Essity brand and our initiatives
A new brand, name and logotype were developed, communicated and launched in 2017. The name Essity stems from the words “essentials” and “necessities”. We are a leading global hygiene and health company offering products for “everyday necessities”. Hygiene and health are the essence of well-being. Better hygiene and health are necessities for better lives and our products and solutions play an essential role in improving well-being.
United Nations Foundation Global Dialogue creates opportunities
We want to promote global dialogue about health and hygiene to emphasize the importance of these issues. To contribute toward the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, we were – for the second consecutive year – a convening partner to the United Nations Foundation (UNF) Global Dialogue, held at the UN headquarters in New York. The forum invites businesses, NGOs and authorities to discussions to increase focus on the UN’s 17 global goals. Essity’s President and CEO Magnus Groth gave the opening and closing speeches at the UNF’s Global Dialogue, addressing matters such as the importance of collaboration between different companies and organizations.
Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UN’s General Assembly and Magnus Groth, President and CEO of Essity, at the UN Foundation Global Dialogue in October 2017.
“Essentials Initiative”
Through Essity’s “Essentials Initiative”, we are pursuing a global dialogue to increase awareness of the importance of hygiene and health and their link to well-being. Two integral aspects of the “Essentials Initiative” are a global survey of attitudes to hygiene and health and a report. The 2016/2017 report looked at the economic value of investing in these areas, breaking taboos and stigma surrounding menstruation and incontinence, as well as innovative solutions for the future. The report was produced in collaboration with the UN’s Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). The WSSCC is the main UN body that works solely with sanitation and hygiene issues.
“Like so many women, I have in the past felt so embarrassed that I have suffered in silence, but no more.” Edwina White, who has lived with incontinence for more than ten years, is one of the persons portrayed in Essity’s and the Fotografiska Museum’s joint exhibition: Hygiene – A Circle of Life.
Hygiene – A Circle of Life
Essity has entered into a three-year agreement with the Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. During the collaboration, Essity and Fotografiska will jointly produce photographic exhibitions on the theme of hygiene and health. Between November 2017 and January 2018, the “Hygiene – A Circle of Life” exhibition was held, where everyday hygiene situations were portrayed. The aim is to break the taboo around issues of hygiene, for example, menstruation and incontinence, and to continue pursuing a global dialogue around these issues.
During the panel discussion in conjunction with the opening of the photographic exhibition, hygiene and health were discussed and how important these are for people’s well-being. Ulf Wickbom, moderator, Archana Patkar, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Co-founder & Product Manager of Gapminder Foundation, Magnus Groth, President and CEO of Essity and Susanna Campbell, Chair of the Investment Committee at Norrsken Foundation.