News
30 January 2017

Making Lives Better with LPG

WLPGA Industry Council member BW LPG proudly supports WLPGA’s Cooking For Life through a healthy “Running For Life” campaign.

 

Food is fundamental to life, fuelling our bodies for the activities we do. It is a distressing contradiction that the act of preparing sustenance, is ironically a leading cause of death. Each year, 4.3 million people die from cooking-related indoor air pollution-caused illness – more than deaths from malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined (World LPG Association, www.cooking-for-life.org/the-challenge).

Burning solid fuels releases soot into the air, causing respiratory infections, pulmonary disease, lung cancer, malnutrition, low birth weight and other conditions. Three billion people, largely the world’s most vulnerable and poor in East Asia, the Sub-Continent and Sub-Saharan Africa, breathe in this deadly air.

A Step in a Better Direction

The WLPGA campaign Cooking For Life, aims to facilitate the transition of one billion people from cooking with traditional and other dangerous or dirty fuels to cleaner-burning LPG by 2030. According to WLPGA, the campaign brings together governments, public health officials, the energy industry and global non-governmental organisations to expand access to LPG and bring this modern alternative to the people who need it most; and to increase public awareness about the negative impact of traditional fuels on their health and the environment. The Cooking For Life campaign supports various projects that includes projects that helps villages in India switch from traditional fuels to LPG and using LPG for cooking and power generation in humanitarian settings such as refugee camps.

BW LPG is proud to support the Cooking For Life campaign, with a Running For Life campaign held in conjunction with the Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore on 4th  December. Through this campaign, BW LPG raised awareness and funds for this initiative by pledging amounts of USD 100, 250 and 500 for every BW LPG employee who completes the 10km, 21km and 42km of the Standard Chartered marathon in Singapore in December.

Running For Life

Ten BW LPG employees signed up for the Standard Chartered Marathon, and a total of USD US$2,100 will be donated towards the Cooking For Life Campaign. For some employees, it was a personal challenge, especially if running was not a sport they were engaged in prior to the campaign. Weeks of training ensued, in preparation for the big day. Says Martin Ackermann, CEO of BW LPG, “I am encouraged to see such strong participation from colleagues in the office, and for those who do not run regularly to step up to the challenge and step out of their comfort zone, may I commend you on your spirit!  I am confident that our donation to the Cooking For Life Campaign will make a meaningful difference to the lives of the vulnerable who still rely on traditional fuels every day. At BW LPG, we believe in the future of LPG as a clean fossil fuel and we are proud to be partnering with WLPGA to support this initiative that is testament to the transformative power of LPG”.

BW LPG CEO Martin Ackermann and staff kick off the 42 km Standard Chartered marathon bright and early!

Committed to the cause - a group of BW LPG employees starting the 10km marathon together!