Environmental solutions for vulnerable communities
Concrete innovations to improve the living conditions of the most disadvantaged populations while protecting the environment.
Proven solutionsmeasurable impact
Two foundations, one mission
The two foundations are combining their expertise to bring forward and deploy innovations capable of durably improving the health, prevention and living conditions of the populations most affected by climate change. Indeed, despite their proven efficiency, these solutions remain little known and insufficiently disseminated.
Learn more
Explore the initiative in detail — the challenge, the alliance, the prize and how to get involved.
The challenge
Indoor air pollution: an invisible health emergency
Improving access to clean cooking and household energy solutions means less indoor pollution, reduced deforestation and climate vulnerability, lower fuel spending, and daily life transformed for thousands of families.
Clean cooking is one of the most powerful and most underused levers for simultaneously improving the health and living conditions of vulnerable populations while protecting the environment.
In action
From innovation to the field: accelerating deployment
Clean cooking solutions already exist. Efficient, accessible and economically viable, they can transform lives immediately while contributing durably to protecting the environment.
5 key levers
Raise awareness
Give international visibility to the imperative of generalising clean cooking.
Identify & label
Promote a portfolio of concrete, high-performing and ready-to-use technologies.
Federate & collaborate
Unite local and international actors (NGOs, businesses, governments) to accelerate adoption.
Facilitate & deploy
Provide direct support through visibility, technical validation and targeted financing.
Mobilise & transform
Draw political and financial attention to this crucial issue at the crossroads of health, climate and the fight against poverty.
The urgency in numbers
A reality with dramatic consequences
2.9M/yr premature deaths
worldwide, caused by indoor air pollution, massively affecting women and children. WHO, 2021
1.3M ha/yr of forest lost
to demand for firewood and charcoal. IEA, 2025
4h/day collecting firewood
by women and girls, limiting their access to education and economic activity and exposing them to the risk of violence. IEA, 2025
$2.4B/yr
the global cost of cooking on polluting fuels — health spending, climate impacts and lost productivity for women. World Bank, 2020
In sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of the population still relies on wood or charcoal for cooking. With no affordable alternatives, buying fuel weighs heavily on family budgets, deepening energy poverty and inequality.
The alliance
An alliance to accelerate solutions
By bringing together humanitarian action and environmental innovation, the two foundations aim to accelerate access to these solutions and demonstrate that sustainable technologies are not only good for the planet: they are essential to human dignity, health and resilience.
Winds of Hope × Solar Impulse Foundation Prize
A philanthropic prize rewarding the best clean cooking initiatives.
Direct financial support of €30,000 to maximise social and environmental impact on the ground.
2 key objectives
- Strengthen the operational capacity of the winning projects to accelerate the deployment of their solutions.
- Purchase and distribute clean cookstoves to deliver an immediate benefit to families.
Our agenda
Call for solutions
Identifying and labelling clean cooking technologies that are efficient and economically viable.
Report presented at COP32, Ethiopia
A major report on indoor air pollution, existing solutions, financing mechanisms and accessibility models that can be scaled to reach the most precarious households. Bertrand Piccard and his team will carry strategic advocacy at COP32 to promote the initiative and mobilise high-level decision-makers.
Your impact in action
Join us to bring this change to life
- Less indoor air pollution
- Less deforestation
- Lower household energy spending
- Time saved for the education of women and girls
- Better family health
- Local economic development
Together, let’s accelerate the deployment of these solutions to bring hope, dignity and progress to thousands of families. Your contributions will directly support the success of this initiative.
Contribute to the work of the Rotary Club de Paris.
Reference: WOH – SIF project
Tax-deductible donation
What your donation provides:
€100
3–4 clean cookstoves for frontline households
€1,000
30–40 families durably protected from indoor pollution
€10,000
300–400 cookstoves and the launch of a local supply chain
These figures are indicative and illustrate the real impact of costs on the ground. The funds raised are pooled to finance all the pillars of the initiative (coordination, philanthropic prize, equipment purchase and communication).