South Korea’s leading mobile operator SK Telecom said Monday it would start providing cookstoves for Myanmar’s citizens to help improve environmental conditions under a partnership with the country’s government.

This year, the company will supply a total of 54,000 energy-efficient cookstoves for households who live in dry areas of the country, helping to decrease the use of firewood and reducing about 106,000 tons of carbon emissions from cooking. The cookstoves will also improve the quality of life, as they reduce cooking time from over six hours to less than four hours. 

Led by the Climate Change Center, the project will receive investments mainly from SKT and Korea Electric Power Corp. nder the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism, certain portions of the reduced carbon emissions will be rewarded to the investors as certified emissions reductions.

SKT plans to use the latest partnership with the country’s Environment Ministry as a stepping stone for other businesses in the country and for further expansion into nearby countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Nepal.

“SKT will continue discovering business models that create value for society,” said Kim Jeong-soo, head of open collaboration planning at SK Telecom.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)