Mexico continues to be a country with shortcomings. According to the 2020 census of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), 77.6% of the 35,156,897 homes in the country do not have piped water. And although more than 95% have sanitary and access to drainage, the number of people without drainage is almost 5 million 700 thousand.
And although the majority of people have drainage, only 8 out of 10 are connected to the public network and the rest have septic tanks or discharge into barracks, crevices, rivers, lakes or seas. On the other hand, it should be noted a huge difference between the urban and rural population, since coverage in the first reaches almost 100%, but in the second only 3 out of 4 Mexicans.
Although with different percentages, this situation is replicated practically throughout Latin America. In fact, 2021 information from the Inter-American Development Bank indicates that only 75% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has safely managed drinking water, and only 31% enjoys safe sanitation.
Read more | The challenge of bringing water to 12 million Mexicans who do not have
Therefore, all the actions that are taken to end, or at least reduce, this lag are important. It is in this context that Softys, a global company with more than 40 years of experience in the market of products and solutions for the care of people, with different brands of personal hygiene and cleaning, launched a social investment program that aims to contribute to improving the quality of life of people, through care and hygiene.
“We have mapped that around 200 million families live in poverty in Latin America, and that approximately 1 in 5 people in the continent lives in a popular settlement, and with that most likely has problems of housing, habitat, public service, where it lacks at least one public service, “explained Gustavo Gerardo Alvizo Puente, General Director of TECHO in Mexico, the association with which Softys partnered for its Softys Contigo program.
Origin and objective
In 2006, Softys arrived in Mexico after the acquisition of the company Absormex. Since the beginning of operations in our country, the subsidiary has registered significant growth and currently sells about 150,000 tons per year, only of products in the tissue category, that is, toilet paper, napkins, tissues, kitchen towels, among other products.
In Monterrey, Nuevo León, there are the headquarters of the operations in Mexico, as there is a baby and adult diaper plant, as well as the company’s corporate offices. And it is in Nuevo León, precisely, where the Softys Contigo program began in our country.
“Softys Contigo seeks to bring care and hygiene to thousands of communities that today do not have these basic services, through 3 axes of action: water and sanitation, hygiene education and timely help. Specifically in the water and sanitation pillar, we closed an alliance with Fundación TECHO, where we committed 2,000 water and toilet solutions in Latin America, which considers an investment of USD 6 million, and with which we hope to directly benefit 14 thousand people and 30 thousand indirectly, throughout the region. explained Gustavo Schmidt, General Director of the subsidiary of Softys in Mexico.
Likewise, the executive clarified that “specifically for the case of Mexico, Softys Contigo began on September 3, World Hygiene Day, in the Victoria Guadalupe community, in Nuevo León, near one of our plants located in García, Nuevo León. Here, 5 families were the first of 75 beneficiaries during 2022, with solutions that allow them to access hygiene in their day to day, which finally correlates with health, with quality of life, with care”.
In 2006, Softys arrived in Mexico after the acquisition of the company Absormex.
In an interview, Schmidt explained that the program goes beyond making a donation but is a model of integral action in the beneficiary communities, in which an evaluation is carried out to provide these hygiene solutions or access to water to those who need it most, according to specific criteria of criticality.
In addition, the subsidiary of Softys in Mexico contributes with the involvement of its collaborators as volunteers within the project, who directly build the solutions in the territories, living sustainability “in the first person”. In this line, about 40 collaborators participated in Monterrey, who directly built the first 5 solutions delivered.
Complete equipment
Water-to-sanitation solutions involved in the Softys Contigo program include a closed hut bathroom,Doro, sink, shower, as well as 500-liter water tanks, with which you have access to safe water, as well as a septic tank.
“It’s a solution that works, that requires maintenance, and that’s also part of the follow-up. The commitment is not only to collaborate with the family in its construction, there is a bond and between all, the family, TECHO and Softys we build it, and then there is its maintenance, “added Gustavo Schmidt.
The water-to-sanitation solutions involved in the Softys Contigo program include a closed shed bathroom, toilet, sink, shower, as well as 500-liter water tanks
Additionally, hygiene education activities are carried out in the beneficiary community in which they invite the children of the community so that, through recreational activities, they obtain information on hygiene and water use.
“With Softys in Latin America, we found a great ally in this issue of hygiene and sanitation, knowing that Softys is a company that prioritizes this type of solutions for families in Latin America, and that we are working in these places, we are going to install around 72 water and sanitation solutions and access to water”, Alvizo Puente said.
Sustainability
The problem of water in Mexico, Latin America and the whole world is not limited only to access. The care of this resource, as well as the environment, is essential to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy it, and this is where the role of companies is also fundamental.
“We have a very robust and strategic agenda in terms of sustainability, which is today one of the five axes of our business strategy. In our processes, we have a non-consumptive use of water, but even so we are committed to reducing our industrial water use by 40% by 2025, which implies significant investments in our plants, to do “more with less” in our production processes, “said the General Director of the Softys subsidiary in Mexico.
To this commitment is added that of being a zero waste company by 2025. “We sell about 800,000 tons of paper per year, so imagine the challenge of reaching zero waste by 2025 and the investment that entails. However, the company is absolutely committed to this, since today sustainability is a central and strategic element of our way of operating, “said Schmidt, who added that another goal is, by 2030, to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, in scopes 1 and 2.
In fact, the executive said that to decide the new machinery to be installed at the plant in Altamira, Tamaulipas, it was considered the one that consumes the least water. “We left with equipment that makes better products and is more efficient in the use of both energy and water, and that’s the end of our business and environmental impact,” he said.
Constant growth
In addition to the Tissue branch for the mass and institutional market, Softys, through its subsidiary in Mexico, offers personal care products, that is, baby care products such as diapers, towels, wipes, and also adult diapers. The company has reported steady growth since the beginning of operations and today has an important participation in the Mexican market.
“Mexico is one of the two priority markets for Softys. Softys S.A. is a multilatina, we have commercial presence in all Latin American countries. And obviously, the two most interesting markets are Brazil and Mexico, and in particular in Mexico, the subsidiary of Softys in the country has been growing significantly, and today we are talking about a company of a little more than 2,000 million dollars, that without the recent acquisition announced by the product company of the company Grupo P.I. Mabe here in Mexico, ” Reported.
