Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: The Business Case for Durable Sanitation in Flood-Prone Regions

Facing the constant destruction of sanitation infrastructure caused by frequent floods and cyclones in climate-vulnerable Bangladesh, SATO and iDE partnered to develop a sustainable, market-based system led by local entrepreneurs. This approach successfully facilitated the sale of over 1.5 million durable, climate-resilient latrines, providing lasting sanitation access to over 7.4 million people while creating livelihoods and protecting families from the economic burden of constant repairs.

The Context

As part of its long-standing commitment to delivering hygiene and sanitation solutions in Bangladesh, SATO worked with iDE to develop sustainable sanitation markets in underserved and climate-vulnerable communities. This partnership focused on developing a sustainable, market-based system led by local entities to address the constant destruction of sanitation infrastructure in areas of Bangladesh prone to cyclones and flooding. This market-based system has successfully empowered thousands of entrepreneurs to sell over 1.5 million durable, climate-resilient latrines providing millions of people with lasting sanitation and fostering a self-sustaining local economy.

The Challenge

Bangladesh is recognised as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. Its low-lying geography, consisting of 80% floodplains, makes the country highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. The nation faces increasingly frequent and intense floods, cyclones, riverbank erosion, and droughts. Floods and erosion alone affect approximately one million people annually, and 60% of global deaths from cyclones in the last 20 years have occurred in Bangladesh.

These frequent climate events severely devastate sanitation infrastructure. Flooding causes latrine pits and septic tanks to overflow, contaminating water sources and spreading disease, while storms destroy facilities. Furthermore, saltwater intrusion resulting from rising sea levels corrodes underground infrastructure. Traditionally, rural households—70 million of whom lacked safely managed sanitation—were caught in a difficult cycle. They often used poor-quality materials to build latrines that were not durable. Recurring floods and storms forced them into a pattern of high re-investment costs, often settling for substandard solutions that offered little protection, privacy, or dignity. This situation disproportionately affected the most vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

The Objectives

The primary objective of the initiative was to develop a resilient market capable of offering durable, affordable, and climate-resilient sanitation solutions to low-income rural communities. The initiative aimed to achieve this by establishing a strong business case for local entrepreneurs to lead the delivery of these solutions.

The specific aims of the programme included:

To catalyse the private sector to deliver durable, affordable, and desirable WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) solutions to consumers
To establish a business case for private companies to view the underserved consumers as a viable, long-term customer base
To design and scale climate-resilient, inclusive sanitation solutions that can withstand extreme weather and meet the specific needs of users
To empower local entrepreneurs to build sustainable sanitation businesses.

The Roll Out

The partnership adopted a comprehensive ‘Sanitation Markets System’ approach, which was a public-private-development partnership designed for scale, sustainability, and social welfare. This system focused on building a self-sustaining ecosystem rather than relying on direct aid. The strategy was implemented by simultaneously addressing three key components.

Demand Creation: Consumer demand was stimulated through above- and below-the-line marketing, including behavioural change campaigns and direct community engagement. Local entrepreneurs conducted group sales meetings and product demonstrations to showcase the value of improved, resilient toilets.
Supply Chain Strengthening: A local supply chain was built by developing a network of Latrine Entrepreneurs (LPs) who were equipped with the necessary business and technical skills to manufacture, sell, and install high-quality latrines. Crucially, the programme proactively facilitated the formation of Sanitation Business Associations (SBAs) to increase the entrepreneurs’ collective bargaining power. This measure, taken during the roll out, established vital linkages with larger private sector suppliers for raw materials.
Enabling Environment: The partnership engaged with local governments [in locations missing], NGOs, and other civil society organisations [names missing]. This collaboration ensured that LPs were recognised as trusted providers for various sanitation programmes and integrated the market-based approach into local planning.

The Results

The initiative has demonstrated significant scale, reaching over 7.4 million people and resulting in the sale of more than 1.5 million latrines since 2013. This success has contributed to livelihoods for over 4,000 local entrepreneurs, including over 100 women. The climate-resilient toilets have proven durable, withstanding recent storms without damage. This durability saves families from the economic burden of constant repairs, providing them with improved lives and safety. The improved design also ensures safety, privacy, and ease of use for women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, with users noting there is “no smell, or flies from the toilet”

Despite the positive results, challenges were encountered throughout the implementation

Affordability of Investment: The upfront cost of the high-quality toilets remained a barrier for the poorest households. In communities already declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), government budgets for sanitation subsidies were often unavailable, limiting adoption.
Waste Management: The project identified a notable gap in technical knowledge and practice regarding the safe disposal of human waste. This finding, which emerged during implementation, highlighted the critical need for Faecal Sludge Management (FSM)

The Learnings

The project generated five key learnings for scaling sanitation in climate-vulnerable contexts:

Durability is a Key Selling Point: Households experiencing recurring and severe weather events are willing to invest in robust products that promise long-term financial savings.
Product Diversification is Essential: Offering a range of products at different price points is crucial to meet the varied income levels of rural customers.
Partnerships are Powerful: Effective coordination between the public sector, private sector, and development partners is critical for introducing new technologies and building trust in local service providers.
Entrepreneurs Need Collective Power: This learning was recognised and addressed during the roll out when the programme intentionally facilitated the formation of Sanitation Business Associations. This strategic action gave individual entrepreneurs greater negotiating leverage with suppliers, leading to better prices and a more stable supply chain.
Go Beyond the Toilet: This conclusion emerged during implementation as a challenge after the project identified a technical knowledge gap regarding safe disposal of human waste. The learning confirmed that providing a latrine is only the first step, and achieving safely managed sanitation involves addressing the entire sanitation chain, including faecal sludge management.

"We first installed SATO pans in 2018. Performance has been consistently good, with no major issues. It’s one of the best long-term sanitation solutions in emergency responses."

Al-Rahat, Public Health Engineer Officer, OXFAM, Bangladesh