FAQ — Single.Earth

General

What is Single.Earth?

Single.Earth is a GreenTech company with significant VC funding for scientific research and innovation development in nature-based solutions. Our mission is to integrate the protection of natural resources into the modern economy, making it a new standard of sustainability. Our team combines ecological sciences, big data analysis, machine learning, blockchain, and geospatial engineering to assess the entire Earth for its ecosystem services and give nature's features a digital value in MERIT tokens. In addition to carbon, we aim to introduce biodiversity into the equation.

Preserving our natural carbon sinks and biodiversity is one of the most efficient ways to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss. We strive to reimagine the entire economy with the nature-backed MERIT currency that funds nature preservation. There is only one Earth AKA Single Earth!

What is a MERIT token?

MERIT is a virtual currency (a token) developed and issued by Single.Earth. It represents and protects (!) the work nature does to sustain life by removing carbon and hosting biodiversity. MERIT tokens are issued to landowners for maintaining and increasing their land's ecological value and carbon capture.

What makes the MERIT token unique?

A cap limited to the amount and quality of nature on Earth. This means a regular minting cycle, no fixed supply, and a 'burn' mechanism. The amount of tokens in circulation is ultimately limited by how much intact nature we have. That’s how we build a truly sustainable nature-based economy.
Utility value, representing a contribution to sustainability goals. ESG disclosure and due diligence regulations are enforced on many large companies and financial market participants over the coming years. Companies increasingly improve and report on their ESG performance voluntarily to meet investor and consumer demands and to create a competitive edge.
Holistic ecosystem valuation and tokenization. MERIT tokens will go beyond carbon removal only by incorporating additional indicators on carbon stocks and biodiversity. Nature needs to be valued as an integrated system, not simply an offsetting mechanism.

How did we come up with the price of the MERIT token?

The MERIT token narrative has been to reflect the 100kg of CO₂ equivalent on the market. Considering the price differences on today's markets, our initial price discovery method is based on the acceptable ROI model of the commodity value interest rate, expected to yield a single-digit annual ROI based on commodity value interest.
The initial market entry price is therefore a weighted average of ROI negotiated with the landowner and aligned with the price of carbon instruments on the market.
The second phase of price discovery is based on an auction mechanism, where MERIT tokens from landowners are pooled together and auctioned off at regular intervals.

Can Single.Earth or MERIT tokens be used for carbon offsetting?

No. While MERIT tokens are used to contribute to nature conservation and theoretically compensate for one's footprint, we do not claim to be a carbon credit. Unlike carbon offset credits, MERIT tokens represent a financial contribution to nature preservation, and they do not grant permission to offset greenhouse gas emissions or biodiversity loss elsewhere.

Nature is doing so many things that haven’t been described before. We believe that the nature that exists on the planet doesn’t have to be described as a carbon storing machine. We can’t just optimize nature to suck carbon out of the atmosphere - what we have to do is describe nature’s role and how much it can actually take - how much greenhouse gasses is it is able to absorb, how much raw material extraction is able to sustain.

What is a Digital Twin?

The Digital Twin is a digital copy of nature on a global scale – a map with many layers. It represents nature in real life and in (almost) real-time. We use data science and artificial intelligence to model environmental change and ecosystem services.

All our models are published as open-source on Github and continuously improved based on new scientific research, boots-on-the-ground data, and community feedback. We plan to open the Digital Twin for collaboration to enable scientists around the world to contribute.

Isn't blockchain technology bad for the environment?

It's true for old, so-called proof of work (PoW) technologies like Bitcoin, which have very high energy consumption. MERIT is built using Solana, which is carbon neutral as of 2021. Solana uses a PoS (proof of stake) proofing mechanism instead of PoW. With Solana, the power use per transaction is 10 million times smaller than for Bitcoin and 16 times smaller than its closest rival technology. It can be even compared to your usual Google search. Blockchain technology is the perfect solution for the challenges of transparency and trust hanging over voluntary carbon markets.

What is the "nature-backed economy"?

It's an ideological concept by Single.Earth envisioning a future where capital is linked to the biodiverse nature of Earth. At the core of it is the MERIT token – a digital currency issued to landowners for maintaining the ecological value of nature. We believe that nature is the new gold. MERIT is a virtual currency that is backed by real-life assets and will become the basis of a truly sustainable nature-backed economy.

Are there any fees?

Different fees are collected on specific transactions.
A fee is applied on the initial token sale by the landowner or on the proceeds received through contributions. The fee is paid in EUR and is automatically deducted by Single.Earth. Also, the corporate contributors must pay a fee to Single.Earth. Initially, there will be no fees for the buyers of tokens.

Read more about fees in General Terms of Service.

Are there any risks associated with Single.Earth or MERIT tokens?

Transactions in MERITs entail risks, please read our Risk Disclosure Statement carefully.

Token buyers

How can I buy MERIT tokens?

To purchase the tokens, follow these steps:

Sign up. Check your email as a verification email is sent to your email address. Make sure to check your spam folder if you can't find it in your inbox.
Complete the verification - Please be advised that our team members will manually check all verifications and may reach out to ask for additional details. We will send you a confirmation email once your application has been approved.
Accept the terms.
Choose the number of tokens you would like to buy.
Confirm your order.
Make the payment. - SEPA bank transfers in euros (EUR). Other payment methods will follow soon.

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Why does Single.Earth ask for personal information about me?

Before you can buy the MERIT tokens, you are required to pass the personal identification process. The information is required under the laws that apply to Single.Earth activities. There are laws on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing and for establishing financial sanctions that we need to comply with. We carefully assess the collected information to ensure that Single.Earth services are not used in connection with any kind of financial crime.

Single.Earth OÜ is a virtual asset service provider authorized by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit, incorporated in Estonia with registered number FVT000524 and registered address at Volta 1, 10411, Tallinn, Estonia.

Is MERIT token a stablecoin?

MERIT is not a stablecoin. It is a utility token as it represents the value of nature and its ecosystem services. The token will always have a utility value as it can be used for climate, biodiversity, and ESG contributions. Therefore, the “floor” price will always be related to the value of these types of instruments on market (carbon, biodiversity, etc.).

How many MERIT tokens are there?

The total number of MERIT tokens changes over time. It is increased by the minting based on the work done by the lands on the platform and decreased by burning tokens (permanently taking them out of circulation). There is no fixed circulating supply of MERIT tokens.

Does the price have a ceiling?

Not necessarily, the price is determined by the market and can increase a) as the utility value increases; b) speculatively; c) as the tokens are increasingly used in daily transactions, and a small part of them is burned during each transaction, the tokens in circulation will gain in value.

When are MERITs burned?

A burn mechanism is used on two occasions:
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a) to permanently remove tokens from circulation to avoid any double claims for the (ESG) contributions made and
b) in the future, a small part of MERITs are removed from circulation with each purchase of services or goods paid in MERIT. Consequently, the inflationary pressure on the MERIT token declines.

What's the minting process?

The minting process is run at regular intervals, and each time the threshold for the MERIT token to be generated is achieved (i.e., 100kg of CO₂ sequestered), one MERIT is minted. All minting parameters, models, and source data are published on GitHub, hence the minting procedure can be reconstructed and verified based on the GitHub data only.

This mechanism ensures the transparency and auditability of the entire minting process. It's also a foundation for any collaborative efforts in the future that would take place outside the Single.Earth domain, such as crowdsourced science initiatives and DAO (Distributed Autonomous Organization) will be set up for governing a global scientific effort to accurately and consensually describe ecosystem services creation and value.

Can I use MERIT tokens for trading?

Initial trading with MERIT will become privately available on the Single.Earth Marketplace. Later, trading will be available on public exchanges supporting the Solana blockchain. In the first phase, acquiring MERIT in euros (EUR) is possible via SEPA transfer (card payments will be added shortly).

In the second phase, it will be possible to sell MERIT on the Single.Earth Marketplace at current market conditions and received euros could be transferred via a defined payment method to the account holder. In the long term, the decisions about pricing and stability mechanisms will be delegated to the appropriate DAO committee that governs the monetary policy of the MERIT token.

What are the future plans for MERIT?

MERIT was created to become a widely used and accepted nature-based currency. All daily transactions between individuals, businesses, and institutions could seamlessly integrate into the value of services offered by healthy ecosystems. Further exploration of the Metaverse, Land NFTs, and DAO (science community) will be introduced over the coming years.

Landowners

Who can join? What are the requirements?

We currently accept landowners with at least 3 hectares of mature forest located within the European Economic Area (EEA). Read more about it here.

Why do you ask this much information about me during the onboarding process?

The questions that we ask about the landowner's background is so that we can be compliant with the financial regulations. The information is required under the laws that apply to Single.Earth activities. There are laws on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing and for establishing financial sanctions that we need to comply with. We carefully assess the collected information to ensure that Single.Earth services are not used in connection with any kind of financial crime. In addition to that we have a couple of questions of what your plans are for the land that you're onboarding so to gather more qualitative information.

Who will own the land once I join Single.Earth?

The landowner keeps full ownership of the land. We're not tokenizing the forest itself, but rather the ecosystem factors and work that it does in real-time.

Is there a limit as to how much land I can submit?

No, landowners can submit as much land as they own, no limit.

Are landowners rewarded in FIAT currency or in MERIT tokens?

Landowners, land managers, and organizations are paid in FIAT currency (EUR)

Can I do selective cutting and patch cutting of my forest after it's been onboarded?

Yes, but we request that you contact us before you engage in cutting so we can evaluate on how that will affect your land score etc. We suggest all significant land management activities be reported to us first. We want to make sure landowners receive MERIT tokens while also taking good care of their forests.

The ecosystem services are evaluated every two weeks based on satellite data. Then we are profiling the land against the baseline of what was there before the two week period. If there is a significant change, the minting of the tokens will stop and we will need to reevaluate the modeling based on that.

We have a sustainable forest management guideline which describes the evaluation practices in detail. Every time tokens are minted, a small portion is placed in a holding account for a year and will be unlocked only if the sustainability guidelines are followed. This is in order to incentivize forest conservation.

If I am a landowner and sell MERIT tokens are there any taxes I should be aware of?

The taxes depend on whether you operate as a private individual or a legal entity.

As a private individual, you have to pay income tax according to your local tax laws. Additional taxes may be applied depending on your local tax laws.

As a legal entity, taxes also depend on whether you are a value-added tax (VAT) liable person or not. The sale of MERITs can be subject to be applied with additional local VAT. This is dependent on the tax authority. Some tax authorities may deem selling MERITs as rendering a service. Please consult with your tax consultant or tax authority to clarify.

Businesses

What is ESG reporting?

ESG reporting means a company disclosing its environmental, social & governance (ESG) data for transparency. Many companies disclose their sustainability data voluntarily following various reporting standards and frameworks, such as GRI and SASB to meet investor and consumer demands and to create a competitive edge.

Sustainability reporting is mandatory for many financial market participants and large and listed companies around the world. Such non-financial reporting is gaining real momentum. For instance, in the EU, the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will expand the existing requirements to cover over 50,000 listed and large companies and will introduce stricter standards in line with the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities and require third-party auditing, as of 2023. Similar rules will expand to the EU small and medium sized listed enterprises as of 2027.

How does Single.Earth help you?

By contributing to the protection of forests likely threatened by destruction or conversion via Single.Earth, a company can contribute to its environmental and climate goals through nature-based solutions and expand its portfolio of climate action beyond net-zero goals and offsetting solutions. Supporting the preservation of biodiverse forests is the most cost-effective, scalable and immediate solution to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

How can I make the contribution?

As a Contributor, you can make a monetary payment to the account of Single.Earth. On the Platform, you may freely choose the amount you want to contribute, provided however that we may set a minimum amount of a contribution or limit the amount that can be contributed.

After you have confirmed the amount, you will be sent an invoice with our bank account details and the payment deadline for executing the payment. The contribution amount must reach our account in euros. The amount credited to our bank account will be deemed as your payment to us (i.e. less any transfer fees and costs, if any). You may choose to make several contributions over time.

Once I contribute, how can we report on this?

We issue a Contribution Certificate for every company who makes a nature-positive contribution through Single.Earth towards achieving the Sustainable development Goal (SDG) 15 Life on land: protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss. And also towards SDG 13: Climate action to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

In addition, we stress that it is very important that you clearly understand what our Assessment is about and what is achieved by your contribution. For the avoidance of doubt, your contribution is not to be used for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions and should not be reported, advertised, or promoted as such. You may only claim to have achieved what is explicitly written on the Contribution Certificate.

How do we use the contribution?

The aim of your nature-positive contribution is to reward the owners and managers of ecosystems for the services these ecosystems provide to us all and consequently, contribute to the preservation of these ecosystems. Such ecosystems can be located anywhere all around the world, provided however, that the Landowners being rewarded must be our registered Users and we must be able to carry out the Assessment on such lands.

Frequently asked questions

General

Token buyers

Landowners

Businesses