• Infosys and Envirofit India partnership will deliver clean technology to rural and hard to reach communities that help women breathe easier when they cook
• Project will deliver 37,200 stoves in Maharashtra and offset 150,000 tons of CO2

Pune, India – May 22, 2017

Envirofit India – the country’s leading clean cookstove company – and Infosys – a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services – have partnered on a project that will deliver 37,200 stoves in Maharashtra and offset 150,000 tons of CO₂. Targeting families in hard-to-access rural communities, this project aims to reduce carbon emissions from rural households and improve livelihoods. With funding through Infosys’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, Envirofit India is managing the program implementation.

Infosys became the first IT company in the world to make a commitment in the United Nations to become Carbon Neutral. Envirofit worked with Infosys to help them achieve their sustainability strategy and their commitment to become carbon neutral at the United Nations. In addition the program allows them to make an impact beyond carbon on 10 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Over the next five years, Infosys will work with Envirofit to identify families in Maharashtra and Orissa. Envirofit will employ an innovative mobile app to track cookstove usage, encourage behavioral change, and provide a real-time snapshot of impact for Infosys. The project is a part of Infosys’ stated commitment to carbon neutrality by 2018.

Envirofit India’s flagship clean cookstove, the PCS-1 SPANDAN™, will be used for this project. The PCS-1 SPANDAN™ reduces fuel use, smoke and toxic emissions up to 80 percent, and cuts in half the time spent on collecting wood, cooking, and cleaning. While recent news articles highlight cities like Delhi ─ which holds the record for the highest rates of air pollution in the world ─ rural areas where families still cook over open, and smoky, fires are also susceptible to Household Air Pollution. According to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Household Air Pollution kills more than 1 million people in India alone, and 4.3 million worldwide each year.

Mr. Ramadas Kamath, Infosys EVP and Head of Administration, Facilities, Infrastructure, Security and Sustainability, said, “We take our responsibilities to the communities where we operate seriously. Initiatives like this creates socio-economic benefits to the communities, but also significantly contributes to the fight against climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a social investment with impact and we appreciate that as an organization. By choosing a partner like Envirofit India, we are confident that their experience and community reach will help the 37,200 families realize the full socio-environmental and economic benefits of this project.”

“Partners like Infosys are among a select few who not only go that extra mile and reach communities that are harder to get to, but also provide clean technology that help women breathe easier when they cook,” said Mr. Harish Anchan, Managing Director, Envirofit. “Infosys is supporting this project for the entire lifetime of the cookstoves, and that sustained presence, in terms of development, is invaluable.”

Clean cookstoves reduce smoke and toxic emissions and offer economic and environmental benefits. According to the 2016 Gold Standard Supply Report, for every tonne of CO2 emissions reduced, there is $151 positive impact in social, health, and economic benefits beyond carbon. Infosys’ program with Envirofit will generate Gold Standard Certified Carbon Credits and reduce 150,000 tons of CO₂ – easing environmental pressures caused by deforestation.

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About Envirofit India
Envirofit India is part of Envirofit International, a social enterprise that innovates smart energy products and services that improve lives on a global scale. Using a market-based approach, Envirofit develops a global product line of smart clean cooking technologies that cook faster while reducing fuel use, smoke, and toxic emissions. Serving more than 5 million people in energy poverty, Envirofit’s smart stoves reduce climate change, create new jobs, and enable families to save money.

For more information see: www.envirofit.org

Contact:
Priya Thyagaraj
Director of Communications and Social Media
priya.thyagaraj@envirofit.org
Envirofit India