SVN Innovation Award Winner Improves Health And Reduces Carbon Emissions
SVN Innovation Award Winner Improves Health And Reduces Carbon Emissions
The Social Venture Network recently recognized four social entrepreneurs with its annual Innovation Awards. Your Mark on the World will profile each of the four in the coming weeks.
Sustaintech makes stoves for Indian street vendors that use less firewood for cooking, thereby emitting less smoke and reducing carbon emissions and deforestation.
Founder Svati Bhogle explains, “Sustaintech has improved the financial situation of 2000 food vendors while saving 470 hectares of forest (or 63 million kcals) while growing at 126 % p.a in sales and 81 % p.a in volumes during 2010-13.”
She adds, “Each stove in its lifetime will save 2-3 hectares of forests, 230 million Indians derive their sustenance from forests.”
She further noted, “Sustaintech enables positive health impacts and increases productive life span of cooks and street food vendors: With the current levels of smoke inhalation the productive life of the cook is over before he/she reaches the age of 45. So cleaner, safer stoves contribute to the well being of families.”
On October 9, 2014 at 11:00 AM Eastern, Svati will join me for a live discussion about the stoves and their impact. Tune in here then to watch live.
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More about the SVN Innovation Awards:
SVN’s Innovation Awards celebrate entrepreneurs whose ventures are solving social and environmental problems. We’re accepting applications for the 2014 Awards from February 7th until May 9th. Applicants should make sure their organizations meet the following basic guidelines:
The applicant can demonstrate innovation and impact in solving social or environmental problems
The organization has been operational for at least one year, and no more than ten years
The organization has generated at least $250,000 in revenue during the past year
More about Sustaintech:
Sustaintech works towards sustainable use of energy and improves the financial situation of Below Poverty Line populations
The energy crisis in India is growing with high import dependency.The cost of firewood has doubled in the last 4-5 years in India. In rural India 57% households are energy poor vs. 22% who are income poor. Sustaintech believes that energy interventions can mitigate poverty.
With its vision for a cleaner, greener, richer world where people are extensively using the PYRO range of fuel efficient wood burning stoves, Sustaintech aims to improve profitability & comfort of street food operations with good environmental benefits. Profits will allow investments in health care, education, nutrition etc. and will ensure a better quality of life with the next generation surely out of poverty
We at Sustaintech believe that with a correct and rigorous analysis of customer needs, implementation of user friendly consumer & financial products and good processes, change is inevitable
Svati’s bio:
Svati Bhogle has a long track record of work in the area of renewable energy for rural applications. After completing the masters degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay she pursued her passion for technology / energy for development at the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology. She was initially involved in R & D for the development of fuel efficient biomass based products for a variety of applications. She then moved TIDE as its Secretary and Chief Executive, to apply the research work to rural areas. She has been associated with TIDE for about 15 years now and has worked on more than 100 projects involving technology development, adaptation and dissemination. She has worked with the tea industry in south India for energy conservation in tea factories. She has also developed grass root entrepreneurship models with innovative technology and demonstrated sustainable livelihoods through energy and water access. About three years ago, she and other promoters spun off Sustaintech India Pvt. Ltd. (SIPL) for rapid adoption of biomass energy technologies in rural and semi urban areas. She is a guest faculty at IIT Bombay and has offered a masters course on Technology and Development in Practice.
She received the Ashden Energy Champion Award in the International Category in 2008 on behalf of TIDE. Other recognitions include Ashoka Fellowship, TED India Fellowship and the Environment Award by the Govt. of Karnataka 2012, the National Award for Women’s Empowerment through Science and Technology for 2011. Her work has been documented by UNDP Asia regional office as best practices in energy access to the poor.
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