Environmental sustainability is an integral part of AVSI’s mission. Through our programs and internal operations, we work to reduce emissions, promote sustainable development, and contribute to the global fight against climate change.
A clear policy framework
To strengthen its environmental commitment, we continue to enhance the analysis and assessment of the actual and potential environmental impacts of our activities, adopting measures to reduce our ecological footprint while complying with applicable regulations in the countries where we operate.
AVSI’s Environmental Policy, which applies to all offices and is publicly available on the organization’s website, provides guidance for integrating environmental protection into project design, organizational processes, and management practices.
Measuring our footprint
Measuring greenhouse gas emissions is fundamental to understand the environmental impact of our operations and support increasingly sustainable decisions.
In 2025, we continued our process of collecting and analyzing data related to Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the objective of developing a transparent mitigation strategy based on certified data that can be compared over time.
The 2025 assessment covered our Italian offices in Milan, Cesena, and Lecce, where we have direct control over emission-related assets. Emissions were calculated in accordance with the GHG Protocol and the UNI EN ISO 14064-1:2019 standard, using an activity-based approach in which energy consumption, mileage, and other relevant data are multiplied by their respective emission factors.
The analysis considered the main greenhouse gases and classified emissions as follows:
- Scope 1: natural gas combustion for heating and the use of hybrid gasoline company vehicles;
- Scope 2: electricity purchased from the grid (location-based approach).
Offsetting and concrete improvements
In 2025, AVSI generated a total of 34.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂eq), recording an overall 33% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions compared to 2024, driven by:
- Reduced gas consumption, mainly due to a 37.7% decrease in kilometres travelled by the organization’s vehicle fleet;
- Electricity consumption that remained substantially in line with 2024 levels;
- The update of emission factors from ISPRA 2022 to ISPRA 2024, with the emission factor for the electricity sector decreasing significantly (approximately 30%).
We have chosen to offset the 34.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions with the support of Carbon Sink through Gold Standard certified carbon credits generated by the project “Improved Cook Stoves in Chamanculo C, Maputo (Mozambique), Phase II.”
We have also identified a number of improvement actions following the analysis carried out in our Italian offices, including the purchase of electric vehicles and the use of Guarantees of Origin for electricity supply. At the same time, we continue to implement projects worldwide promoting clean cooking solutions, climate-smart agriculture, reforestation, renewable energy, and education on energy efficiency.
In 2025 alone, 323,247 improved cookstoves were distributed. Each of these systems contributes to reducing global CO₂ emissions by approximately 0.5 tonnes per year. As a result, fewer than 100 improved cookstoves are sufficient to offset the 34.8 tonnes of CO₂ emitted annually by AVSI’s Italian offices.
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