Jack Sim


Jack Sim is the founder of the Restroom Association of Singapore, the World Toilet Organization, the World Toilet Day initiative and Bottom of the Pyramid Hub. Formerly from the construction industry, he decided to devote the rest of his life to social work after attaining financial independence at the age of 40.
In 2001, for "creating good will and bringing the subject into the open" and "mobilizing national support in providing on-the-ground expertise" he received the Schwab Foundation award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2007, Jack was elected a Fellow of, and also became one of the key members to convene the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance which is composed of key players in the sanitation space.
Jack was named one of the Heroes of the Environment for 2008 by Time magazine.
He also founded the BOP HUB and a series of social businesses and startups. He is now constructing a 65,000 sq ft World Trade Center for the Poor in Singapore to coordinate an effort to transform the 4 billion poor into a massively efficient marketplace to end global poverty.

Achievements in sanitation

Restroom Association

He established the Restroom Association of Singapore in 1998, which addresses the state of dirty public toilets in designs, building codes and poorly trained cleaners.

World Toilet Organization

Realising the need for a global body on the subject, Jack created the World Toilet Organization in 2001 as a global network and service platform for toilet associations, academia, government, UN agencies and toilet stakeholders to learn from one another and leverage media and corporate support that in turn influenced governments to promote sound sanitation and public health policies.
Since its inception, WTO organized 17 World Toilet Summits and two World Toilet Expo and Forum straddling Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Belfast, Moscow, New Delhi, Macau, Shanghai, Bangkok, Philadelphia, Durban, Hainan China, Solo Indonesia, Kuching Malaysia, Melbourne, and Mumbai.
It supports Prime Minister Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission in implementing 110 million toilets in India and President Xi China Toilet Revolution in Tourism Toilets and Rural Toilets. WTO has also built 13 blocks of Rainbow Schools Toilets in rural China.

World Toilet Day

World Toilet Organization declared its founding day 19 November in 2001, as World Toilet Day and this is now celebrated worldwide each year towards improving the state of toilets and sanitation globally. In 2013, all 193 countries of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted 19 November as the official UN World Toilet Day.

Professional career

A documentary about Sim's toilet activist work which was filmed over five years, Mr. Toilet, made its world premiere at North America's largest documentary festival, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival on 27 April 2019.

Awards and appointments