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WINNER ENERGY COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD
This earned Burn Manufacturing the Ashden Award for Clean Energy for Women and Girls 2015.
Peter says that women play big and diverse senior roles in his company, ranging from senior management, marketing and product design.
“We have more than 120 employees, half of them being women,” he states. “At Burn, we challenge the belief that women cannot work
in the male-dominated manufacturing industry. Women play a vital role in the value chain hence the reason we have set gender and
employment targets. Each year we spend between 75,000 to 100,000 dollars (Ksh 7.5 to 10 million) on salaries and benefits for women
working in the factory.”
Impact on women
The targets for women in the firm are
50 per cent plus employees, 90 per cent
plus in consumer-facing positions (sales
and customer care) and 50 per cent in
management and factory positions.
Currently, the factory is composed of 50
per cent women, atypical of factories
working in metal fabrication in Africa.
To demonstrate this commitment, Burn
Manufacturing, in partnership with the
International Center for Research on
Women (ICRW), invested in a gender case
study across the company value chain.
ICRW found that Burn is a “very egalitarian
enterprise; male and female employees
serve in the same positions, whether in
the factory production line or as sales
activators, they are paid equally for the
same work. Male and female employees
across a range of positions feel that their
opinion and contributions are valued”.
Less smoke
Burn’s cook stove uses 60 percent less
fuel than the ceramic jiko. It has been
engineered to burn hot and clean so it
produces less smoke. Jiko Okoa produces
65 percent less fine particulate emissions
and 63 percent less carbon monoxide
emissions. This is through the geometry,
material selection and the configuration
of the stove. The stove consumes much
less fuel and lights much faster than other
cooking stoves.
Since 2013, consumers have purchased
more than 200,000 Jikokoa stoves
through commercial channels, translating
to 7 million dollars (Ksh 700 million) in
gross sales across East Africa with sales
primarily in Kenya.
Jikokoa has reduced the amount of
smoke that people inhale, particularly
for women because they are the ones
that mostly use the traditional open fire
option. The firm is currently working
on a new product that will cater for the
traditional consumers. The product is
Kuniokoa and it is estimated to save up to
58 per cent of wood
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WATTS UP MAGAZINE APR - MAY 2017
Mobile platform
Burn Manufacturing boasts of a very
robust monitoring program through an
eco mobile platform which enables them
to register their clients warranty and
maintain their information in a data base.
Therefore, the company is able to conduct
surveys and track carbon offsets that their
end users are generating.
“Not only does Burn provide the best
products at an affordable price, but also
world-class after-sales service with a
network of 47 service stations around
the country. The service stations provide
support during and after the two year
warranty period,” Peter Scott explains.
Cook Stoves