Life Straw Case Study 08-18

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Life Straw Case Study

Carbon offset System

One useful illustration of the power of business-model innovation comes from LifeStraw, which has gained a growing foothold in the developing world. LifeStraw's product – a personal-use straw designed to remove 99.9% of all waterborne bacteria and parasites – is certainly innovative. But the product is only successful if it reaches those who need it, particularly in countries with less access to clean water. The business model that's driven the company's success relies on a unique approach to distribution and financing. The company uses a carbon-offset system to earn families income, via carbon credits, for using the straw instead of cutting down trees for firewood to boil water.

LifeStraw® Carbon For Water™

About 780 million people in the world lack access to safe drinking water1 and every 21 seconds, a child dies from diarrhea2. One of the major barriers to large-scale safe water provision is the lack of financing. The UN Human Development Report in 2011 noted that “the financing needed will have to be many times greater than current official development assistance…Closing the financing gap requires innovative thinking.”

The LifeStraw® Carbon For Water™ programme offers an innovative solution to the water crisis. It uses carbon financing to sustainably provide 4.5 million people in Kenya with the ability to treat water in their homes for ten years. It doesn’t cost the government or aid donors anything and it is designed to be replicated in other appropriate settings.   

Prior to the LifeStraw® Carbon for Water™ programme, less than 10 percent of Kenyans in Western Province had access to piped water. The majority of Western Province consists of rural homes spread across farm land and, because of the high expense of reaching these areas, the government estimates that the majority of the Province will not have piped water within the next ten years.

• Consistent access and cost have been major barriers for other water treatment methods both in terms of firewood for boiling and other household treatment methods available for purchase.

  Other projects to improve access to drinking water such as the construction of sheltered springs, boreholes and pumps, do not adequately address the contamination that can occur during transportation to homes or from inadequate storage once in the home.

  By providing households with LifeStraw® Family water filters and complimentary health and hygiene education as well as instructions on safe storage, Vestergaard has enabled households to treat their water within the home, cutting down on the risk of contamination and subsequent illness.

  LifeStraw® Carbon for Water™ has had an impact in many areas.

  • Delivers safe drinking water to 4.5 million people for 10 years to help reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases.
  • The largest private sector household level water treatment program in developing countries.
  • Financing model overcomes challenges of sustaining public health programs with traditional, limited public sector funding.
  • Links payment to performance - carbon credits are not issued until compprehensive audits certify the percentage of households using the filter and volume of water being treated.
  • Based on survey data, over 90 percent of households using the LifeStraw® water filter report savings from reduced medical expenditure and/or having to spend less money on fuel for boiling.
  • Addresses four UN Millennium Development Goals: reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat diseases; and ensure environmental sustainability. 
  • The first program to directly link carbon credits with safe drinking water. It’s also unique in that emission reductions go beyond a single point source.
  • A blueprint for initiatives to derive income from market-based emission reductionsand results-based health outcome