Frequently Asked Questions
Business Model
What if you can't sell the carbon credits?
Multiple revenue streams protect against market risk:
- Eco-Tourism (primary): €9-25K per cottage per year
- Hemp Products: Textiles, bioplastics, construction materials (€31B market)
- Carbon Credits (bonus): €45-60 per tonne when market is strong
Result: We make money even if carbon credit market crashes. Hemp biomass always has commercial value.
How do you avoid burning hemp with no secondary uses?
Every part of hemp plant has commercial value:
- Stalks: Hempcrete construction, insulation
- Fibers: Textiles, rope, paper
- Seeds: Nutraceuticals, CBD products
- Biomass: Bioenergy pellets, heating fuel
- Waste: Bioplastics, composites
Total market: €31B+ across 6 categories
Result: Zero waste. Constant revenue stream.
Technology
Doesn't blockchain have a huge carbon footprint?
Short answer: We use blockchain as a backend transparency tool. Polygon network uses 99.9% less energy than Bitcoin.
Long answer:
Our Approach: Blockchain for backend transparency, not front-facing marketing.
Why Polygon:
- Proof-of-Stake consensus (not energy-intensive Proof-of-Work)
- 99.9% more efficient than Bitcoin
- 1 transaction = 0.001% of Bitcoin's energy
- Carbon-negative when combined with hemp sequestration
Corporate Buyer Benefits:
- Immutable record of carbon credits
- Transparent verification trail
- Audit requirements met
- Regulatory compliance
Our Net Impact:
- Hemp sequesters: 14 tonnes CO₂ per hectare
- Polygon transactions: ~0.001 tonnes CO₂ per year
- Net Result: 13,999 tonnes CO₂ removed (carbon-negative)
Why use blockchain at all?
For B2B corporate buyers: Transparency and auditability
Benefits:
- Tamper-proof: Can't fake carbon sequestration data
- Real-time tracking: Corporations see CO₂ progress live
- Auditable: Third-party verifiers can check everything
- Regulatory compliance: Meets EU sustainability reporting requirements
Alternative: Traditional carbon registries (slow, expensive, opaque)
Our approach: Blockchain for transparency, IoT sensors for verification, human verifiers for quality control.
Do I need to understand blockchain to buy carbon credits?
No.
For B2B corporate buyers:
- You get documentation for CSR reports (working towards EU CRCF certification Q3-Q4 2026)
- You get access to a dashboard (like Google Analytics)
- You see real-time CO₂ tracking
- You don't need to know how blockchain works
- You get professional certificate upon EU CRCF certification completion
Think of it like email: You don't need to understand SMTP protocol to send an email. Same with our blockchain - it works behind the scenes.
Investment
What's your business model?
We sell carbon credits to corporations (ongoing business operations).
Primary Revenue:
- Carbon credits: €560-840/hectare/year
- Hemp products: €500-1,000/hectare/year
- Eco-tourism: €9-25K/cottage/year
- Total: €10-27K/hectare (competitive with agriculture)
This is our ongoing business, not a fundraising campaign.
Optional: VC funding if we want to scale faster (not required).
Who are your customers?
PRIMARY: Corporations (ongoing business)
- Companies needing carbon offsets
- Tax write-offs + certificates
- Simple, transactional
- Continuous revenue stream
SECONDARY: Climate Tech VCs (optional scaling)
- If we want to grow faster
- Not a "phase" or requirement
- Your choice, your timing
NOT: Retail investors or token buyers
What is EU CRCF certification?
Official EU framework for carbon projects (Regulation 2024/3012, December 2024).
Four Categories:
- Permanent Carbon Removals (direct air capture)
- Carbon Farming - Soil (agricultural practices)
- Carbon Farming - Forests (afforestation)
- Carbon Storage in Products ← Our category
Our Certification:
- Category 4: Carbon Storage in Products
- Qualification: Hempcrete buildings (50+ year lifespan)
- Timeline: 6-11 months to first certification
- Costs: €8,500-21,500 initial + €2,000-5,000 annual
- Status: Research complete, certification bodies contacted
Why This Matters:
- Required for corporate sales
- Official EU certification
- Becoming the "gold standard"
- Traditional registries being replaced
What are you actually measuring?
We measure hemp growth, not atmospheric CO₂ levels.
What We Track:
- Hemp plant height and biomass
- Growth rate over time
- Carbon content in biomass
- Sequestration rate (tonnes CO₂/hectare)
What We DON'T Measure:
- Atmospheric CO₂ levels (those are constant at 420 ppm)
- Air quality
- Weather patterns
Why: Standard carbon methodology measures plant carbon accumulation, not air CO₂.
Verification: IoT sensors track plant growth → Third-party CRCF certifiers validate → Carbon credits issued.
Why GPS tracking?
Verification of field location, not tracking movement.
Purpose:
- Proves hemp is grown where we say it is
- Required for EU CRCF certification
- Corporate buyers need location verification
- Prevents fraud (claiming credits for non-existent fields)
What GPS Does: Records field coordinates once What GPS Doesn't Do: Track people, vehicles, or movement
Think of it like: A property deed - proves location, doesn't track activity.
Why satellite imagery?
Remote verification of hemp growth (cost savings).
Benefits:
- Reduces on-site verification costs: €5K-€15K → €1.5K-€4.5K (70% savings)
- Faster verification: 1-2 months vs 6-12 months
- More frequent monitoring: Monthly vs annual
- Copernicus satellite system (EU-provided, cost-effective)
What Satellites See:
- Hemp field boundaries
- Plant growth over time
- Harvest timing
- Field conditions
Combined with: IoT sensors (ground truth) + Third-party verifiers (validation)
What's the difference between B2B buyers and subscribers?
Different customer types, not sequential phases.
B2B Corporate Buyers (Tier 1 - Primary Business):
- Buy: Pre-purchase carbon credits (CCT tokens)
- Get: Documentation for CSR reports (working towards EU CRCF certification), tax write-off, dashboard access
- Purpose: Carbon offset compliance and CSR reporting
- Timeline: 1-2 weeks to close
- Amount: €1,500-€5,000 per contract
- Note: Professional certificate upon EU CRCF certification completion (Q3-Q4 2026)
- Pricing: €30-45/tonne (25-50% below market)
Individual/Business Subscribers (Tier 2 - Secondary Revenue):
- Subscribe: Monthly carbon offset subscriptions
- Get: Real-time tracking, monthly reports, future LEAF rewards
- Purpose: Personal/business environmental impact
- Timeline: Instant signup
- Amount: €10-75/month (Individual, Family, or Business tiers)
- Benefits: Cancel anytime, no lock-in
Key Difference: B2B is our primary business (ongoing corporate sales). Subscriptions provide steady secondary revenue and future LEAF reward eligibility.
Operations
How do you verify carbon sequestration?
Three-tier system:
IoT Sensors (automated)
- Measure CO₂ levels in real-time
- GPS tracking of hemp fields
- Blockchain-verified data
Remote Verifiers (human)
- Review sensor data
- Check satellite imagery
- Verify calculations
On-Site Assessment (physical)
- Visit property in person
- Measure hemp growth
- Confirm construction progress
Cost: €1,500-€4,500 per verification (vs €5K-€15K traditional)
Timeline: 1-2 months (vs 6-12 months traditional)
What happens if the project fails?
B2B Buyers: Ricardian Contract includes refund provisions
- If we don't deliver carbon credits, you get refund
- Take-or-pay clause protects both sides
- Escrow holds funds until milestones met
Token Investors: Utility tokens (not securities)
- No profit sharing = no financial loss if project fails
- Tokens still have governance utility
- Platform continues even if Secret Trees Gardens fails
Risk Mitigation: Eco-tourism revenue (95% of income) doesn't depend on carbon credits.
Contact
Have more questions?
Email: ilvers.sermols@secrettrees.io
Phone: +371 25285999
Website: secrettrees.io