A social business case
Entrepreneurship and social commitment
Those who set up companies usually analyze the market beforehand, write a business plan and plan everything that can somehow be planned. In the case of Hamburg-based Goldeimer gGmbH (a charitable company), quite the opposite was the case. Founder Malte Schremmer describes Goldeimer as a “pure product of chance.” He had the foundation idea as he became ill with diarrhea while traveling through Burkina Faso. For the first time, he became aware of the importance of hygienic sanitary standards. 4.5 billion people don’t have access to clean toilets as we’re used to in the industrialized world.
Goldeimer now sells “Germany’s first social toilet paper.” During the summer months they set up mobile compost toilets at music festivals. All surpluses generated by the permanent 6-strong team go to organizations such as Viva con Agua and Welthungerhilfe: for environmental and WASH projects (water, sanitation, hygiene). Goldeimer also collects donations for the same purpose. Malte: “You can use our compost toilets, buy our social toilet paper or donate directly for the sake of better sanitation worldwide.”
Difficult starting conditions
The beginning was anything but easy: the market for toilet paper has been saturated for years, most people usually judge only by the price when buying toilet paper (and maybe look for a recycling label). Malte describes toilet paper as a real “shitty product: it’s big, light and cheap.” Nevertheless, the founder saw an opportunity in the difficult-to-scale business of mobile compost toilets for music festivals: “Hardly anyone wanted to deal with it.”
There was no business strategy at the beginning of Goldeimer. But the team and its many volunteers were all the more determined to change things for the better, locally and around the world. At music festivals all over Germany, Goldeimer started with quiet little places that do without chemicals and work according to composting principles. Goldeimer also combines their toilet rental service with educational work about the poor sanitary conditions for most of humanity – with the aim of collecting donations. Numerous volunteers are involved in the festivals and thus support the aims of Goldeimer.
Service plus product
When after three months the first festival season was over, Goldeimer thought about further entrepreneurial possibilities and opportunities for social commitment. As a supplier of compost toilets it was obvious to produce their own toilet paper. Which in practice means: having it produced and creating a brand. All toilet paper in Germany is actually produced by one the same four major manufacturing companies and sold under the brand of the respective client. Goldeimer decided to have the recycled toilet paper produced by Wepa. Being produced in an energy- and water-saving way, Goldeimer toilet paper bears the popular German Blue Angel label. Wepa also has a Cradle to Cradle roadmap and wants to convert its entire production to Cradle to Cradle principles in the long term.
Faltin’s entrepreneurial component approach at Goldeimer
The cooperation with Wepa is an example of the component approach described by Günter Faltin, a professor and serial entrepreneur from Berlin: according to him, the decisive factor is not to produce everything yourself, but to come up with a creative business concept and orchestrate its implementation with external partners.
According to Faltin, developing business models is not necessarily about creating something completely new, but simply about making things better that already exist. Like Goldeimer’s recycled toilet paper: it is not only a three-layer product for daily use, but also multi-layered in environmental and social terms: with a commitment to recycling management and better sanitation worldwide.
Communicating toilet paper
“Toilet paper is in essence a boring product,” says Malte. “On the shelves of drugstores and supermarket toilets, nothing has changed in recent years. We thought it was time for something new.” This new thing is happening mainly on the level of communication: education for the privileged and talking openly and humorously about defecation. “Goldeimer is actually a communication company. We are much better at this than we are at production, services and logistics,” says Malte.
Seen in this light, Goldeimer can be described as a communication and financing campaign for better sanitation worldwide and closed nutrient cycles. Everything is financed by renting out compost toilets for music festivals, selling toilet paper under its own brand as well as calling for and collecting donations.
Sustainability as a business model
Goldeimer gGmbH considers itself to be an entirely sustainable company. Malte Schremmer: “Our toilet paper is naturally made of recycled paper. We want to close cycles and contribute to nutrient recycling. We want to use nutrients from faeces again, for example to build up humus. We are also politically committed to this. For example, we were involved in the development of a DIN standard for the recycling of biomass from dry toilets, which will apply from March 2020.”
With its socially sustainable identity, Goldeimer creates and maintains a unique selling point in the mass market of toilet paper manufacturers. From the outside, there is a third element: the open and humorous communication around defecation, which is unique in the industry. For example in the team portrait texts such as that of Rolf Schwander: “Hi folks, I’m Rolf. I’ve been with Goldeimer since the company was founded and I’m the finance minister and online shop manager of the most beautiful shitting club in the world. If you want to chat with me, order now at Goldeimer and don’t pay the bill.”
In social media, however, Goldeimer is trying to gradually move away from the image of the “toilet clowns” (as Malte puts it) and increasingly spread sustainable insights. By 2022, Goldeimer even plans to achieve CO2 negativity: that is, extracting more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than emitting it. For this purpose, a so-called pyrolysis plant for the carbonization of biomass is already planned.
Idea in the foreground
The Goldeimer team sees itself as a pioneer, pusher and provider of ideas. Meetings with representatives of Dixi have already taken place. Goldeimer is not afraid of competition in the big toilet business. Malte Schremmer: “Our goal isn’t maximum growth, but to remain a pioneer. We don’t care who makes it big in the end. The main thing to us is that there are more compost toilets and closed cycles.”
There’s a lot to improve in the world anyway. Malte can imagine that Goldeimer could also set up sustainable sanitary infrastructure in countries like Uganda and Ethiopia, should other social enterprises become more active in the sustainable festival and toilet paper markets in Germany.
Making sustainability measurable
Goldeimer uses several measurement variables to determine its own life cycle assessment. According to information from “Chief Shit Advisor” Malte Schremmer, 250,000 to 400,000 people go to Goldeimer’s composting toilets every year and thus also pass by their information stands. The currently 90 Goldeimer compost toilets replace as many chemical toilets. This saves about 1 million liters of drinking water per year. The social enterprise Goldeimer gGmbH is planning a public welfare balance sheet audit. Among other things, to protect the team from self-exploitation, as Malte explains.
Funding Goldeimer
Goldeimer received interest-free loans from successful entrepreneurs who also act as impact investors. Malte says, “the early years were very difficult. There were also times when we had three months in a row when we couldn’t pay ourselves any or just a very tiny salary. Since 2016 we have been profitable. By 2021, we’ll be able to repay all our loans and be independent of lenders.”
From a limited liability company to a gGmbH
Goldeimer originally operated as a regular GmbH, which is very popular and common in Germany. With time, the team realized that the profit-oriented legal form did not match with Goldeimer’s actual fields of activity: numerous volunteers help on a voluntary basis at festivals; much of the activity is devoted to educational work. Since no distributions to the shareholders were planned from the outset and Goldeimer employs volunteers, the team decided to operate as a non-profit company from now on. Malte: “People can donate money or use our toilets. Our capital providers just want their loans back and that’s all. The social return on interest is definitely more important to them.”
Key decisions at Goldeimer
Asked about the three most important decisions in the entire history of Goldeimer, Malte first mentions the close cooperation with Viva con Agua – an organization that works for better drinking water supply worldwide. The organization brought a very good network to festivals as well as to the Budni drugstore chain in Hamburg, which ordered 100,000 units of the first batch of Goldeimer toilet paper.
Secondly, the focus on mobile compost toilets for the festival market was important, even though the season only lasts three months a year. But in terms of impact, this is where Goldeimer say they have the greatest leverage effect. (During the winter months there is time for new things that are more lucrative.) And thirdly, the internal focus on team development, personal skills development, and workshops on non-violent communication. In the team everyone works “with 150 percent commitment,” says Malte. “We pay reasonable salaries that you can live on. In essence, we’re about creating purpose.”
Message to sustainable founders
What advice does the Goldeimer founder have for all current and potential sustainable founders out there? “Don’t start a company only for the sake of starting a company. Do it only if you’re really into something that totally triggers you.”