For Immediate Release
March 27, 2017
LIXIL Corporation

LIXIL’s SATO Toilets Named a Finalist in Fast Company’s World
Changing Ideas Awards
SATO Already Improving Sanitation Conditions for Over Five Million Worldwide

SATO toilets feature a trap door that quickly seals to minimize the passage of odors and flying insects.

Tokyo, Japan – LIXIL Corporation (“LIXIL”), a global leader in housing and building materials, products
and services, announced its SATO toilets have been selected as a finalist for Fast Company’s World
Changing Ideas Awards in two categories: Health and the general World Changing Idea. Fast Company
is a business media focused on innovation in leadership, design, technology and world-changing ideas.
Its World Changing Ideas Awards recognize companies for their ingenuity and innovation in creating
new concepts, products and projects that can potentially transform people’s lives and improve theworld.
“Receiving this prestigious recognition for our SATO products, and their role in improving health aroundthe globe, is a sincere honor. We are deeply committed to improving sanitation and hygiene conditions
globally by increasing access to these innovative products in developing countries,” said Jim McHale,Ph.D., vice president and general manager of LIXIL’s SATO business unit, and co-inventor of the SATO
toilets.
McHale added, “The original SATO toilet was the first step in developing a full-line brand of bathroom
products created for people living without access to clean sanitation facilities. This acknowledgementfrom the World Changing Ideas Awards program is a rewarding affirmation of our efforts.”

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SATO toilets are designed to provide a safe, affordable
sanitation solution that does not require water and sewer
infrastructure. Created to improve the user experience andsafety of open-pit latrines in developing countries, SATO
toilets utilize a counterweighted trap-door to minimize
odors and the transmission of disease. The first hygienic
SATO toilet was developed by American Standard, part of
LIXIL, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation in 2012. More than one million units arecurrently in use in over 14 countries, starting with
Bangladesh and now including the Philippines, India,Uganda, Kenya and Haiti. They are available in a number ofvariations that take into account local needs.
LIXIL has set a target of improving access to sanitation andhygiene for 100 million people by the year 2020. LIXIL’s
SATO business unit is playing a key role in achieving this,This SATO toilet – designed specifically for use in
Sub-Saharan Africa as a seated sanitation
solution – is field tested here by Jim McHale (topright), Ph.D., vice president and general manager
of LIXIL’s SATO business unit.

and is now strengthening its manufacturing capabilities
and coverage. To date, it has established manufacturing license agreements in Bangladesh and Uganda,
is working with local companies to expand its production and distribution in countries such as India andKenya, and has plans to further grow in countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and South Africa.
Launched this year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 12 winners and nearly 200 finalists
from a pool of more than 1,200 entries in categories ranging from Food to Energy to Developing World
Technology. A panel of eminent judges selected winners and finalists from entries hailing from acrossthe globe, from Pakistan to Brazil to Kenya to the United States.
The Toilet Board Coalition (www.toiletboard.org), a business platform with the common goal ofaccelerating sanitation for all, and of which LIXIL is a founding member, was also named as a finalist in
the World Changing Idea category for its Toilet Accelerator Program..
The winners and finalists in the 2017 World Changing Ideas Awards program will be highlighted in theApril 2017 issue of Fast Company magazine.

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Contact

Public Affairs Division, LIXIL Corporation
John Short / Masako Takada:pr_global@lixil.com
Tel: +81-3-6268-8801

About LIXIL
LIXIL Corporation is a global leader in housing and building materials products and services. The foundation of LIXIL’s
success is our constant investment in technological innovation to improve the way we live. Delivering core strengths inwater, housing, building and kitchen technologies, our brand portfolio businesses LIXIL, GROHE, American Standard
Brands and Permasteelisa are leaders in the industries and regions in which they operate. LIXIL produces some of theworld’s most fundamental and innovative products and services, and our solutions are an integral part of some of theworld’s most iconic and cutting-edge living and working spaces. Operating in more than 150 countries, and employing
more than 80,000 people, we bring together function, quality and design to make people’s lives better, and moredelightful – wherever they are.
About LIXIL Group
LIXIL Group Corporation (TSE Code: 5938) is the listed holding company containing LIXIL Corporation, LIXIL VIVACORPORATION and LIXIL Housing Research Institute, Ltd.. The Group, which is led by President and CEO Kinya Seto, isinvolved in a broad spectrum of housing-related businesses, ranging from the manufacture and sales of building
materials and housing equipment to the operation of home centers and a network of homebuilding franchises, andcomprehensive real estate service. LIXIL Group Corporation posted ¥1.89 trillion in consolidated sales in FYE March 2016.

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