CarbonChain: Transparent Funding for Sustainable Projects

Project by Samuel Lihn, Eashan Iyer, Jessi Shin, Mateo Taylor

Problem

Consumer marketed 'carbon offset' programs obscure the carbon credit purchasing process, often funnelling money into low-quality credits and inefficient carbon solutions.

• Companies are willing to pay for sustainability, but face the risk of double crediting and greenwashing.
• Cities want sustainable projects but face bureaucratic delays and lack of funding alternatives.
• Money is hard to trace, making it hard for clients to know if their money is being well spent.
• It can be difficult for individuals to buy reliable, small amounts of carbon offsets.

Result: billions of dollars of potential climate impact never materializes.

1. Greenwashing & Lack of Trust

   • Many credits sold today are unverifiable or double-counted.
   • Corporations often purchase credits without clear evidence of real impact.
   • Many credits are sold on already existing platforms which means no additional emissions reductions are being created

2. Fragmentation & Opaqueness

   • Multiple registries and standards create confusion.
   • Lack of transparency makes it hard for investors to compare projects and justify their expenses.

SETUP:

Our blockchain setup requires a linux distribution and Foundry testnet. You can speak to Sam for specific setups because it's a bit complex. The rest of our project should set up easily, install the package, and run the backend via /fastapi_webapp, then run the frontend in /client. Note you'll need an env linking to a MongoDB atlas cluster and a carbonmark sandbox api-key to simulate purchases.

Solution

We propose an operating system for sustainable development, powered by blockchain.

• Pick your carbon project: Credit buyers can access high-quality registry data and fund projects directly, eliminating obscurity.

• Proof-of-Impact NFTs: Once a credit is bought, the system mints a certificate (project details, carbon reduced, date) that is immutable and transparent. Anyone in the world can view when a contract was created, its transaction history, and associated information. This improves transparency and traceability.

We also want to make a simple system so that individuals that do not use cryptocurrency are still able to take advantage of the blockchain-based solution.

Value Proposition

• For Investors: Trustworthy and verifiable climate impact. No double counting.
• For Projects: Faster, direct access to capital without bureaucratic drag.
• For Corporates/NGOs: ESG-ready impact reports backed by immutable data.

Addressing Challenges

Why blockchain? Why not a database?

• Traditional databases = centralized, prone to tampering and greenwashing.
• Blockchain = immutable, transparent, globally verifiable by everyone.

Greenwashing & Lack of Trust → Verifiable Impact**

• Smart contracts ensure funds are only released when pre-defined milestones are met.
• Every credit is tracked on-chain, with a transparent history of issuance, transfer, and retirement.
• Future roadmap includes integrations with IoT devices, satellite imagery, and independent verifiers to provide real-world proof of carbon reduction.

Isn’t this just another carbon credit scheme?
Most existing platforms focus on secondary trading of offsets. Our focus is on primary funding for real projects.

• Milestone-based smart contracts release funds only after verified progress.
• This closes the loop between investor → project → verified outcome, something current credit markets don’t achieve.

What about regulatory or legal issues?
Our MVP runs on a testnet demo, meaning no real money and no regulatory exposure.

• Future versions can align with existing frameworks (green bonds, Verified Carbon Standard).

How will you get adoption?
We see adoption happening in three stages:

1. Early Adopters (Low-barrier pilots)

   • Universities, NGOs, and community projects are the ideal first users.
   • They face fewer regulatory hurdles and are motivated to showcase transparency in sustainability initiatives.

2. Scaling Partners (Municipalities, mid-size organizations)

   • Cities and regional governments increasingly need to report climate progress.
   • Our platform provides a cost-effective and auditable way to fund local green projects and share outcomes publicly.

3. Corporates & Institutional Investors (High-volume adoption)

• According to PwC, ESG-focused institutional investment is projected to grow to US$33.9 trillion by 2026, making up 21.5% of total assets under management (PwC Report).
• Our platform lowers transaction friction and ensures verifiable outcomes, directly addressing investor and compliance needs.
• We lower transaction friction and provide proof of impact, which directly helps them meet compliance and investor demands.

What if the project data is faked?

• Short-term: rely on trusted third-party verifiers.
• Long-term: integrate sensor-driven proof (satellite imagery for reforestation, smart meters for renewable energy).
• Blockchain ensures that once submitted, data cannot be altered or erased.

Tech Stack

Frontend

• Next.js
• React
• Auth0
• Axios
• GSAP

Backend

• FastAPI
• Web3.py
• MongoDB Atlas

Blockchain

• Forge Testnet

Team

• Samuel Lihn
• Eashan Iyer
• Jessi Shin
• Mateo Taylor