Robert Zimmerman: We look at communicating Kohler’s corporate responsibility program (what we call our “Believing in Better” focus) as a long-term relationship-building strategy with our customers and key stakeholders.
Our customers expect us to do the right thing, that’s what it comes down to, and it’s important that we let them know what we are doing to preserve the environment and support our communities.
When we look to tell these broader stories, we look for partners that align with our corporate responsibility vision, whether it’s a hotel chain to tell a joint story about water-saving products and guest water conservation, to a non-profit organization helping residents in developing countries or disaster-afflicted regions access safe drinking water or sanitary hygiene facilities.
CRMag: How has your understanding of CR’s value proposition — both within your company or sector and as a general matter — evolved over time?
RZ: From its earliest beginnings, Kohler has supported community needs and environmental preservation behind the scenes.
Consumers want to know about the companies behind the products they buy, and companies – even market leaders like Kohler – can’t assume we automatically have tacit support from the communities where we do business.
CRMag: What is your CR strategy for 2017 and beyond?
We are activating our associates through our Innovation for Good grassroots program that works on ideas and product designs to address these issues, and we’re combining this with our employee wellness focus to organize charity runs for safe drinking water.
RZ: We as sustainability practitioners need to become more sophisticated in measuring impact.
For manufacturers like Kohler, it means how we can innovate products and services to deliver value with lower environmental costs.

Sh1.4 billion Kericho water project to kick off in August.
Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony has announced plans a Sh1.4 billion water project set for completion by mid next year.
The project will be implemented alongside the Sh300 million Kusumek water project in Bureti and will end a longstanding water problem in the sub-county.
"We are determined to ensure more than 70 per cent of Kericho has access to clean drinking water."
Kewasco supplies water to 21,000 households in Kericho but this number could double once the twin projects are completed.
The launch of the two projects, which are funded by the German Development Bank (KfW), delayed for close to five years.
This was because of failure by Unilever to give up the land needed for the construction of a Sh1million litre water storage tank.
The bank is, however, expected to release the money following the acquisition of the land.
NLC chair Muhammad Swazuri will lead a public participation forum to get views on the decision to get the Unilever land.
The land is said to have an elevation of 2,110 metres which is the highest point required by project engineers.

Habersham residents asked to continue boiling drinking water.
The boil advisory was issued after water main failure Thursday.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control “requires that water utilities issue a boil water advisory as a precautionary measure when such an event occurs that allows the possibility for bacteria to enter the public water system,” according to the BJWSA notice.
A water main failure “may include a loss of water pressure, which could allow bacteria in soil and groundwater to enter water pipes through cracks or leaks,” the advisory said.
Results were expected Friday afternoon, but have been delayed until Saturday at the earliest.
The precautionary advisory will be lifted when the water is confirmed safe, and residents of the area will be notified by the utility.
Information can also be found at www.bjwsa.org, including a map of all areas addresses affected by this advisory.
For more information, including a map of all areas addresses affected by this advisory, visit www.bjwsa.org.
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UN report says Gaza Strip is “unlivable” and warns of irreversible damage.
Piper says that not only are these projections on track but are in fact worse than previously forecast.
Tensions between Fatah and Hamas increased.
It is projected to be 2.2 million by 2020 and 3.1 million by 2030.
The combination of high unemployment levels and an increasing population could have damaging results.
The agricultural annual average between 2000 and 2006 reached $18 million but in 2014 it fell as low as $2.2 million.
Despite food assistance and other forms of social transfers, one million Palestinians in Gaza are “moderately-to-severely food insecure”.
Demand increase is projected anywhere between 550 MW and 850 MW.
Water that is imported in can be 15-20 times more expensive and as result the poor are most affected.
This is forecast to increase by 20% by 2020.

Access to basic and safely managed water services in Tanzania has improved, according to a new report released on Thursday this week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
According to the report, in Tanzania, 1 in 2 people, or 27 Million Tanzanians have access to basic water services – that are within a 30-minute round trip collection time including queuing.
However, progress on sanitation and hygiene has been slow as 63% of Tanzanians still have no access to improved sanitation.
Worldwide some 3 in 10 people or 2.1 billion, lack access to safe, readily available water at home and 6 in 10, or 4.4 billion, lack safely managed sanitation.
Globally, the report shows that billions of people have gained access to basic drinking water and sanitation services since 2000, but these services do not necessarily provide safe water and sanitation.
In Tanzania 8% of deaths of children under 5 is caused by preventable diarrhea.
“Not only are poor hygiene, open defecation, and lack of access to safe water and sanitation systems leading causes of child illness and death, they contribute to undernutrition and stunting, and act as barriers to education for girls and to economic opportunity for the poor” said Maniza Zaman, UNICEF Representative in Tanzania.
“This new data is a reality check and shows stark inequities, including in Tanzania, in terms of who benefit from safe water and sanitation services.
It is a call to spark a truly national movement for water, sanitation and hygiene so that everyone is reached especially the under-served areas, poorest communities and the most vulnerable children, including children with disabilities,” she added.
It’s a noble plea to ascertain that no one is left behind as an important principal for achieving each of the SDGs”.

40% of Bangladesh’s population have access to “water and soap for handwashing” 2.1 billion, which is 3 in 10, people around the world do not have access to “safe, readily available water at home” according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
Since 2000, billions of people have obtained access to basic drinking water and sanitation services, but these services “do not necessarily provide safe water and sanitation”.
Around 361,000 children under five years die due to diarrhoea every year.
844 million, out of the 2.1 billion people who do not have safely managed water, do not have even a basic drinking water service.
Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicator for water, the report showed that “97% people in Bangladesh have access to basic water supply” – however, the SDG benchmark indicators are “much more stringent” comparatively.Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicator for water, the report showed that “97% people in Bangladesh have access to basic water supply” – however, the SDG benchmark indicators are “much more stringent” comparatively.
According to the report, 71 million Bangladeshis, meaning 56% of the population, do not have access to safely managed water.
This means they “will not reach universal coverage by 2030”.
While reading about them, I came across an interview of Asha de Vos, a whale researcher from Sri Lanka, who, facing all the challenges in a male-dominated profession, has become a new generation hero of the ocean.
Arts & Letters July 02, 2016 Shawkat Ali is a leading Bangladeshi fiction writer.
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40% of Bangladesh’s population have access to “water and soap for handwashing” 2.1 billion, which is 3 in 10, people around the world do not have access to “safe, readily available water at home” according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
Since 2000, billions of people have obtained access to basic drinking water and sanitation services, but these services “do not necessarily provide safe water and sanitation”.
Around 361,000 children under five years die due to diarrhoea every year.
844 million, out of the 2.1 billion people who do not have safely managed water, do not have even a basic drinking water service.
Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicator for water, the report showed that “97% people in Bangladesh have access to basic water supply” – however, the SDG benchmark indicators are “much more stringent” comparatively.Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicator for water, the report showed that “97% people in Bangladesh have access to basic water supply” – however, the SDG benchmark indicators are “much more stringent” comparatively.
According to the report, 71 million Bangladeshis, meaning 56% of the population, do not have access to safely managed water.
This means they “will not reach universal coverage by 2030”.
While reading about them, I came across an interview of Asha de Vos, a whale researcher from Sri Lanka, who, facing all the challenges in a male-dominated profession, has become a new generation hero of the ocean.
So we decided to carry the interview to know more about Arthur C Clarke and the whale population in the waters of Sri Lanka.
Arts & Letters July 02, 2016 Shawkat Ali is a leading Bangladeshi fiction writer.

TEL AVIV, Israel – An agreement has been reached that will see an increase in the amount of water being shared between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as part of the wider Red Sea-Dead Sea project. Under the deal, Israel has agreed to provide the West Bank and Gaza Strip with 32 million cubic metres of water annually – up from the 10 million cubic metres previously agreed. Accounting for a quarter of Palestinian territories’ water needs in total, 22 million cubic metres is expected to go the occupied West…

The ancient system provides a water source that remains important for some of the city’s more vulnerable residents.
Urban water security Not only are ancient spouts, ponds, and wells beautiful and architecturally ingenious sites, some of the less noticeable aspects, like the open spaces surrounding spouts, underground engineering, and the way in which the system interconnects across a watershed provide critical environmental services.
For example, open spaces around spouts and wells facilitate groundwater recharge, while ponds provide a buffer against drought.
In summary, revitalisation of the system can provide a means of addressing issues of water insecurity, vulnerability to disasters and climate change, and the loss and fragmentation of cultural heritage.
For example, at Alkohiti, residents can rely on strong local management to provide water even when the stone spout dries, and at Washahiti, hundreds were able to access water after the 2015 earthquake when other sources were not available.
Thankfully, Nepal’s domestic and Supreme Court case law paired with international treaties provide avenues to support revitalisation.
Providing further support, the Water Resource Act 1992 protects both the water source and spouts as a “structure related to the utilisation of water resources.” Additionally, the Supreme Court of Nepal affirms the right to drinking water in a number of cases, but most notably in Surya Prasad Sharma Dhungel v Godavari Marble Industries and others, where the right to access safe drinking water was specifically considered by the Court from the perspective of stone spout use by referencing the marble industry’s impact on the Nau Dhara’s water flow.
The Supreme Court of Nepal in Advocate Prakash Mani Sharma for Pro Public v His Majesty Government Cabinet Secretariat and others, while addressing arsenic contamination in drinking water, also observed that “water is an essential commodity for maintaining and sustaining life…it is the duty of the state to supply safe and pure drinking water to citizens…safe and pure water is a matter concerned with the health and so linked to the right to life.
Every citizen possesses the right to safe, pure and pollution free water.” By combining Nepal’s obligations under the Unesco World Heritage Convention (WHC) and Supreme Court law, there is a clear case for greater protection of the ancient water system.
With a strong legal base, local expertise, and physical system to build upon, Kathmandu has an incredible opportunity to do something meaningful.

Drinking water still not flowing at state women’s prison.
The women at Lowell Correctional Institution will endure another three days without running drinking water after tests Thursday showed the water wasn’t safe to drink, officials said.
Coolers of water have been brought into the prison for inmates and staff, as crews began testing the drinking water over the past few days.
On Thursday, the inmates were allowed to drink the water for a time, after a test showed it was safe, Glady said.
Instead, it relies on a geo-thermal cooling system, which agency officials have admitted doesn’t work very well.
The prison — the largest women’s facility in the country — has had a history of sanitary problems, including worms and mold in the sinks and showers, health records show.
The prison, built in 1956, is the oldest prison housing female inmates, including pregnant women and youthful offenders.
It also houses women on death row.
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