Improved Cookstoves for Communities

Audit Analysis

This VCS cookstove project in India has a VVB-verified investment additionality test and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but is undermined by seven material findings (notably around fNRB calculation and monitoring compliance), ten outstanding corrective actions, and a direct contradiction on whether FPIC was conducted. The absence of a stated buffer pool and the disputed fNRB methodology (national default vs. local field) introduce meaningful uncertainty into the integrity and claim-safety of the credits.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Seven material findings in the verification report, including lack of clarity on fNRB determination, monitoring-plan non-compliance with VMR0006, and missing additionality information
• ⚠Ten corrective actions remain open, including demonstrating non-renewable biomass use since 1989 and providing complete investment-analysis details
• ⚠FPIC status is directly contradicted: the PDD (Jan 2022) states FPIC was conducted, while the monitoring report (Oct 2024) states it was not
• ⚠fNRB method is disputed across documents: the verification report records a national-default method while the PDD records a local-field method, and the material findings flag the fNRB calculation as lacking assessment and clarity

Credit Vintages