Last updated 2 months ago
A platform for corporates to pre-purchase CO₂ credits linked to verified plastic removal, ensuring transparency, traceability, and scalability through smart contracts.
A platform for corporates to pre-purchase CO₂ credits linked to verified plastic removal, ensuring transparency, traceability, and scalability through smart contracts.
This is the total amount allocated to Tokenized CO₂ Commitments via Plastiks Platform.
Please provide your proposal title
Tokenized CO₂ Commitments via Plastiks Platform
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
250000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
6
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
A platform for corporates to pre-purchase CO₂ credits linked to verified plastic removal, ensuring transparency, traceability, and scalability through smart contracts.
Supporting links
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
The project involves collaboration with ECOTA (certification) and AIQUANT (blockchain development), but there are no external dependencies that could delay or block execution. Plastiks leads all critical components, including methodology, smart contracts, and verification logic. All partners are integrated within a controlled and coordinated framework, ensuring full autonomy and timely delivery.
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
No
License and Additional Information
All IP from this project will be jointly held by ECOTA, Nozama Tech Ltd, and PLASTICPeople. Nozama Tech Ltd owns the blockchain and smart contract architecture, ECOTA the certification methodology, and PLASTICPeople the operational recycling data. New outputs, including the adapted CO₂ credit model, will be shared while each partner retains pre-existing IP rights.
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Tokenization
Describe your established collaborations.
This project is backed by established collaborations between Nozama Tech Ltd / Plastiks, ECOTA, and PLASTICPeople. Plastiks leads tech development and verification, ECOTA provides certification under ISO standards, and PLASTICPeople delivers operational recycling data and pilot capacity. Together, they ensure a scalable, interoperable credit system on Cardano with aligned goals and transparent governance.
Describe funding commitments.
All partners commit in-kind resources to maximize grant impact. Nozama Tech Ltd / Plastiks provides development capacity, infrastructure, and verification tools. ECOTA contributes certification expertise and its verification network. PLASTICPeople supplies operational recycling data and pilot logistics. These commitments ensure the 250,000 ADA is fully dedicated to new development, integration, and community activation.
Describe your key performance metrics.
Key metrics include credits issued on-chain (plastic and CO₂), number of active wallets, and partners onboarded. We will track system uptime, transaction success rate, and public release of code and methodology. Impact will be measured in tonnes of CO₂ avoided and plastic recovered, plus ecosystem reach through Cardano events, demos, and community feedback.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
Plastic pollution and climate change are two of the most urgent and interconnected environmental crises. Plastic production, use, and disposal contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emission: estimated at 5.3% of the global total in 2019, yet this impact is largely overlooked in current carbon accounting frameworks. Recycling plastic can avoid substantial emissions, but there is currently no standardized way to measure, verify, or finance this environmental benefit through carbon markets.
This creates a major gap in how the circular economy is valued and incentivized. Small and informal recyclers, especially in the Global South and underserved regions of Europe, are excluded from climate finance due to the opacity, cost, and complexity of traditional carbon credit systems.
The voluntary carbon credit market was valued at ~$2 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow steadily over the next decade, with an estimated 3–5% potentially linked to plastic removal projects. This represents a multi-hundred-million-dollar opportunity for Cardano to establish itself as the blockchain infrastructure powering transparent, verifiable carbon credits tied to plastic recovery : capturing a high-impact, rapidly expanding niche in the sustainability economy.
Our solution is to create the first carbon credit methodology specific to plastic recycling and implement it on the Cardano blockchain. By replacing virgin plastic with recycled material, we prevent emissions, quantify the impact in CO₂ equivalent, and generate tokenized credits that are issued, verified, and retired via Cardano smart contracts.
Plastiks, together with ECOTA and pilot partner PLASTICPeople, will engage recyclers across multiple regions, providing open-source tools, AI-assisted verification, and onboarding support to make climate finance accessible and transparent.
Impact will be measured through credits issued on-chain, emissions avoided, and participants integrated into the system. All outputs: methodology, smart contracts, and dashboards, will be public, auditable, and aligned with FAIR principles.
This project positions Cardano as a leading infrastructure for decentralized environmental impact solutions, driving adoption, credibility, and measurable climate benefit at scale.
After the successful completion of this proposal, our next step is to scale the system across multiple geographies and recovery projects, expanding both the volume and diversity of verified CO₂ credits linked to plastic recycling. We aim to onboard dozens of recyclers and partners into the Cardano ecosystem, increasing wallet adoption and generating thousands of smart contract interactions per credit issuance, retirement, and audit. This will result in a growing volume of on-chain data, enhancing Cardano’s position as a preferred infrastructure for high-integrity climate finance. Every credit created, verified, and retired generates traceable data, transactions, metadata, timestamps, and proof of impact, publicly recorded on Cardano. The more this system is used, the more value it adds to the ecosystem, it incentivizes participation, generates adoption metrics, and demonstrates the blockchain’s capability for transparent environmental accounting. Our vision is to evolve this into a modular infrastructure that can be replicated by other projects, DAOs, and public institutions globally. Cardano will not only host this pioneering methodology, but also benefit from its network effect as more users, tools, and impact-driven finance models converge on-chain. This momentum is essential to demonstrate real-world utility and justify long-term support from the Catalyst community and beyond.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
This project will contribute significantly to the Cardano ecosystem by creating a real-world application of blockchain for environmental impact, specifically through the development and deployment of a carbon credit system for plastic recycling. By anchoring these credits on Cardano, we bring measurable utility to the network, demonstrating its power to support transparent, decentralized, and socially inclusive climate finance in addition to high volume of transactions related to the creation sales and retirement of carbon credits related to plastic removal.
The project will bring value to the Cardano community in several ways. First, it increases blockchain transaction volume and smart contract activity by tokenizing environmental assets (plastic-related carbon credits). Second, it strengthens Cardano’s position as a leading platform for regenerative finance and green technology use cases. Third, it attracts new users, including recyclers, municipalities, and climate-conscious investors, who engage with the platform through sustainability tools and applications.
We will measure impact quantitatively through key indicators such as:
the number of carbon credits issued on-chain
the volume of plastic recycled
the total CO₂e emissions avoided
the number of wallets interacting with the system
the number of recyclers and municipalities onboarded
views, shares, and downloads of the public methodology and smart contracts
Qualitative indicators will include feedback from pilot users, trust in the transparency of the MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) system, and the replicability of the model in other regions or sectors.
We will share all outputs openly with the Cardano community through GitHub, preprint repositories, and a dedicated online platform. Educational webinars, ecosystem updates via Twitter and LinkedIn, and participation in Catalyst will ensure maximum visibility and collaboration. Results, dashboards, and learning resources will be accessible in multiple languages to ensure global reach and inclusion.
By delivering verifiable and transparent carbon crediting infrastructure for plastic recycling, this project positions Cardano as a leader in decentralized environmental innovation with lasting social and climate impact.
What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?
The project builds upon the existing Plastiks infrastructure, a blockchain-based platform that certifies plastic recovery and recycling through traceable Plastic Credits. This system, already live and operating with dozens of recovery partners, provides a mature and stable foundation for expanding into carbon credit issuance. Our proposed solution integrates a CO₂ credit pre-purchase mechanism that is fully interoperable with Plastiks’ current platform, ensuring both feasibility and trust in its execution.
The integration strategy is anchored in shared blockchain infrastructure, smart contract design, and validation logic. Plastiks is already migrating from Celo to Cardano, making this an ideal opportunity to align environmental impact systems with the Cardano ecosystem.
The architecture includes tokenized environmental assets, with Plastic Credits and CO₂ Commitment Tokens ultimately converted into Carbon Credit NFTs. All credits are linked to verifiable on-chain actions supported by AI and human verification.
Our unified dashboard will display Plastic Credits, pre-purchased carbon commitments, and finalized CO₂ credits in a user-friendly interface. Wallet interoperability and shared backend logic allow seamless data tracking and transparent issuance. Issuers and buyers, including actors like OPERAL, will interact with a single interface for environmental credit management. This creates high trust through timestamped records, QR-linked certificates, and publicly verifiable smart contracts.
The technical team has already deployed similar mechanisms on Plastiks and will extend existing capabilities under the leadership of experienced blockchain engineer Trym Lyngset and data verification specialist Delfina Achinelly. Feasibility is also ensured through operational recycling data from our pilot partner PLASTICPeople, and economic modeling by ECOTA, which supports the integrity and scalability of the crediting system.
This integration reduces development cost and complexity by reusing core infrastructure, while delivering high-impact, dual-asset traceability on-chain. The system positions Cardano as a backbone for verifiable environmental finance and demonstrates real-world usability of blockchain in sustainability.
Month 1: Interoperability Architecture Finalization and Technical Alignment
We will conduct a joint technical sprint to define the interoperability layers between the existing Plastiks platform and the CO₂ credit pre-purchase system. This includes identifying smart contract interfaces, wallet connection logic, shared data fields, and traceability protocols. Blockchain architecture will be mapped for deployment on Cardano, ensuring full compatibility with current Plastiks NFTs and anticipated Carbon Credit NFTs. The goal is to establish foundational synergy between Plastic Credits and CO₂ Commitments from the outset.
Month 2: Smart Contract Design and Shared Wallet Identity System
Our blockchain development team will implement the first version of smart contracts supporting Commitment Tokens and their conditional transformation into Carbon Credit NFTs. This includes reward logic, metadata standards, and wallet authentication protocols, ensuring that both credit types (plastic and CO₂) are associated with the same user address. Smart contract logic for bundling plastic and carbon credits will also begin development. Unit testing will be executed within Cardano testnet environments.
Month 3: Unified Dashboard and Pre-Purchase User Experience
The Plastiks front-end team will extend the existing dashboard to include visual tracking of both Plastic Credits and Carbon Credit Commitments. A new “Pre-Purchased Credits” interface will allow climate-conscious buyers to reserve CO₂ credits linked to verified plastic recovery. AI-based backend verification logic will be adapted to also trigger credit issuance events based on validator-approved CO₂ metrics. Metadata cross-linking between plastic and CO₂ NFTs will be added at the UI level.
Month 4: Backend Integration and Proof-of-Issuance Mechanism
We will deploy a shared proofing mechanism that issues timestamped certificates and on-chain hashes, connecting both Plastic and Carbon credits through a QR-verified system. The backend will synchronize validator input and data flow from recyclers and projects like ECOTA. Shared monitoring tools will validate that credit conditions are met before carbon issuance is triggered. Early ecosystem partner OPERAL will be onboarded for live testing of the wallet-linked portfolio view.
Month 5: Beta Deployment, Metadata Finalization, and Pilot Testing
A fully functional beta version of the interoperable system will be launched. This includes live testing of commitment token purchases, conditional credit issuance, user portfolio visualization, and bundling logic. We will release smart contracts and architecture documentation to the Cardano open-source developer community for peer feedback. Pilot results will be collected from recycling operations at PLASTICPeople and matched against CO₂ commitment performance to calibrate impact measurements.
Month 6: Public Launch, Ecosystem Engagement, and Reporting
The integrated system will go live on the CARDANO based app.plastiks.io. Buyers will be able to pre-purchase and manage CO₂ credits tied to real plastic recovery with full traceability. We will publish a technical whitepaper, host a public demo session at a Cardano Town Hall, and provide open access to smart contracts, documentation, and KPIs. Outputs will be shared via GitHub and community forums to support replication, collaboration, and feedback across the Catalyst ecosystem.
Milestone Title
Technical Architecture and Smart Contract Foundation
Milestone Outputs
Define and implement the shared blockchain infrastructure that enables interoperability between Plastiks’ Plastic Credits and the CO₂ Commitment Token system. This includes designing smart contracts, shared wallet logic, and metadata frameworks for Cardano.
Acceptance Criteria
Architecture documentation reviewed and approved internally by Plastiks and ECOTA teams
Successful deployment of Commitment Token contracts on Cardano testnet
Wallet-based linking of credits demonstrated via test transactions
Metadata framework accepted by the development and validation teams
Evidence of Completion
Architecture Documentation: Finalized and approved system integration document detailing APIs, data flows, and interoperability logic between the Plastic Credit and CO₂ Commitment Token systems.
Smart Contracts: First version of Commitment Token contracts deployed and operational on the Cardano testnet, enabling conditional issuance and retirement logic.
Wallet Identity Logic: Implemented wallet-based credit linking, supporting multiple credit types in a unified user account. Demonstrated functionality through internal test transactions.
Metadata Standard: Established and approved initial metadata schema to cross-reference plastic and CO₂ credits on-chain.
Architecture documentation reviewed and formally approved by both Plastiks and ECOTA teams.
Testnet deployment of Commitment Token contracts confirmed via transaction IDs on Cardano testnet explorer.
Test transactions successfully linking wallet identity to multiple credit types verified by development and validation teams.
Metadata schema tested and accepted, with sample data stored on-chain for audit purposes.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
30000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
Unified Dashboard and Backend Verification Bridge
Milestone Outputs
Extend the existing Plastiks dashboard to include a Carbon Credit section. Implement backend logic to verify both plastic and carbon-related actions using AI and validator-based inputs. Integrate the proof-of-issuance system with timestamped hashes and QR-linked certificates.
Acceptance Criteria
Evidence of Completion
Delivery Month
4
Cost
87500
Progress
50 %
Milestone Title
Beta Launch, Pilot Testing, and Ecosystem Dissemination
Milestone Outputs
Deploy the full interoperable platform in beta. Conduct field-testing with partners such as OPERAL. Validate functionality, publish outputs, and share the system with the Cardano ecosystem, GitHub, and open documentation.
Acceptance Criteria
Evidence of Completion
Delivery Month
5
Cost
50000
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Platform Consolidation, Open Access Deployment, and Community Handover
Milestone Outputs
This final milestone will consolidate the interoperability between Plastiks’ Plastic Credit infrastructure and the newly developed CO₂ Credit Pre-Purchase system. It will ensure full operational stability, open access to smart contracts and documentation, and initiate community onboarding and replication efforts. The interoperable system will be publicly available on the Plastiks platform, with working integrations on the Cardano blockchain, allowing users to pre-purchase and manage both plastic and CO₂ environmental credits from a single dashboard.
Acceptance Criteria
Evidence of Completion
Delivery Month
6
Cost
82500
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
The total budget requested is 250,000 ADA, allocated across development, smart contract deployment, community activation, and compliance activities to deliver full interoperability between the Plastiks platform and a CO₂ Credit Pre-Purchase System. This proposal reflects the technical and strategic efforts required to deploy a working solution on Cardano within six months, and to ensure long-term value for the ecosystem.
This includes the design, build, and testing of the interoperability architecture:
Backend and frontend integration between Plastiks and the CO₂ pre-purchase system
Extension of wallet logic, token representation, smart contract workflows, and UI
Adaptation of dashboard to represent both plastic and CO₂ credits
Milestone Output: working Cardano-compatible version live on testnet
This covers:
Integration of AI-assisted verification tools into backend workflows
Emission factor logic linking plastic recovery with CO₂ credits
Monitoring and validation dashboard tools
Milestone Output: functional emission logic and verified data path tested in pilot
Independent audit of Cardano smart contracts governing credit issuance and retirement
Community code review for transparency
Milestone Output: all on-chain logic verified for production deployment
Technical coordination and progress tracking
Agile development sprints, quality assurance, weekly status alignment
Milestone Output: delivery of all roadmap objectives within 6 months
GitHub release of codebase, logic documentation, and usage guides
Public whitepaper on interoperability logic and credit standards
Milestone Output: publication of final system design, accessible to the Cardano community
Catalyst Town Hall demo session and Q&A with community
Campaign for community recyclers, builders, and mission-driven buyers
Creation of visual explainers, infographics, and educational content
Milestone Output: full launch campaign with participation tracking and KPI reporting
MiCAR-aligned review of token structure and pre-purchase mechanism
GDPR and international regulatory assessment
Milestone Output: full compliance checklist delivered and published
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
The proposed project delivers high value for money by leveraging existing infrastructure and a proven product to deploy an interoperable solution that introduces a new environmental asset class: CO₂ credits linked to plastic recovery, onto the Cardano blockchain.
With a budget of 250,000 ADA, the project will deliver a powerful combination of technical innovation, environmental credibility, and social inclusion, all fully aligned with Cardano’s core values, while significantly scaling the climate solution that Plastiks represents.
By reusing and extending components from the already-operational Plastiks platform, including wallet architecture, AI verification, and data tracking, the cost-to-impact ratio is optimized. Rather than building a system from scratch, the proposal funds the creation and scaling of a fully functional extension: a CO₂ credit pre-purchase model designed to work natively with Cardano smart contracts and dApps, and capable of supporting larger user volumes and multi-region deployment.
The impact per ADA is maximized by ensuring that all outcomes, open-source code, smart contract standards, educational content, and emission methodology, are made available to the broader Cardano community for replication, expansion, or integration into other climate-oriented dApps. This provides builders, recyclers, brands, and marketplaces with reusable building blocks and verified logic to launch new regenerative finance models.
Moreover, the system is designed to onboard mission-aligned partners like OPERAL, NGOs, and global recyclers who will transact through Cardano wallets, directly increasing ecosystem adoption, transaction volume, and visibility. The expanded budget enables deeper technical robustness, broader partner engagement, and an accelerated pathway to market adoption.
The project's clear output-based milestone structure ensures that funds will be tied to verifiable deliverables with defined acceptance criteria, providing transparency and accountability at every stage.
The voluntary carbon credit market was valued at ~$2 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow steadily over the next decade, with an estimated 3–5% potentially linked to plastic removal projects. This represents a multi-hundred-million-dollar opportunity for Cardano to establish itself as the blockchain infrastructure powering transparent, verifiable carbon credits tied to plastic recovery : capturing a high-impact, rapidly expanding niche in the sustainability economy.
In short, with 250,000 ADA, this project delivers substantial technical, environmental, and strategic value while catalyzing new use cases in voluntary carbon markets and circular economy finance, all on Cardano, and at a scale designed for global replication.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
The project team consists of experienced professionals in sustainability, blockchain technology, product development, operations management, and environmental verification. All team members have confirmed their availability and are actively involved in the planning and execution of this proposal. The project is co-led by André Vanyi-Robin and Ana Aguilar Meca, combining strategic vision with operational execution. Below are the key team members, their profiles, and their specific responsibilities:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrevanyirobin
Responsible for strategic direction, institutional partnerships, and onboarding mission-aligned collaborators such as recyclers, NGOs, and environmental platforms (e.g., OPERAL and UNHCR). André also leads the promotion of the project within the Cardano ecosystem and at ESG and circular economy forums.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaaguilarmeca
Leads operational coordination and milestone implementation, including budget management, quality control, regulatory compliance, and documentation aligned with ISO and voluntary carbon market standards. Ana also ensures methodological integrity and stakeholder engagement throughout the project.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/trymlyngset
Coordinates the technical team responsible for backend development and system architecture, ensuring that the pre-purchase functionality integrates smoothly with existing platform components such as wallets, AI verification, and data tracking.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristianalonsoesteban
Oversees communications strategy, educational content, and community engagement on Cardano channels (Discord, Telegram, X). He will also be responsible for public updates, storytelling, and building visibility for the project across sustainability and blockchain communities.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/solanki/
Leads the technical development of the project’s blockchain integration, including the design, deployment, and auditing of Cardano-native smart contracts. With deep expertise in fintech, digital asset infrastructure, and scalable Web3 architectures, Udai ensures that all components, from token logic to dApp interoperability, are robust, secure, and future-proof.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/delfinaachinelly
Specialist in carbon credit methodologies, climate reporting, and environmental MRV systems. Delfina will lead the development of the CO₂ credit framework and co-lead the preparation of technical documentation aligned with ISO 14067 in close collaboration with the certification partner ECOTA. Her role ensures that the model is robust, auditable, and suitable for integration into voluntary carbon markets. She also contributes expertise in impact metrics, environmental verification, and ESG alignment, reinforcing the scientific and methodological credibility of the project.
Under the technical leadership of Udai Solanki, we plan to onboard one additional specialized role to complement the core team:
Smart Contract Developer:
We are currently seeking an experienced developer proficient in Plutus or Aiken to support the implementation of smart contracts related to the pre-purchase of CO₂ credits on Cardano. This person will work closely with Udai to build out secure and modular contract logic aligned with dApp architecture.
In addition to the core team, the project is supported by external collaborators who bring critical expertise and real-world implementation capacity:
ECOTA: A specialized climate certification and methodology company focused on the development, validation, and auditing of environmental assets such as plastic and carbon credits. ECOTA brings deep expertise in MRV systems, blockchain-based traceability, and alignment with international standards (e.g., ISO 14067, Verra, Gold Standard). In this project, ECOTA will act as certification and methodological co-lead for the CO₂ credit framework, working closely with Delfina Achinelly to ensure scientific rigor and auditability across all pilot activities.
OPERAL: The project’s first pre-purchasing client. OPERAL has already committed to buying future carbon credits linked to plastic recovery and will participate in model testing and validation as an early adopter and ecosystem integrator.