VPA 19 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

The Bondhu Chula cookstove project in Bangladesh has a VVB-confirmed additionality assessment and a well-known verification body (TÜV NORD CERT), but is undermined by a project-specific baseline, an unusually low 0.95% leakage deduction, and an extensive list of over 30 material findings and 25 corrective actions that raise concerns about data quality and internal consistency. The ERR figures contain a direct contradiction within the same monitoring report (262,185 vs 157,839), and no lifetime ex-ante estimate is available to benchmark delivery against.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The monitoring report (2023-10-18) contains two different total ERR values (262,185 and 157,839) for the same period, a 66% discrepancy that was not resolved in the verification report
• ⚠Leakage deduction dropped from 5% in the 2016 verification report to 0.95% in the 2023 report — a five-fold reduction with no documented methodological justification in the extracted record
• ⚠Over 30 material findings and 25 corrective actions were raised by TÜV NORD CERT, including inconsistencies in emission reduction values, missing sample calculations, and data transfer errors between the monitoring report and ER worksheet
• ⚠No lifetime ex-ante ERR estimate is available in the extracted record, making it impossible to benchmark the 262,185 tCO₂e verified figure against a pro-rata expectation
• ⚠Stove crediting beyond the 5-year design lifetime was challenged by the VVB and accepted only on the basis of a manufacturer's 7-year lifespan certificate, introducing uncertainty into the permanence of claimed reductions

Credit Vintages