Triple Bottom-line Impact

Each stage of the production cycle has a unique set of economic, environmental and social costs and benefits. Overall, Toyola's model has lead to a local value chain with job creation along the way. Toyola buys the ceramic core and metal parts from various locations. This creates a strong local demand for ceramic and metal enterprises, resulting in jobs and keeping the value-added earnings within Ghana. There are 15 locations throughout Ghana that produce different components including but not limited to the clay core, metal handles, and metal grills. This production chain employs about 17 clay workers and 100 metal workers. The component enterprises are paid upon delivery to Toyola and after quality assurance verification. There is no limit to the number of components they can sell at once as there is such a high demand.

The clay core is made from local resources and thus eliminates emissions involved in international shipping. The extraction of clay, however, promotes land degradation and soil erosion. In addition, the clay must be baked at high temperatures which requires a significant amount of biomass fuel and emits CO2.

The metal component also has additional costs and benefits. Again, international shipping emissions are avoided. There is, however, a very high demand for scrap metal at the moment and it has resulted in the theft of metal, such as man-hole covers, to meet the demand. This results in a negative social impact. The welding involved with making the components is also highly energy intensive and produces CO2 emissions.

The inputs are then transported to an assembly center. There are 8 assembly centers throughout the country that employ a total of 30 people. The surveys collected for this study were conducted at one of the assembly centers. The staff generally works 9-12 hours a day and 6 days a week. One of the major benefits the employees gain is transfer of skill. They all felt that they were continually learning and did not need additional training. There were no reported incidents of discrimination, harassment or abuse. The one major concern was safety. The staff was concerned about work-related injuries, first aid kits, and safety gear. This is one area where trainings could be done.

Assembly of the stoves, like the other component production stages, avoids emissions involved with importation. There are emissions associated with the transportation of the components to the assembly center and the welding of the final product. The only waste produced is scrap metal which is generally thrown out, though the staff recommended selling it to the scrap dealer.

The stoves are then distributed either through the distribution points or the mobile Toyola salesmen. Toyola sells approximately 150-200 stoves a month. Half of them are sold through distribution points. This provides additional income to the distributors. The transportation of the stoves both to the distribution points and individual houses involves CO2 emissions. One of the salesmen who was interviewed said that the door-to-door sales take too much time, but it also saves time for the end-user. In fact, by going directly to the community, it may cut down on the emissions related to the travel of each user individually.

The end-use of the stove cuts down on the amount of charcoal used. That means that there is less deforestation, less emissions and more money saved by the end-user. The stove does not lead to direct time saving through cooking, but does save time for those who gather their own wood/charcoal because less is needed. The end users interviews were all very happy with their stoves and used them daily. One customer said that she saw an improvement in health, most likely from inhaling less fumes, but the others did not mention it all. Surprisingly, no users linked the stoves to environmental awareness. This is a stark contrast to the LPG stoves in Mali where everyone marked environmental awareness as one of the key benefits.

The major problem seen by end users was the cracking of the clay core. One user recommended coating the clay with a red clay lining to limit cracking. Another stated that you should not break charcoal in the stove because it may crack the clay. This is an issue not only for the end-user, but the company as well. One of the drivers said that the condition of the roads leads to cracked clay cores during transportation. This is a direct cost for the clay providers and Toyola delivery trucks.

The stoves are generally thrown out after their life span. As scrap metal become more precious, users may begin to sell the metal, but currently that is not the majority of the cases.