The data published in the CEBDS study in partnership with Trata Brasil, on Brazil's 112th position compared to 200 other countries in terms of sanitation, mobilized public opinion. This development is understandable, given the precariousness of this service, as the name suggests, which is basic in the 7th largest economy in the world. This is one of the United Nations human rights and, therefore, ensuring that sanitation reaches everyone is undoubtedly a moral responsibility of the entire society.
Furthermore, the need for universal water supply, sewage collection and treatment services becomes evident and urgent when analyzing their financial, social and environmental advantages. With the fragility of basic sanitation there is a loss of productivity and, consequently, value generation. For example, as reported in the study “Economic Benefits of the Expansion of Brazilian Sanitation", it is estimated that universal sanitation would enable an increase in the national payroll of R$105.5 billion per year. Thus, it can be seen that this drop in productivity implies not only direct losses for companies, but also indirect losses due to reduced consumption.
It is also worth reflecting on the need for sanitation in view of the size of the river basins. The lack of sewage collection and treatment results in an increase in diffuse pollution in several basins, especially in urban areas. Pollution from domestic sewage results in a drastic drop in water quality, compromising the flow destined for other users. This generates enormous costs throughout the basin, since the water must be treated before it can be used for any more noble purpose. In this way, everyone who depends on better quality water is forced to pay more for treated water and to travel further and further in search of new sources. When seeking water from more distant locations, higher, and sometimes prohibitive, logistics and energy costs are incurred. All of this, in large part, is due to the lack of basic sanitation.
Furthermore, this demand for sanitation will need to be met, and this will require services, equipment and qualified labor. Public-private partnerships are gaining prominence in this scenario, as they can bring more agile and flexible solutions to the sector. The involvement of companies in this regard will mean a great gain, not only economically, but also in reputation.
The current concept of sustainable development is inexorably linked to shared value. And, certainly, acting in favor of universal sanitation in Brazil will be a great opportunity to show how sharing value can have extremely positive results.
