safer user experience to women, we are at the forefront of innovation. We are partnering with local government bodies, and we are investigating local manufacturing to not only produce our products more sustainably and cut down on ocean freight, but also align the cost to the GDPs of developing economies.
