In this week’s #UnlockingOneMillion campaign, we are delving into the ways in which our solar home systems (SHS) help to positively impact the environment and the climate.
Through our work, we are directly contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 – helping to take urgent action to combat climate change and its negative impacts.
With over 800 employees globally, we are mobilising a workforce that is driven by a shared goal to expand access to clean energy. We spoke to Hamish Chilton, product design engineer at Bboxx in London, who has contributed to the development of bPower20 and has re-defined the product design for our most affordable product yet – available to those on the lowest incomes in the developing world.
Hamish said: “The one big thing for me at Bboxx is the fact that I get to design products which make a positive impact in people’s lives by bringing them access to clean energy. I strive to make design decisions which are both user-centred and sensitive to the wellbeing of the earth.”
He continued: “It’s great to work for a company which supports the same ideas, which is why the bPower20 packaging will have 100% reduction in plastic waste. This new packaging provides better protection and is more cost effective, which goes to show that shifting towards cleaner solutions is not only better for the planet, but also more sustainable for our company.” As a result of his work, our bPower20 product packaging is 100% recyclable, compostable and made from recyclable materials too.
This sentiment has been reflected from across our business. For example, our Rwanda team secured the globally recognised ‘Great Place to Work’ certification in 2017. During this process, it was interesting to hear many of our employees express their alignment with our company’s positive mission to help both people and the planet. By providing clean, reliable and affordable energy, employees felt that they were contributing to the positive development of their own communities.
As part of this, we are proud to have offset 403,960 metric tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide and black carbon) emissions as a result of our SHSs. Over 1 million kerosene lamps – which are highly polluting for the environment and for customers’ health – have been replaced. What’s more, our own research in Rwanda has shown that after using a Bboxx SHS for three to four months, households using kerosene lamps dropped from nearly 25% to just 1% of customers. As rising greenhouse emissions are driving climate change, we are passionate about being a key force to tackle this head on.
Every day, over 11MWhrs of solar energy are generated and consumed from our SHSs. This shows just how much our clean energy is paving the way for a better climate for all. In addition, our research has found that for our customers using a SHS, major issues have been alleviated which they previously suffered from with polluting fuels like kerosene. It has been cited that our customers no longer live with fire hazards caused by kerosene lamps neither do they have to deal with the smoke that is caused by these lamps and candles.
We spoke to our customer Amellia Auma Owuor in Siaya county, Kenya who is connected to an unreliable grid where she regularly experiences power outages. She expressed that she is “very grateful for Bboxx solar”, highlighting that she was motivated to use a Bboxx SHS because of its “durability, flexibility in payment and affordability”. This shows just how important it is for clean energy to be more affordable and flexible for customers than its alternatives, in order to truly make a dent on climate action.
We are delighted to have made such a positive impact in combatting climate change and the negative impacts it can have. We are driven by our mission – now more than ever before – to unlock potential through access to clean energy. Not only are we changing the way people consume energy across the globe – ensuring that clean solar options are more affordable than polluting alternatives – we are also ensuring that as a business we operate in the most sustainable way we can.
Together we can truly make a difference to the lives of our customers, their families, businesses, communities and the planet as a whole.