Monsanto : Helping to Ensure the Human Right to Water

In April 2014, Monsanto became the first agriculture company to sign the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Pledge, formalizing our commitment to ensuring that all Monsanto employees and contractors under our direct control have access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in the workplace.

As a part of the Pledge, nearly 250 of our sites around the globe were assessed to identify any areas for improvement. Any facilities where improvements were recommended have been upgraded to meet the pledge.

In addition, we're expanding our WASH Pledge beyond the workplace. Monsanto's efforts have helped 250,000 rural community members in developing countries adopt healthy and hygienic lifestyles by arranging new construction and education that will have positive long-term health impacts.

For example, in India, more than 600 household units and 15 school sanitation units have been constructed with our goal being to build more than 2,500 toilets in 85 villages. In addition, 45 villages have received new water purification plants as a part of Monsanto's WASH Pledge. Hygiene kits containing basic toiletries have been distributed to more than 37,000 children and WASH training sessions have been held at more than 200 schools to promote the importance of good hygiene.

Monsanto will continue to monitor our sites' water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions and evaluate ways to improve those of the surrounding communities as a part of our commitment to our employees, our communities, and to respect human rights.