Podcast

Turning Business Into a Force for Water and Hygiene With Philipp Küst

2026-09-01 · By Folake Sowonoye

Philipp Küst, Global Social Impact Lead – Water & Hygiene at Reckitt, shares how business can accelerate access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. From innovative finance and social entrepreneurship to partnerships with Water.org and WaterEquity, he shares practical lessons on intrapreneurship, impact measurement and turning corporate purpose into scalable social impact.

What does it take to turn corporate ambition into real-world social impact? And how can business help tackle one of the world’s most urgent challenges: access to safe water and sanitation?

Meet Social Impact Pioneer Philipp Küst, Global Social Impact Lead – Water & Hygiene at Reckitt. Because Philipp is on a mission, to put purpose into practice inside a global health and hygiene business.

Over the past seven (and a half) years at Reckitt, Philipp has moved across roles spanning e-commerce innovation, sustainability and social impact. Today, he leads Reckitt’s global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)portfolio, helping to develop and scale programmes that expand access to clean water and sanitation, improve hygiene behaviours and strengthen community resilience.

At the heart of his work is a belief that business can be a force for good, leveraging its commercial acumen to drive lasting change. Through social entrepreneurship, innovative finance and strategic partnerships, Philipp is helping explore how corporate capital can unlock much larger flows of finance and create sustainable solutions at scale.

Together we talk about Reckitt’s partnership with Water.org and WaterEquity, including investments designed to help households access finance for water and sanitation infrastructure. Philipp explains how this approach can generate both social and financial returns, and why investing in water access can strengthen health, livelihoods and economic opportunity.

We also explore Reckitt Catalyst, the company’s approach to supporting social entrepreneurs and innovative WASH solutions, as well as the importance of impact measurement, evaluation and evidence in understanding what really works.

But Philipp’s story is not simply about corporate strategy. It is also about intrapreneurship, the idea that individuals can drive meaningful change from within large organisations. Philipp is an intrapreneur to his core and his message is clear: faced with enormous global challenges, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. But progress starts with action. And the scale of big organisations can drive meaningful change.

So, if you’re looking for insight into how to tackle big challenges, where to start and, most importantly, how to turn ambition into real-world impact, this conversation is for you. Packed with personal reflections, practical advice and lessons from the front line of social impact, Philipp shares what he has learned about making change happen from within a multinational business. Whether you’re a seasoned change-maker, an aspiring intrapreneur, or simply recognising that the growing global water challenge demands greater attention, this is a conversation worth listening to.

Links:

Reckitt.com
Reckitt’s Social Impact Report 2025: https://socialimpact-report.reckitt.com
Water.org
CEO Water Mandate/Water Resilience Coalition: https://ceowatermandate.org/resilience/
One Young World: https://www.oneyoungworld.com
League of Intrapreneurs: https://www.leagueofintrapreneurs.com
Capital Institute & Regenerative Economics: https://capitalinstitute.org/course-introduction-regenerative-economics/

And if you enjoyed this, do take a listen to:

What Real Sustainability Integration Looks Like in Business, with Fernanda Facchini, Natura – https://businessfightspoverty.org/what-real-sustainability-integration-looks-like-in-business-with-fernanda-facchini-natura/