VPA 67 - GHG Emission Reduction through use of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cook Stoves) in Bangladesh

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard cookstove project in Bangladesh with VVB-confirmed additionality and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but weakened by a project-specific baseline, a contradictory FPIC record, and a large volume of administrative corrective actions. The verified emissions reductions match the claimed figure for the monitoring period, and the verified usage rate exceeds the conservative assumption, supporting claim credibility. Overall a moderate-quality project with several documentation and safeguards gaps that limit confidence.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠FPIC status is contradictory: the 2024 verification report states FPIC was not conducted, while the 2023 validation report states it was — a material safeguards gap for a project targeting low-income households in Bangladesh
• ⚠Baseline is project-specific rather than jurisdictional or standardised, and no baseline reassessment date is recorded in any available document
• ⚠Sixteen or more corrective actions and comments were raised by the VVB, including missing major-changes documentation, unclear stakeholder-consultation applicability, and unconfirmed grievance-book implementation at branch offices
• ⚠No lifetime ex-ante emissions-reduction estimate is available in the extracted record, preventing a pro-rata over- or under-delivery check against the 15-year crediting period

Credit Vintages