Platform Architecture

How the Carrot Network works

This page gives the end-to-end operational view of the Carrot Network. It shows how supply chain data becomes auditable evidence, how approved methodology framework criteria produce verified outcomes, and how those outcomes move through certificate issuance, credit issuance, purchase, rewards distribution, and retirement.

This page is an orientation map. It does not define the Circular Economy Protocol by itself: Protocol explains the domain-specific circular economy rules, digital MRV (dMRV) explains execution and evidence, and Registry explains credit Registry Recording, purchase, retirement, wallets, and settlement records.

For a non-technical map of the organizations and roles behind this architecture, see Credit Ecosystem Roles.

Overview

1. Supply chain data capture

Network Integrators digitize waste management operations, capturing material type, weight, and chain of custody at every handoff. This data enters the platform via the Carrot API, creating a digital record of the physical work performed across the recycling supply chain.

2. MassID creation

Supply chain data is codified into MassIDs — the foundational data units of the network. Each MassID records material type, weight, and the full chain of custody from waste source to recycling facility. As materials move through the supply chain, MassIDs are created and updated, building the Proof-of-Physical-Work and Proof-of-Provenance record that methodology execution will later verify.

3. Methodology execution

The platform processes MassIDs through its dMRV pipeline — verifying compliance with scientific standards, evaluating conditions, and producing verified outcomes. Each methodology is implemented as a Methodology Verification Framework (MvF) that defines the rules, and a Methodology Verification Application (MvA) that automates their execution. When a MassID passes methodology verification, it is marked eligible for recording on the public registry.

Learn about methodology execution

4. Recording on the public registry

Each verified MassID is recorded on the public registry — metadata is built, uploaded to independent public storage (IPFS), and a unique, permanent registry entry is created. This creates an immutable, publicly verifiable record of the waste batch.

Learn how registry records are created

5. Certificate issuance

When a MassID passes methodology verification under a specific methodology at an accredited facility, certificates (GasID or RecycledID) are issued. Certificates link verified environmental outcomes — recycled material or prevented greenhouse gas emissions — to the underlying MassID that proves the physical work occurred.

6. Credit generation

Certificates generate credits — Tokenized Recycling Credits (TRC) and Tokenized Carbon Credits (TCC) — whose unit is defined by the applicable methodology. The BOLD Recycling methodology issues C-BIOW TRCs in metric tons of certified recycled material; the BOLD Carbon (CH₄) methodology issues C-CARB.CH4 TCCs in metric tons of CO₂e reductions. Credits are interchangeable only within their applicable class and methodology symbol. Other methodologies may issue different credit symbols. Credits use an open, widely supported implementation format designed for market activity: purchasing, holding, and retiring.

7. Credit purchase

Buyers (organizations or individuals) purchase credits through Carrot interfaces — for example, the Carrot Store for individuals, or Carrot-provided interfaces for organizations. Purchases are settled directly on the public registry in traceable digital currency (USDC); all steps complete in a single transaction or none of them do.

8. Rewards distribution

Proceeds from credit purchases are distributed back to every participant in the recycling supply chain, proportional to their verified contribution. This Recycle-to-Earn model ensures that Waste Generators, Bin Custodians, Haulers, Processors, Recyclers, and Network Integrators are all rewarded for the environmental work they perform.

9. Credit retirement

Purchased credits are retired to permanently claim the environmental benefit they represent. Retirement permanently removes the credits from circulation on the public registry and creates a non-transferable Credit Retirement Receipt as permanent proof. Credits can be retired standalone (at any time after purchase) or through integrated retirement (purchased and retired in a single atomic transaction).

Public verifiability

All registry activity — from MassID recording through credit retirement — is written to the immutable public registry as transactions executed by deterministic software. This data is publicly verifiable and consumable by anyone and any platform: auditors, regulators, indexers, and third-party applications can read and verify it directly from the public registry without relying on Carrot's infrastructure. That design enables interoperability (other systems can build on the same data) and transparency and trust independent of Carrot's availability.

The Carrot Explorer offers a user-friendly, domain-focused view of public registry data plus platform data (methodology definitions, rule execution, accreditations). For infrastructure-independent verification of public registry data only, any public blockchain explorer (e.g. PolygonScan) provides direct access to raw transactions and event logs. See Interoperability for how external systems can monitor, index, and verify Carrot data.

Deeper topics

• Credit Lifecycle — The MassID, Certificate, and Credit lifecycle and relationships
• Smart Contracts — The automated registry software that executes network transactions
• dMRV — Execution and evidence for methodology framework criteria
• Supply Chain — Participant roles, logistics flows, and the validator model
• Explorer — The Carrot Explorer and independent public explorers for verifying on-chain registry data