ETG Climate Solutions has achieved Gold Standard certification for the ETG Live Better Improved Cookstove Programme in Zambia, marking a significant step in bringing cleaner cooking solutions to rural communities while creating high-integrity carbon credits.
The certification follows extensive technical development, field implementation and independent assessment. It confirms that the programme meets one of the world's leading standards for climate projects and provides confidence that the emissions reductions are measurable, verifiable and supported by robust monitoring.
A daily challenge for Millions
For millions of households across Africa, cooking is still done over open fires or traditional stoves fuelled by firewood or charcoal. While these methods have been used for generations, they require large quantities of fuel and produce substantial indoor smoke.
In Zambia, access to clean cooking remains limited, with only 16% of the population using cleaner cooking solutions. In rural Western Zambia, the average household consumes around six tonnes of firewood each year for everyday activities such as cooking, boiling water and drying fish. This places continuous pressure on surrounding forests while requiring families to spend considerable time collecting fuel.
Improving the efficiency of everyday cooking may seem like a small change, but across thousands of households the combined environmental and social impact becomes substantial.
What Is an Improved Cookstove?
An improved cookstove is designed to burn wood far more efficiently than a traditional open fire.
Its combustion chamber improves airflow, allowing more heat to be produced from less fuel while reducing smoke generated during cooking. Families continue preparing the meals they always have, but with less firewood and cleaner combustion.
The difference is straightforward: less wood is required, less smoke fills the home and fewer trees are cut to meet daily household energy needs.
A Practical Solution with Lasting Benefits
The most immediate benefit is reduced fuel consumption. The ETG Live Better Programme cuts household firewood use by more than half, easing demand on local forests and helping preserve natural carbon sinks.
The reduction in smoke inside the home also creates healthier cooking environments. Indoor air pollution from traditional cooking methods is associated with respiratory illnesses and other long-term health risks, particularly for women and young children who spend the most time around cooking areas.
There is another benefit that is often overlooked: time.
In many rural communities, collecting firewood is a daily responsibility that falls largely to women and girls. Walking long distances to gather fuel can take several hours each week. Using less wood means fewer collection trips, allowing more time for school, work, family and other activities.
Building Confidence Through Strong Project Design
Confidence in carbon markets depends on confidence in the projects behind them.
The ETG Live Better Programme has therefore been designed with transparency and rigorous monitoring built into every stage.
The project has been certified under the Gold Standard TPDDTEC v4.0 methodology and applies a conservative 40% Fraction of Non-Renewable Biomass (fNRB) factor in accordance with UN Tool 33 v3 for Zambia. Every stove distributed through the programme is digitally recorded, while temperature sensors installed on a representative sample independently measure stove usage throughout the monitoring period.
The programme has also been developed in line with the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market's Core Carbon Principles, reflecting internationally recognised expectations for high-quality carbon credits.
From Certification to creating positive impact
The first carbon credit issuance is expected during the fourth quarter of 2026, based on the initial deployment of 15,000 improved cookstoves.
Climate finance is often discussed in terms of emissions reductions alone, but projects such as this demonstrate a much broader outcome. Efficient cooking technologies reduce pressure on forests, improve conditions inside the home and free up valuable time for families, while creating verified climate benefits that attract investment into communities.
Gold Standard certification provides the foundation for that work. It demonstrates that careful project design, independent verification and practical community interventions can come together in a way that delivers measurable results.
This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of ETG's technical teams, field specialists and implementation partners whose expertise has shaped the programme from its earliest stages through to certification.
For more information, click here: (GS ID 13189)
