Social Enterprises form New Partnership to Supply Clean Energy in Europe and in Africa.

Two social enterprises, ONEforONE and ToughStuff International, have joined forces to create a new way for Dutch consumers to buy clean, green energy and, at the same time, help people in developing countries to benefit from solar power.

ONEforONE, who launched in Holland this week, is part of a growing movement to provide direct support to developing countries by linking a purchase in a Western country to a benefit in a developing nation of a similar product.One such product marketed by ONEforONE is energy from Greenchoice, the only company in The Netherlands supplying electricity generated solely from renewable sources. Every time a consumer signs up for Greenchoice via ONEforONE, ONEforONE will make a donation to support ToughStuff, a social enterprise which supplies affordable portable solar panels, lamps and chargers to some of the world’s poorest people.

ONEforONE’s founder, Wouter Durville, is confident that there is a clear market in the developed world for consumers who want to do the right thing and are delighted to provide a helping hand to people in the developing world too. He said; “The concept of Buy One, Fund One is already wellestablished in the United States and I’m certain it will also be embraced by Dutch consumers who want to do something concrete for people in the developing world”.

ONEforONE, and their partnership with ToughStuff, is part of a global trend towards responsible consumption with social and environmental benefits, becoming ever popular. In its first day, ONEforONE already had more than 2,300 followers on Twitter and Facebook who’ve all pledged their loyalty to the organisation. Roger Hattam, ToughStuff’s general manager, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with ONEforONE, an organisation with a business model whose time has come. ONEforONE provides consumers with the ability to make a positive choice not once but twice; by making the right sustainable energy choice for themselves, but also in helping to transform the lives of the poorest people on the globe.”

The funding from ONEforONE will support ToughStuff’s Solar Village Entrepreneur (SVE) programme. This provides microloans and training for SVEs to establish small, profitable businesses, on average a more than 300% increase on local average annual income so they are able to lift their own family from poverty as well as providing solar power to people who need it most.

Over the past 15 months, with the help of its SVEs, ToughStuff has brought clean and affordable energy to over 425,000 people in the developing world and saved its customers more than 3 million Euros and 2,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

1.46 billion people in developing countries have no access to electricity. Until now, for many, their only lighting has been kerosene lamps or candles which are polluting, cause lung diseases and waste money. ToughStuff’s products are an alternative providing clean, affordable lighting that’s good for people’s health, wealth and the environment.

ONEforONE is not dependent on grants and donations. The funding it gives to organisations such as ToughStuff is generated by negotiating discounts on the products it is marketing – and by offering businesses a straightforward method of achieving their corporate social responsibility aims.

So far, ONEforONE has focussed on basic survival needs such as energy and water. It has also linked up with PumpAid to help in the construction of wells in developing countries. ONEforONE has ambitions to broaden its offer to other products including, for example, health insurance where Western consumers would cover a person in Africa for free.

Source: http://www.toughstuffonline.com/pages/press-releases

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Posted by admin on Feb 18 2012. Filed under Africa, Press Releases, Solar Thermal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry