Earthoil, which specializes in the ethical manufacture and supply of pure, organic, fair trade essential and cold-pressed vegetable seed oils, has had its African operations certified carbon neutral.
“This was an important initiative for us on many levels,” explained special projects director, Miquel Boix Tomas. “Not only have we been able to achieve a certification that our global customers appreciate, but more importantly, we’ve improved the lives of communities across the region.”
Over three months, the Earthoil team donated and installed more than 45 stoves in 19 communities across three countries and delivered in excess of 600 hours of training to 46 families.
Cooking on open fires houses contributes towards over 1.5 million deaths per year worldwide, according to the WHO. By giving away gasifier stoves to the majority of its Kenyan tea tree farmers, Earthoil has cut harmful smoke, carbon monoxide and saved trees by helping communities to use less fuel.
The stoves are less polluting, smoke-free and much more efficient. This generates carbon credits for the company with which it can offset its CO2 emissions of its own African operations.
Boix Tomas added: “When compared with the open fire, the new stove has twice the thermal efficiency, uses less than a third of the fuel, cuts poisonous carbon monoxide by a factor of ten and smoke-borne particulates by a factor of 16. The wood-gasifier stoves can also use multiple types of fuel, such as crop residues, not just firewood and gasification yields reusable charcoal.”
