African countries are currently grappling with significant environmental challenges, creating an urgent need for solutions that can improve air quality, create jobs, and foster better living conditions. These efforts are vital for making society both environmentally and economically sustainable.
In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 70% of households rely on wood fuel for energy, and half of deforestation in the region results from the need to cook food. However, innovative and transformational solutions are being adopted to mitigate these impacts. These solutions include using pruned agroforestry branches for firewood, recycling organic waste for additional cooking fuel, and utilizing efficient cook stoves to reduce waste, emissions, and overall environmental damage.
BURN’s Mission and Vision
BURN, a leading manufacturer of energy-efficient cook stoves, embarked on a social mission to save lives and preserve forests across sub-Saharan Africa. Like many other socio-economic actors, BURN is introducing innovative products that offer a variety of solutions to Africa’s socio-economic problems.
Peter Scott, the CEO of BURN, views Nigeria as a prime hub for driving business growth and sustainable socio-economic impact. He is committed to reaching at least 100 million people, with a focus on empowering and inspiring the country’s youth.
According to Scott, BURN’s mission and operational strategy is hinged on leveraging carbon credits to secure funding for large-scale initiatives. These projects go beyond profit-making to focus on transforming lives through innovative cooking solutions.
Addressing Environmental and Health Challenges
BURN manufactures the world’s most affordable, fuel-efficient stoves offering a range that includes wood and charcoal to LPG, electric, ethanol, and institutional briquette stoves. These stoves allow customers to use 40% to 80% less fuel, delivering significant benefits for both people and the environment. The CEO emphasized that the company’s goal is to bring a cook stove to every household in Nigeria by 2050.
The environmental crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is particularly severe, with half of the region’s deforestation resulting from the need to cook food. According to Scott, six hundred thousand women and children die every year on the continent from breathing smoke from inefficient stoves, presenting a significant climate challenge. He underscores the urgent need to save lives and reduce carbon emissions, which are comparable to those produced by the entire airline industry.
Investment and Job Creation
Recognising the significant challenges and investments required, in the meantime, BURN is actively developing green investment strategies. During the session, Scott clarified that the company’s role in the needed potential $2.4 billion investment to put a clean stove in every household in Nigeria would necessitate facilitating funding through partnerships rather than direct investment by the firm.
These investments are expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions and deforestation. Scott pointed out the potential for generating over $10 billion in carbon credit revenue from an initial investment, with these funds reinvested in Nigeria.
On affordability, BURN plans to make cook stoves available at highly discounted prices by leveraging carbon credits. Stoves that would typically cost $40 will be available for just $5.
Economic Impact and Expansion
BURN’s mission prioritizes job creation and economic impact, particularly in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. With over 1,000 employees in Nigeria and 3500 across Africa, the company anticipates substantial job opportunities. It projects scaling its operations to produce 100,000 units per month, with the capacity to ramp-up production to one million units per month within 12 months.
Currently, BURN has the capacity to produce 500,000 cook stoves per month in Africa, employing over 3,000 people. The company also plans to leverage renewable energy to produce electric cooking stoves.
BURN’s Kenya manufacturing plant which is a state-of the art’s central hub for production as supply across the continent runs on renewable grids leveraging the countries advances electric infrastructure, which is 97% renewable. This presents an opportunity for BURN to transition cooking on renewable electricity, further building capacity in the sector. For Nigeria, this highlights the potential benefits of investing in renewable energy infrastructure to power industrial growth, reduce carbon emissions, and support sustainable development across the country.
Partnerships for Sustainable Development Goals
BURN’s success with these investments will largely depend on collaborations with the government and other economic actors. With Scott applauding the government’s commitment to rolling out clean cooking initiatives to the Nigerian population, BURN aims to work closely with the current administration to distribute as many stoves as possible, contributing to local content development in Nigeria.
Despite the lack of indigenous stainless-steel production in Nigeria, BURN plans to source raw metal sheets from China and process them in Africa. BURN’s factory in Kano, which recently hosted a visit of the Minister of Environment, currently produces 35,000 stoves per month, with a capacity of 100,000 stoves, aiming to increase production to one million units per month.
Additionally, the clean stove manufacturer is also exploring the possibility of expanding into international markets with Nigeria as a central hub in West Africa, driving trade and investment. Scott noted that products made in Africa could be sold in Asia, potentially outcompeting China on pricing. This potentially positions Africa as a green hub for manufacturing.
International Expansion and Manufacturing Capacity
BURN is also rolling out an LPG stove and a large institutional stove. With over 3,000 employees, BURN’s production capacity is set to grow to one million units per month.
Long-Term Vision for Sustainable Impact
BURN is committed to a long-term vision of expansion and sustainable impact, focusing on providing safer and more efficient alternatives to traditional cooking methods. For instance, a basic stove model that might cost $40 (about N64,000.00) will be discounted to $5.00 through subsidization using carbon credits generated by the cleanstoves and by leveraging Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
BURN’s innovative cooking solutions and transformational products are set to make a significant impact on the environment, economy, and lives across Africa. And as the CEO of the company puts it, the company does not distribute profit. BURN’s unwavering focus on reinvestment for social good solidifies its role as a pioneering force for sustainable development, driving its mission to transform lives and create lasting change at the heart of Africa’s communities.
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