For Envirofit, being a finalist for Clean Energy Technology in the Sankalp Awards 2011 was yet another testimony to the difference that its stoves had begun making in rural India.
Over the years, the Envirofit stoves have become in a sense one of the symbols of the battle to bring a market-based solution to the challenge of Indoor Air Pollution.
Ever since 2007 when Envirofit started working with Shell Foundation in India to tackle the problem of Indoor Air Pollution, the challenge has been to put in the market a line of durable clean cookstoves which reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency and reduce cooking time. The Envirofit stoves have done that and more, if market acceptance is a measure.
In the words of Harish Anchan, Managing Director of Envirofit India, “We are delighted that these cookstoves, which have been well received in rural India and have sold over 200,000 units, impacting the lives of an estimated one million people, are today being recognised by SANKALP as a significant contributor to dealing with a global challenge. The stoves sold are predicted to save over US $30 million for India’s lowest-income consumers through fuel-saving over their lifetime. The recognition of the effectiveness of the stove will also help take the product to a wider audience.”
Anuradha Bhavnani, Regional Director of the Shell Foundation, said: “There are an estimated 1.9 million deaths per year due to the toxic fumes created when people cook on open fires or use inefficient stoves in poorly ventilated homes. Over the past four years, Envirofit has successfully scaled up its model of creating a market for improved cookstoves in India and the African continent. We are working with Envirofit India in all three areas of building distribution, awareness and affordability. This is being achieved by engaging rural entrepreneur networks, microfinance institutions and by running awareness campaigns.”
Envirofit cookstoves reduce toxic emissions by almost 80% while using 50% less fuel and reducing cooking time by 40%. Envirofit utilizes rigorous product-development methodology and protocols used in modern industry to develop and commercialize energy-efficient, pollution-reducing technologies that have the greatest potential positive impact on global environmental, economic, and public health issues. Envirofit India’s enterprise-based model has created over 500 local jobs and supported enterprise development through the growth of its 400-strong network of manufacturing, sales and distribution partners.
In 2011, Envirofit will complete the registration of the Voluntary Carbon Programme developed in conjunction with Eco-Securities, making it the first stoves carbon programme of its kind in India. This will allow Envirofit to reduce the consumer price or reinvest funds in addressing some of the key market barriers and, as market growth continues, Envirofit will shift further towards localised assembly and manufacture in India so as to continue efforts to lower end-user costs.
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