Worthington Enterprises Announces West Africa Clean Cooking Fund to Accelerate Regional Transformation

Columbus, Ohio (Nov. 20, 2024) — Worthington Enterprises Inc., a designer and manufacturer of market-leading brands that help enable people to live safer, healthier and more expressive lives, announced the West Africa Clean Cooking Fund to help transform practices in a region where more than 267 million people are still dependent upon traditional biomass fuels for cooking. The extensive use of these biomass fuels causes significant health issues, especially for women, and environmental challenges with deforestation and increased greenhouse gas emissions. The Fund will be accelerated by a U.S. $1 million commitment from the Worthington Companies Foundation and contributions from other organizations to help advance qualified projects that create the infrastructure, equipment and training needed for sustainable adoption of clean and safe cooking with liquid propane gas (LPG).

Non-government organizations (NGOs) equipped to manage and implement projects, as well as impact-minded organizations interested in participating in the West Africa Clean Cooking Fund, can learn more and express their interest by visiting this website. The West Africa Clean Cooking Fund will target projects in the nations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Beneficiaries include households, communities and organizations dedicated to advancing clean cooking solutions.

Sonya Higginbotham, president of the Worthington Companies Foundation, announced the Fund today at the World Liquid Gas Association’s (WLGA) LPG Week in Cape Town, South Africa.

“The LPG industry is uniquely qualified and equipped to address the critical health risks, environmental damage and social burdens faced throughout West Africa,” Higginbotham said. “Women and children face the highest risks by simply trying to provide food for life. Developing and implementing an impactful solution will take all of us to achieve an outcome bigger than any of us. We’re eager to collaborate with the WLGA, LPG suppliers and other LPG-related organizations.”

The West Africa Clean Cooking Fund is seeking additional support from the LPG industry that may include product donations, including LPG supply, LPG stoves, cylinders and related equipment, as well as direct financial grants for clean cooking projects, infrastructure development and educational initiatives to ensure adoption. Selected NGOs will oversee the collection and deployment of resources required for approved community projects.

Initial pilot projects may include consumer financing, behavior-change campaigns, consumer education and women’s empowerment. Application of new technologies in projects could help track progress and adoption, added Tiago Oliveira, global vice president of product development, Building Products, Worthington Enterprises and WLGA board member.

“We are excited about the potential insights that may be gained by using smart cylinders to track real-time LPG usage and sending targeted SMS messages that encourage efficient cooking habits, reinforce healthy behaviors and maximize the benefits of clean cooking,” Oliveira said. “For example, we believe data from this type of implementation can inform a high-impact and scalable subsidy program tailored to a community.”

The theme of the WLGA LPG Week is “Energy for All” to emphasize the immense benefits of LPG as a clean fuel ensuring widespread access to clean energy globally.

James Rockall, chief executive officer and managing director, World Liquid Gas Association, said, “Research indicates that households can reduce air pollution by 98 percent by utilizing LPG stoves instead of wood-burning stoves. Clean cooking is a strategic priority for our organization, and we cannot underestimate the role LPG can play in helping to solve challenges from dirty cooking techniques that continue to create economic, environmental and health crises.”

Universal access to clean cooking methods is one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) identified by the United Nations as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The West Africa Clean Cooking Fund connects directly to four of the 17 U.N. SDGs: good health and well-being (3), gender equality (5), affordable and clean energy (7) and climate action (13). It is complementary to six SDGs: no poverty (1), zero hunger (2), quality education (4), decent work and economic growth (8), sustainable cities and communities (11) and life on land (15).