In this segment, RELX’s Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, Dr Márcia Balisciano, talks to Virginia Gardiner, Founder and CEO of Loowatt, and the 2016 first prize winner of the RELX Environmental Challenge.
Loowatt create physical, emotional and environmental wellbeing through waterless sanitation. Their future-proof, patented technology provides a high-quality waterless flush that locks in odour and disease without using scarce and high-value water.
Servicing Loowatt toilets is safe, simple and quick. They support a closed-loop system where waste is hygienically contained for easy transport to treatment infrastructure. This stops disease spreading and supports resource recovery. Wherever Loowatt install toilets, they work with local partners, including servicing companies and utilities, to ensure closed-loop and value-generating sanitation solutions that meet the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6.2).
Virginia is a sanitation expert and the original Inventor of the Loowatt toilet system. Prior to founding Loowatt in 2010, Virginia spent seven years in Director and Management roles in award-winning product and design companies focussed on the environment and human health. Virginia has expertise in languages, the humanities, design, and engineering. She holds a Joint Masters in Innovation Design Engineering from Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, and a BA from Stanford University in Comparative Literature.
