Climate Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

The ACE Clean Cooking & Distributed Energy Program deploys the ACE One solar-biomass cooking and energy system to households and small businesses in emerging markets. The initiative replaces charcoal and firewood with efficient renewable fuels, delivers basic electricity access, and uses digital monitoring to measure stove usage and fuel displacement. The program is actively operating and scaling, generating verified, household-level greenhouse gas emission reductions through commercial sales and carbon finance.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses)', 'Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The project primarily serves climate-vulnerable households that rely on charcoal and firewood for daily cooking, where women and children bear the greatest health, time, and economic burdens. By providing affordable clean cooking and basic household electricity, the project reduces exposure to indoor air pollution, lowers fuel costs, and frees time for income-generating and educational activities- impacts that disproportionately benefit women.

Empowerment is embedded in the delivery model. Local sales, customer service, and operations teams are recruited within the communities served, creating stable employment opportunities for young people and underrepresented groups. Across operating markets, women hold significant leadership roles at the country and regional level, managing sales teams, field operations, and customer engagement. These roles carry direct responsibility for performance, hiring, and community relationships.

Within the organization more broadly, ACE has prioritized inclusive hiring and career progression in emerging markets, resulting in a workforce that reflects the communities it serves. While senior executive management is not majority led by underrepresented groups, the organization’s operational leadership and frontline workforce are predominantly local, ensuring that decision-making and execution remain grounded in lived experience and local context.