GS5658 VPA 38: Fuel-efficient cookstoves for the resilience of rural communities in Burundi

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Burundi with VVB-confirmed additionality and a 5% quantified leakage deduction, but the verification report identified seven material findings and twenty corrective actions related to data inconsistencies in usage rates, stove distribution, emission factors, and SDG reporting. The project delivered approximately 91% of its pro-rata annual expectation, indicating reasonable credit delivery, but the volume of data-quality issues and contradictions between the PDD and monitoring report undermine confidence in the underlying MRV process.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Seven material findings in the 2024 verification report, including inconsistencies in usage rate reporting, stove distribution numbers, emission factor values, and adjustment factor calculations
• ⚠Twenty corrective actions required, spanning coordinate errors, emission factor discrepancies, usage rate parameter inconsistencies, and SDG impact calculation errors
• ⚠Usage rate assumed at 0.297 in the monitoring report versus 0.8 in an earlier document (2022), a factor-of-2.7 discrepancy that materially affects credit calculations
• ⚠Leakage treatment changed from 'deemed negligible' (0%) in the 2020 PDD to a 5% quantified deduction in the 2024 monitoring report, indicating the original baseline assessment was incomplete
• ⚠Crediting period stated as 2016–2036 in the PDD but 2021–2026 in the monitoring report, creating ambiguity about the applicable project lifetime for this VPA

Credit Vintages