The Breathing Space Improved Cooking Stoves Programme, India - VPA No. 13 Envirofit

Audit Analysis

The Breathing Space VPA-13 (Envirofit) is a Gold Standard improved-cooking-stove project with VVB-confirmed additionality, but it is undermined by ten material findings, eight corrective actions, and multiple cross-document contradictions in key parameters (fNRB method, leakage factor, usage rate, monitoring method). The project delivered roughly 79% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the 2021–2022 monitoring period, and no buffer pool or permanence mechanism is documented. Data quality and documentation consistency are the principal weaknesses.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Ten material findings in the 2022 verification report, including an incorrect baseline stove-usage formula, inconsistencies between survey questionnaires and the ER spreadsheet, and Water Boiling Tests not conducted in the monitoring period (efficiency extrapolated from prior trends).
• ⚠Eight corrective actions required, including a tampered PoA-DD template, no provision for avoiding double counting at inter-VPA and intra-VPA level, and a leakage adjustment factor in the ER calculation inconsistent with the registered VPA-DD.
• ⚠No buffer pool or permanence mechanism is stated in any available document, leaving reversal risk unaddressed.
• ⚠FPIC was not conducted, and the VPA passports lack information on the scope and implementation of the grievance mechanism (noted in corrective actions).
• ⚠The fNRB method is reported as 'local field' in the 2022 verification report but 'national default' in the 2022 monitoring report — a direct contradiction on a core calculation parameter.

Credit Vintages