Co-op Insurance is the first major insurer to offset a proportion of its customers’ carbon emissions as standard, via its direct motor and home policies, helping to fund the provision of cleaner cookstoves for 140,000 people in Ghana.

The project, which has been accredited as Gold Standard, is equipping people in Ghana with the skills and knowledge necessary to manufacture, market and sell Gyapa stoves, which in turn has created a market from which hundreds of thousands of people will benefit.

Through the project, 350 skilled manufacturers produce and sell 12,000 stoves each month, benefiting over 500 local retailers.

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, the new stoves produce less smoke, an important consideration when indoor air pollution from cooking contributes to an estimated 4 million premature deaths per year.

Furthermore, the Gyapa stoves project in its entirety has saved more than 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions and to date, Co-op Insurance and its customers have helped to support access to clean cooking for more than 140,000 people in Ghana.

What’s more, the Gyapa stoves, meaning ‘good fire’, require 60% less charcoal than traditional stoves, saving families around $100 a year in fuel costs.

Mark Summerfield, CEO of Co-op Insurance commented:

“We offer new customers carbon offset as standard on all home and motor policies, at no extra cost. We have chosen this project specifically as in addition to its environmental impact, it offers excellent long-term social benefits such as job creation, and is helping to facilitate a better quality of life for thousands in the developing world.

“This exciting project is one of the many ways we’re committed to doing business ethically; we already source 99% of our electricity from renewable sources (including our own wind farms), and have reduced our direct carbon footprint by 46% since 2006.

“We all have a part to play in addressing the pressing issue of climate change, and through this offer we’re making it easier than ever for Co-op customers to make that choice.”

The internationally recognised programme has been part-funded by Co-op Insurance as part of the Co-op’s partnership with ClimateCare, which for every motor and home insurance customer offsets 10% of their average annual carbon footprint in the first year.

The stoves are available in three different sizes to accommodate commercial and domestic use, with the most popular domestic model costing as little as $10.

Edward Hanrahan, CEO, ClimateCare commented:

“We’re very proud to be partnered with Co-op Insurance, which continues to demonstrate its long standing commitment to mitigating climate change and improving lives. By tying climate action into its products as standard, Co-Op Insurance is showing real ambition on climate change, and driving carbon emissions reductions at scale. Through projects such as Gyapa stoves, Co-op and ClimateCare are working together to enable scalable, locally appropriate solutions to climate change which create opportunities and develop skills in some of the world’s underserved communities.”

For more information on how Co-op Insurance is helping to offset carbon emissions please visit www.co-opinsurance.co.uk

Mr Ebrahim ‘Lucky’ Dowda, Stockist “I can sell 900 liners a month which gives me enough money to send my son to school.” Through the production and manufacturing chain highly skilled ceramists and metal artisans have a guaranteed employment for their manufacturing services.

Gifty Aberig Awimpowa, Retailer

Gifty is one of the largest Gyapa retailers in Accra. Located in one of Accra’s busiest urban markets, Timber Market, Gifty has been selling the Gyapa cookstove along with other household and kitchen items for years. Gifty sells more than 100 stoves per week, making Gyapa by far her best seller and most popular product.

With her Gyapa success she has expanded her own retail network, opening shops in other markets in and outside Accra. Gyapa™ retails for $10 and saves its owner $100 in fuel costs each year. Gyapa gives customers a clean, quick and safe way to cook their favourite foods.

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Notes to editors:

** www.gyapa.com/gyapa-fuel-efficient-cookstove

*** https://climatecare.org/gyapa-stoves-in-ghana/

For each new motor policy, Co-op Insurance offsets 10% of customers’ car carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the first year. Calculated from the average UK passenger car emitting 2.4 tonnes of CO2 and travelling an average 7,800 miles per year, based on 2016 DEFRA and DfT figures.

For each new home policy, Co-op insurance offsets 10% of customers’ home energy CO2 emissions in the first year. Calculated from the average UK home emitting 4.4 tonnes of CO2 through energy use, based on 2017-published household energy consumption from Ofgem and 2016 DEFRA conversion factors.

The Gold Standard is a rigorous certification scheme backed by more than 80 NGOs including Forum for the Future, the Rainforest Alliance and WWF International.

Since 2006 Co-op Insurance has also been offsetting customer emissions through its specific ‘Ecoinsurance’ motor policy: through which Co-op customers have offset more than a million tonnes of CO2 to date.

About Co-op Insurance:

About ClimateCare

As a certified B Corporation, we believe that to tackle climate change, poverty and create sustainable development, we need interventions that deliver on a holistic basis. We help the public and private sector work together to create award-winning Climate+Care programmes designed to tackle poverty, improve health and protect the environment, whilst delivering value for the organisations involved.

We unlock new sources of finance by helping corporates take full responsibility for their social and environmental impacts and helping the public sector deliver more efficiency for its spend. Leveraging mainstream funding, we profitably deliver some of the largest, most successful sustainability initiatives in the world. To date we have worked with hundreds of partners to cut over 20.6 million tonnes of CO2 and at the same time, improved the lives of 16.5 million people.
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