Piipee

In terms of quantity, Brazil is by most measures a water-rich country. Yet it has experienced rising utility rates resulting from alarmingly low water levels in key hydroelectric reservoirs, while food prices have also increased due to drought [1]. Despite its vast resources, water has proven to be a persistent problem for the country. The huge increases in water prices in 2014-2015 threatened to turn into a full-blown crisis, and it was in that climate that Ezequiel decided to co-found Piipee.
In 2018, Ezequiel became one of the UN’s young leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), representing Clean Water and Sanitation. This achievement gave him the opportunity to attend that year’s One Young World Summit at the Hague. The conversations he was a part of while there led him to connect with Unilever in Brazil. One Young World introduced Ezequiel to a huge new community of companies, partners, and peers with expertise he could learn from and stories from which he could draw inspiration. Ezequiel has come to believe that a problem that’s too big becomes nobody’s problem, and that the best way to tackle the water crisis is to offer a monetary incentive for behavioural change.
Piipee is a prize-winning biodegradable product that removes the smell and colour of urine while sanitising toilets without the need for water. Since production began in 2015, Piipee has amassed a user base of 200,000 individuals. On average people and businesses who use the product have reported a 35% fall in their water bills, and Piipee has the potential to save upwards of 80% of the water used in toilets. Piipee has also established itself in poor communities, providing free services to 30 families with impressive results in cost reduction and behavioural change.
"When I send my information, it’s my name, the UN affiliation, and my One Young World affiliation. It’s really nice to see how people respect these titles. This represents something, I am representing something. It opens so many doors."