Glossary

Additionality: (for a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project) a project activity that reduces net GHG emissions below the level that would have occurred in the absence of the project activity (i.e., its baseline).

Actively Aerated Composting: a type of composting where air is blown into the waste using a compressor or a blower.

Aerobic Composting: A process for producing nutrient-rich compost through aerobic decomposition of organic matter utilizing microbes and natural processes. Aerobic composting produces little to no methane emissions when compared to anaerobic decomposition in landfills and dumps.

Anaerobic decomposition: organic matter decomposition that occurs under anaerobic (low oxygen) or anoxic conditions. Its main products are digestate and the emission of methane, in addition to ammonia, hydrogen sulfide gas and carbon dioxide.

AMS (Approved Methodology, Small-Scale): A methodology that has been approved by the Board for application to CDM project activities, or CPAs. Approved methodologies are publicly available on the UNFCCC CDM website.

Auditors: Independent, third-party businesses, organizations, or consultants who homologate Participants for participation in the Carrot Network and/or utilize Carrot methodologies to certify waste mass recycling and issue recycling or carbon credits.

Bad Actor: A Bad Actor is a Participant who/that intentionally or unintentionally, acts in a manner that is not in line with the policies of this methodology or the Carrot Network.

Baseline: A baseline (also known as a reference scenario) is a benchmark or reference point used to measure and compare the environmental gains, such as GHG emissions, of a project. It represents the environmental impact (e.g., amount of GHG emissions) that would occur in the absence of the project or intervention being evaluated. The baseline is essential for determining the effectiveness of a project in reducing negative environmental impact.

Baseline and monitoring methodology: A methodology for a CDM project activity or Component Project Activity (CPA) comprising two related parts: a baseline methodology and a monitoring methodology. See also the definitions of “baseline methodology” and “monitoring methodology.”

Baseline approach: The approach used to establish a baseline methodology. The CDM rules and requirements prescribe the baseline approaches that can apply to CDM project activities and CPAs.

Baseline emissions: The GHG emissions that would occur in the baseline scenario.

Baseline methodology: A methodology applied to establish a baseline scenario for a CDM project activity, or CPA, which constitutes one part of a baseline and monitoring methodology.

Baseline net GHG removals by sinks: The sum of the changes in carbon stocks in the carbon pools within the project boundary that would have occurred in the absence of the Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) CDM project activity or A/R program of activities (PoA).

Baseline scenario for CDM: For a CDM project activity that does not involve Afforestation/Reforestation (non-A/R) or Component Project Activity (CPA) (non-A/R), the scenario for the CDM project activity or CPA that reasonably represents the anthropogenic emissions by sources of GHGs that would occur in the absence of the CDM project activity or CPA.

Carbon Credit Buyer: a company or individual that acquires a credit with the aim of financially supporting the recovery and transformation of waste into new resources that can be reused in the economy.

Carrot Fndn: A foundation in Switzerland building the Carrot Blockchain Network and creating a global community that will utilize, manage, own, and support it. Carrot Fndn’s mission (purpose) is to accelerate the transition to a resource-efficient, low-carbon, and inclusive circular economy.

Carrot Network (or “Carrot”): The technology infrastructure utilized to record product and waste supply chain data, apply a digital Measurement Reporting and Verification (dMRV) process for certifying environmental gain and issuing credits, and provide a distribution mechanism for rewarding supply chain participants who contributed to the environmental gain realized. The Carrot Network is stewarded by the Carrot Fndn, and governance will be progressively distributed to its global community of users.

Carrot Registry: A repository where all retired credits are stored for public consultation. The Carrot Registry holds all of the Tokenized Recycling Credits (non-fungible tokens) that are no longer transferable and which can be used to prove environmental (waste and carbon) contributions.

Circle Economy: A system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. The circular economy tackles climate change and other global challenges, like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. The circular economy is driven by three principles: eliminate waste and pollution, use circular products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature (Ellen MacArthur Foundation).

Carrot Network Integrator (INT): An INT is a homologated supply chain tracking, waste logistics, and waste recycling software or hardware application that records activity data of all types, including but not limited to product and waste identification, sorting, hauling, processing, measuring, auditing, recycling, upcycling, and reuse, and submits them to the Carrot Network.

CDM (Clean Development Mechanism): The clean development mechanism (CDM) is one of the flexible mechanisms that developed countries can use in meeting their targets under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). CDM allows the implementation of projects that avoid or remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. For each tonne of emissions that is removed or avoided, the CDM issues one CER subject to international verification process. CDM projects are set out to achieve two goals: (a) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and (b) to support sustainable development in developing countries.

Composting Cycle: A process by which organic waste materials are broken down into a nutrient-rich soil amendment called compost. The cycle can take anywhere from a few months to a year, depending on the materials used, the composting method, and environmental conditions. Proper management, including balancing green and brown materials and maintaining moisture and oxygen levels, is essential for efficient composting.

Closed Composting Installation: A facility for actively aerated composting that is enclosed. Exhaust air from the installation is collected in an exhaust pipe.

CO2e: Carbon dioxide equivalent is a standard unit of measurement for greenhouse gases (methane, nitrous oxide and others) converted to carbon dioxide equivalents measured in tonnes (t-CO2e) using the global warming potential (GWP). For example, the GWP of methane is 28 and that of nitrous oxide is 231.

Co-composting: is a type of composting where solid waste and wastewater are composted together.

Digestate: Digestate is the material remaining after the anaerobic digestion of a biodegradable feedstock conducted in a biodigester to produce and capture biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide). The digestate is a nutrient-rich substance that, when treated properly through aerobic composting, can be used as a fertilizer or soil conditioner. If not treated, digestate is typically sent to a solid waste disposal site (SWDS).

Dump or dump site: A location where waste materials are discarded without proper containment, treatment, or management. Dump sites lack the infrastructure, regulations, and environmental safeguards that are standard in sanitary landfills, making them prone to causing significant environmental pollution and health hazards. Dump sites are a reality around the world, even where they are illegal.

Effluent: Liquid waste or wastewater that is discharged from a source such as a factory, sewage treatment plant, or industrial facility into natural water bodies, such as rivers, lakes, or oceans, or into sewage systems. Effluents can contain a variety of pollutants, including organic matter, chemicals, heavy metals and microorganisms, depending on the source and the processes involved.

Emissions Reduction: The reduction in greenhouse gases emitted (methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, etc.) for a given practice when compared to the emissions generated by a standard (“baseline”) operation, practice, and/or project. Total emissions accounting is measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalency (t-CO2e) to facilitate comparisons in the effectiveness of emissions reductions between project types.

Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB): A form of biomass generated after extracting palm oil from fruit bunches.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): EPR is an environmental policy approach that holds producers responsible for product management through the product’s lifecycle. EPR supports recycling and materials management goals that contribute to a circular economy and can also encourage product design changes that minimize environmental impacts. (For more information, see also the OECD’s definition.)

Greenhouse Gases (GHG): A greenhouse gas listed in Annex A of the Kyoto Protocol, unless otherwise specified in a particular methodology. GHGs contribute to global warming due to increased concentration in the atmosphere; among them, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O).

Heap: compost piles or heaps can be considered a final disposal area for organic solid waste if anaerobic decomposition conditions are favored. Cells with a volume/surface ratio less than 1.5 are considered aerobic.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. (site)

Know Your Customer/Client (KYC): is the mandatory process of identifying and verifying the customer's identity when participating in a program. Participation may be denied or excluded permanently if a participant fails to meet KYC or KYB (Know Your Business) requirements.

Landfill: is a licensed site for the disposal of waste materials by burial. A landfill is an engineered structure built into or on top of the ground in which waste is deposited in a manner that isolates it from the environment (groundwater, air, and soil) to avoid contamination. This isolation is achieved with a bottom liner and daily covering of soil or other materials. Landfills typically treat leachate effluents, and some attempt to flare (burn) or capture methane for use as biogas in order to reduce the negative impacts of landfill GHG emissions.

Leachate: Leachate is a liquid that has percolated through a solid material and extracted soluble substances, typically from waste or soil. Leachate can contain various harmful substances, such as organic and inorganic chemicals, heavy metals, and pathogens, which can pose environmental and health risks if not properly managed.

Managed SWDS: a SWDS that has controlled placement of waste (i.e., waste directed to specific deposition areas, a degree of control of scavenging, and a degree of control of fires) and will include at least one of the following: (i) cover material; (ii) mechanical compacting; or (iii) leveling of the waste. In this tool, a SWDS that does not meet this definition is considered an unmanaged SWDS;

Manure: is a mixture of organic material, primarily consisting of animal feces and urine, that is used as a natural fertilizer (preferably after it is composted) in agriculture to enhance soil fertility and promote plant growth. It may also include bedding materials such as straw or sawdust that have been mixed with animal waste. Manure provides essential nutrients to the soil, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and improves soil structure and water retention.

MassID: A MassID is a unique digital asset created when any amount of post-consumer or post-industrial waste is identified and measured in the market and where custody is established. MassIDs represent publicly verifiable ownership, and therefore responsibility, over a unit of waste mass with an immutable record of recycling operations (executed service orders) logged in it. MassIDs are utilized to establish a chain of custody of waste in a manner that enables attaching waste responsibility all the way to the source of waste creation (its location and user.) MassIDs are the mechanism through which rewards can be distributed to Participants recorded along the recycling and reuse supply chains.

Methodological Tool: a document containing a methodological guide with criteria and equations for calculating emissions or abatement of GHG emissions and/or criteria, steps and flowcharts for determining the additionality of CDM projects.

Mitigation: the reduction of net GHG emissions, including carbon sequestration, or the reduction or alleviation of the consequences of climate change as a result of specific actions.

Monitoring: actions or an action plan with a determined frequency with the objective of monitoring and detailing processes or products using quantitative or qualitative metrics (e.g., monitoring of methane emissions). More specifically, for a CDM project activity (non-A/R) or PoA (non-A/R), monitoring is the process of collecting and archiving all data necessary for determining the baseline and for measuring anthropogenic emissions by sources of GHGs within the project boundary and leakage, as applicable. For an A/R CDM project activity or A/R PoA, collecting and archiving all data necessary for estimating or measuring the net anthropogenic GHG removals by sinks.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): a heterogeneous mix of different solid waste types, usually collected by municipalities or other local authorities. MSW includes household waste, garden/park waste and commercial/institutional waste;

Network Integrator: a system that provides data to the Carrot Network through Carrot’s APIs (Application Programming Interface). Network Integrators include applications that track logistics, recycling, reuse, and production for resources, materials, waste, and products.

NGO Beneficiary: a non-profit organization that receives token rewards from the Carrot Network. NGO Beneficiaries can be homologated if their mission is related to advancing the transition to a circular economy through activities related to research, development, awareness, education, or other activities.

Non-Fungible Token (NFT): is a blockchain-based, cryptographic token that attributes single ownership to a unique digital or physical asset. Cryptographic signatures, native to blockchains, store transactional information, including the prior and current owners of each NFT.

NFT Smart Contract: is a digital contract that governs how NFTs function. It is a blockchain computer program that executes automatically when predetermined terms and conditions are met. Smart contracts issue NFTs and determine an owner, set a price for purchase and set payouts (also known as royalties) to other contributors and establish rules for how the NFT can be deactivated (retired or burned), among many other functions.

Organic Waste: is a biological material originating from plants and animals that will no longer be consumed, such as: food, food waste, green waste, sludge (industrial, domestic, and sewage), pulp, paper, cardboard, wood and wood products, etc.

Participants: supply chain participants include individuals or businesses involved in sorting, hauling, storing, processing, recycling, and buying recycled materials. They include:

• Waste Generator: is an individual or business (excluding processors and recyclers) with an identified location where waste is picked up. The Waste Generator can be considered the source of where waste is created (see Waste Source below) and holds the critical task of sorting waste correctly;

• Hauler: a business and/or individual that transports waste from one location to another;

• Processor: a business that sorts waste without performing comprehensive mass transformation;

• Recycler (aka End Processor): a Processor that performs the most comprehensive work of mass transformation for reintroduction into the economy as a new input (e.g., Composter);

• Buyer of recycled materials: a business and/or individual that purchases recycled materials for use in their production processes.

Producer: a company involved in any activity along the product supply chain, including: sourcing (e.g., extracting raw materials, growing biological products (crops, cattle, etc.)), hauling, processing, converting, manufacturing, filling, packing, and selling.

Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO): an organization, typically a non-profit, that represents a group of companies participating in an EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) program (also known as a producer responsibility program). PROs can develop and manage their own EPR programs or participate in larger regional or national EPR programs.

Project Boundary: The radius, measured in kilometers, from the composting facility that limits project activities, including the distance from which organic waste can be collected and the resultant compost can be applied to the soil. For a CDM project activity (non-A/R) or CPA (non-A/R), the project boundary is the physical delineation and/or geographical area of the CDM project activity or CPA and the specification of GHGs and sources under the control of the project participants that are significant and reasonably attributable to the CDM project activity or CPA, in accordance with the applied methodologies and, where applicable, the applied standardized baselines.

Recycling: is the process that involves changing the physical, chemical, or biological properties of waste with the aim of transforming it into a new resource that can be utilized.

Recycling Credit Buyer: a business or individual that purchases a credit with the aim of financially supporting the recovery and transformation of waste into new resources that can be used again within the economy. The buyer contributes by generating external environmental and social benefits (see co-benefits section) for meeting individual and/or corporate ESG goals while also potentially meeting compliance mandates such as those related to carbon and waste reduction (Extended Producer Responsibility).

Residual Waste: a solid waste type with largely homogenous properties. This includes, inter alia, material that remains after the waste is treated, e.g. anaerobic digestate and compost, and biomass residues (by-product, residue or waste stream from agriculture, forestry and related industries);

Recycling Service Providers: individuals or businesses involved in hauling, sorting, storing, processing, and recycling. They include Haulers, Processors and Recyclers.

Solid Waste: Material that is unwanted and insoluble (including gases or liquids in cans or containers). Hazardous waste is not included in the definition of solid waste. Solid waste may include residual waste.

Solid Waste Disposal Site (SWDS): designated areas intended as the final storage place for solid waste. Stockpiles are considered a SWDS if: (a) their volume to surface area ratio is 1.5 or larger; and if (b) a visual inspection by the DOE confirms that the material is exposed to anaerobic conditions (i.e. it has a low porosity and is moist);

Stockpile: a pile of solid waste (not buried below ground). Anaerobic conditions are not assured in a stockpile with low volume-to-surface-area ratios (less than 1.5) because the waste may be exposed to higher aeration.

Tokenized Carbon Credit (TCC): A blockchain token representing an amount of carbon-equivalent emissions avoided, measured in metric tons. TCCs are issued for verified emissions prevented or removed from the atmosphere. The purchase of a TCC distributes rewards to contributing Participants’ digital wallets in accordance with Carrot’s Reward Distribution Policy. Retired TCCs (to Carrot’s Registry) serve as proof of verified climate action and can be utilized by companies to meet decarbonization goals.

Tokenized Recycling Credit (TRC): is a blockchain token representing the environmental work expended by a set of contributing Participants to recycle a unique amount of waste, measured in metric tons. The purchase of a TRC distributes rewards to contributing Participant’s digital wallets in accordance with Carrot’s Reward Distribution Policy. Retired TRCs (to Carrot’s Registry) serve as proof of environmental contribution and can be utilized as waste offsets by Producers in Extended Producer Responsibility programs.

Voluntary Emissions Reduction (VER): are certificates measured in 1 tonne of CO2e units, issued for greenhouse gas emission reductions in accordance with a VER standard, and verified by an accredited validator. VERs are typically purchased voluntarily in the voluntary carbon markets (VCM) by corporations needing to meet corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals.

Waste Delivery Summary Report: a compliance document issued by the Recycler and submitted to an environmental regulator that reports the amount and type of post-consumer and post-industrial waste received at the recycling facility during a given period.

[Example: In the case of Brazil, the document is called a final destination certificate, or Certificado de Destinação Final (“CDF”.) The CDF is submitted to the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment and it contains a series of waste transport manifests (known as “MTRs”, see separate definition).]

Waste “Source”: The source of organic waste creation is an identified Waste Generator where a resource has been consumed and transformed into waste at a given location. The waste source may also be further distinguished between post-consumer and post-industrial.

Waste Transport Manifest: is an environmental compliance document for reporting waste hauling activities to environmental government agencies. It identifies the location and holder of the waste where it was collected, the Hauler, the location and business where it was (or will be) dropped off, along with the physical properties of the materials being hauled.

[Example: in the case of Brazil, this document is referred to as the MTR (Manifesto de Transporte de Resíduos). The MTR document is registered in a federal waste monitoring and reporting systems known as SINIR (Sistema Nacional de Informações sobre a Gestão de Resíduos Sólidos).]

Windrow System: a composting installation where waste is composted in a long, low ridge (row). This shape is designed to passively aerate the waste that is undergoing decomposition by making use of wind and natural drafts caused by the increased temperatures of the biodegradation process. Windrows apply a mixture of brown (carbon-rich) and green (nitrogen-rich) materials in ratios that optimize nutrient compost formation and structures that enable ideal oxygen and humidity levels for microbial activity.

Zero Waste “Definition”: The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health. (ZWIA)

Zero Waste Goal: To reduce waste to landfills by more than 90% by reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting resources without incineration.