Sustainability Claims Disclaimer

1. HOW WE USE THESE TERMS

This document uses two terms that have distinct and precise meanings throughout. Understanding the difference is important context for everything that follows.

"The Evergreen Exchange"

Evergreen Exchange Enterprises, LLC — the legal entity. Used when referring to corporate responsibilities, legal obligations, liability, and what the company as a whole does or does not provide. May also appear as "we," "us," or "our" in this document.

"Evergreen Certified"

The product authentication system offered by Evergreen Exchange Enterprises, LLC — including serialized security labels, verification portals, sustainability claim authentication, carbon benefit allocation, and associated proof infrastructure. Used when describing product capabilities, the authentication process, and what clients and consumers interact with.

2. WHAT THIS DOCUMENT IS AND WHY IT EXISTS

Evergreen Certified is a product authentication system. It authenticates products and the claims attached to them — giving consumers the ability to independently verify that a product is genuine and that the claims associated with it are real.

For most claims authenticated through Evergreen Certified, the claim originates with the client brand. A laboratory Certificate of Analysis, a third-party certification, a product origin statement — these are claims the client makes and Evergreen Certified authenticates against submitted data. Evergreen Certified confirms the claim matches the record. The client is responsible for the accuracy of the underlying claim itself.

Sustainability is different.

Sustainability is the one claim category that The Evergreen Exchange provides directly to clients as part of the Evergreen Certified system. The Evergreen Exchange sources, structures, calculates, and stands behind the sustainability claim itself — it is not simply authenticating a claim the client has made independently. That direct connection is why this document exists.

HOW THE EVERGREEN EXCHANGE DELIVERS THE SUSTAINABILITY CLAIM

All sustainability claims displayed through Evergreen Certified are sourced, calculated, structured, and delivered by The Evergreen Exchange. The Evergreen Exchange stands behind the methodology, calculations, and infrastructure that produces them. Clients provide supply chain data as input — they do not independently source or submit sustainability claims.

The Evergreen Exchange delivers the sustainability claim through one of two structures, depending on the engagement:

Evergreen-held offset pool — The Evergreen Exchange purchases and retires carbon credits in its own name, converting them into carbon offsets that are allocated on a scan-triggered basis. When a consumer scans a product's unique label code for the first time, a proportional share of the offset benefit is committed to that unit from the pool. This document addresses this structure in full.

Client-name retirement — The Evergreen Exchange calculates the carbon equivalent of a client's product, purchases the corresponding carbon credits, and retires them on behalf of that client — converting them into carbon offsets recorded in the client's name. The methodology, calculation, and retirement infrastructure remain the same — the difference is the name under which the retirement is recorded and the allocation structure.

In both cases, The Evergreen Exchange is the source, the calculator, and the party responsible for the claim. Client supply chain data is used as input in both structures and is not independently audited by The Evergreen Exchange as part of the standard system.

This document explains, with full transparency, exactly how Evergreen Certified constructs and delivers the sustainability claim — what methodology it uses, what data it relies on, what infrastructure underpins it, and where its boundaries are. It is not fine print. It is the proof layer applied to our own work.

3. WHAT "AUTHENTICATED" MEANS FOR SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS

When Evergreen Certified authenticates a sustainability claim on a product, it means the following has been established and recorded:

The label on the product is genuine — Evergreen Certified's physical and digital security features confirm the label has not been counterfeited and is tied to a specific serialized unit.
The sustainability claim attached to that unit is backed by real carbon offsets — carbon credits that have been certified and retired through an internationally recognized, independent offset certification registry. These are completed environmental actions, not projections or promises.
The full methodology behind the offset — every variable, every formula, every calculation — is contained in a single unified document, the Anchor Constitution, and can be independently verified mathematically by any engineer, auditor, regulator, or consumer without requiring institutional access or trust.
The retirement of the carbon credit — converting it permanently into a carbon offset — has been cryptographically anchored, making it permanent, non-reversible, and impossible to double-count or reuse.
The entire chain of evidence — from the original offset project through certification, retirement, fractionalization, and allocation to this specific product unit — is permanently recorded to multiple independent locations and is publicly inspectable by anyone who scans the label.

What authentication does not mean is that Evergreen Certified has re-audited the underlying carbon reduction projects themselves. That function belongs to the independent certification registries whose established institutional process governs project approval, monitoring, and credit issuance. Evergreen Certified builds on top of that already-verified foundation — it does not replicate it.

Note on All Client-Submitted Claims: Where a client submits claim documentation for authentication — such as one or more Certificates of Analysis or other supporting materials — The Evergreen Exchange may, at its discretion, record a cryptographic hash of that documentation or of a compiled package of such materials to the Bitcoin blockchain. Where recorded, this hash allows any party to verify that the documentation has not been altered since it was recorded, by downloading the documentation and independently computing the hash. Any hash and associated timestamp recorded to the blockchain are permanent and cannot be altered retroactively by any party once recorded.

4. SCOPE OF WHAT EVERGREEN CERTIFIED AND THE EVERGREEN EXCHANGE PROVIDE

This section defines two distinct categories of scope: what falls outside Evergreen Certified's sustainability authentication, and what falls outside The Evergreen Exchange's current service offerings. These are not the same thing and should be read separately.

4A — Outside the Scope of Evergreen Certified's Standard Verification

The following are product scope statements — they describe what Evergreen Certified's verification infrastructure does not do as part of its standard operation, regardless of what additional services may be separately available:

Evergreen Certified verification does not, by itself, constitute an independent audit or certification of the accuracy of client-submitted claims. The verification system confirms that claims match submitted data — it does not independently validate that the submitted data is correct.
Evergreen Certified does not constitute regulatory approval or compliance certification of any kind under any EPA, USDA, FTC, FDA, or equivalent state or federal framework.
Evergreen Certified does not guarantee that sustainability claims displayed through the system satisfy any specific legal standard in any jurisdiction.

What Evergreen Certified Does Not Certify

Evergreen Certified does not certify any product as carbon neutral, net zero, or climate positive. These designations require independent third-party certification processes that go beyond what Evergreen Certified's verification infrastructure provides, and Evergreen Certified makes no representation that any product has fully eliminated or permanently offset its environmental impact.

What Evergreen Certified Does Provide

Evergreen Certified authenticates that a product is supported by real carbon offsets — carbon credits certified through internationally recognized registries and permanently retired, cryptographically anchored, and verifiable by anyone who scans the label. Products authenticated through Evergreen Certified's sustainability infrastructure may be accurately described as carbon conscious or climate conscious: a genuine commitment to environmental accountability, backed by transparent, independently verifiable proof at the individual product level. These terms describe intentional action and verified support — not a claim of completion.

4B — Outside the Current Scope of The Evergreen Exchange

The following describe what The Evergreen Exchange does not currently offer as services. These statements are scoped to the present and make no representation about future service development:

The Evergreen Exchange does not conduct laboratory testing of any product. This is not a service The Evergreen Exchange provides in any form.
The Evergreen Exchange does not currently issue independent offset certifications.
The Evergreen Exchange does not currently certify products as safe, compliant with health or safety regulations, or approved by any government authority.

Note on Additional Services: The Evergreen Exchange may separately provide services such as lifecycle assessments (LCAs) on an agreed scope. Any such services are governed by a separate Order Form and are distinct from — and do not alter — the scope of Evergreen Certified's standard sustainability authentication. The availability and scope of such services are confirmed during client engagement.

The accuracy of all product claims displayed through Evergreen Certified is solely the responsibility of the client brand. Evergreen Certified provides the infrastructure that makes those claims visible, traceable, and tamper-evident. Where The Evergreen Exchange provides additional services such as lifecycle assessments under a separate agreement, the scope and standards of those services are defined in the applicable Order Form.

5. HOW EVERGREEN CERTIFIED BUILDS THE SUSTAINABILITY CLAIM

Because sustainability is a claim The Evergreen Exchange provides directly, it is appropriate to explain in full how that claim is constructed. The following describes each layer of the methodology.

Layer One — The Certification Foundation

Every sustainability claim in Evergreen Certified is grounded in carbon credits that have been certified and retired through internationally recognized, independent offset certification registries, converting them into carbon offsets. These registries govern the highest standards in the voluntary carbon market. They approve project methodologies, require independent auditing, monitor emission reduction results, and issue credits only when reductions are verified.

These registries provide legitimacy. Their institutional process ensures that the underlying carbon reduction projects are real, measurable, and permanent. Evergreen Certified does not replicate this function, it relies on it as the verified foundation on which everything else is built.

Layer Two — The Anchor Constitution and Mathematical Transparency

Where independent certification registries provide legitimacy through institutional process, Evergreen Certified adds a layer the registry system alone does not provide: full computational transparency.

Certification registry documentation — project design documents, monitoring reports, verification reports — is procedural. It demonstrates that the correct process was followed. However, the underlying calculation spreadsheets used to derive emission reduction values are not publicly disclosed by the registries. Stakeholders cannot independently reproduce the emission reduction math without institutional access.

Evergreen Certified resolves this through the Anchor Constitution — a single unified document that consolidates all relevant data about a retired carbon credit and presents it with fully executed formula chains. Every variable is shown. Every substitution is visible. Every calculation step is laid out so that any engineer, auditor, sustainability team, regulator, or consumer can independently reproduce the emission reduction value using only the Anchor Constitution itself, without requiring institutional access or trust.

The Anchor Constitution converts institutional trust into computational proof. Where the certification registry says "trust the auditor," the Anchor Constitution says "check the math yourself." Both are necessary. Together they form a trust model stronger than either alone.

Layer Three — Cryptographic Retirement and Permanence

Independent certification registries record credit retirement in a centralized registry. Evergreen Certified takes this a step further — the retirement of each carbon credit is cryptographically anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain, creating a permanent record of the resulting carbon offset that cannot be reversed, altered, or reused. This eliminates the possibility of double-counting and ensures the offset cannot be resold or re-claimed after it has been allocated to a product.

Every data record — the project details, the methodology, the calculations, the retirement proof — is recorded to multiple independent locations simultaneously. No single point of failure can alter or erase the record.

Layer Four — Product-Level Carbon Footprint Calculation

Before carbon offsets can be allocated to individual products, Evergreen Certified calculates a product-level carbon footprint. This is done using recognized industry methodologies and trusted aggregate environmental data systems that compile and normalize supply chain emissions data across product categories.

Calculations are based on client-provided supply chain data. This data is not independently audited by The Evergreen Exchange as part of the standard Evergreen Certified system. Clients are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the information they provide. Where a client separately engages The Evergreen Exchange for a lifecycle assessment, that service is governed by its own Order Form and standards.

This approach represents an accepted and established starting point for product-level carbon accounting. Evergreen Certified is intentionally designed as the beginning of a company's sustainability journey, providing the infrastructure and data foundation that supports deeper, more rigorous commitments over time as data quality and organizational commitment grow.

Layer Five — Unit-Level Fractionalization and Allocation

Once the product-level footprint is established and carbon credits are retired into carbon offsets, Evergreen Certified fractionalizes the environmental benefit and tracks it at the individual serialized product unit level. Each label carries a proportional share of the offset benefit. The point at which that benefit is allocated depends on the engagement model specified in the applicable Order Form.

Not every product begins with a fully offset carbon footprint from the point of manufacture, and Evergreen Certified does not represent otherwise. The scope of offset coverage is determined by the client's commitment level and may vary across engagements. Evergreen Certified's initial offering operates as follows:

Allocation structure — determined by engagement model. The allocation mechanism is set by the engagement model specified in the applicable Order Form. Two structures are available:
Evergreen-held offset pool (scan-triggered allocation). The Evergreen Exchange purchases and retires carbon credits in its own name. Allocation to individual units is scan-triggered — when a consumer scans a unique Evergreen Certified label code for the first time, a proportional share of the offset benefit is immediately committed to that unit from the pool. This allocation is binding and cannot be reversed from the moment of scan. Benefits under this model are not retroactive to manufacture and are not pre-allocated to unscanned units.
Client-name retirement (pre-allocated). The Evergreen Exchange calculates the total carbon equivalent for the Client's product run, purchases the corresponding carbon credits, and retires them on behalf of the Client — recorded in the Client's name. The offset benefit is applied across all units in the production run from the point of retirement, independent of whether any individual unit is scanned by a consumer. Scanning remains available and records the verification event, but allocation is not scan-dependent under this model
Blockchain anchoring — periodic, at manifest close. Full decentralized permanence is achieved when all allocation records against the applicable retirement are complete and the manifest is formally closed by The Evergreen Exchange. For the Evergreen-held offset pool model, this occurs when the total carbon offset capacity declared in the Anchor Constitution has been fully allocated. The Evergreen Exchange reserves the right to close a manifest prior to full allocation, including where a rounding remainder exists or where The Evergreen Exchange determines that sufficient time has elapsed to warrant closure. In the event of early closure, any remaining unallocated offset benefit goes unattributed — it is not redirected, resold, or applied to any other purpose.
Portal display. The consumer-facing verification portal reflects allocation status according to the applicable engagement model. Under the Evergreen-held offset pool model, the portal displays scan-triggered allocation records directly — the allocation is committed and binding from the moment of scan, with blockchain anchoring occurring when the manifest is formally closed by The Evergreen Exchange. Under the client-name retirement model, the portal reflects the pre-allocated status of each unit independent of scan activity. In both cases, the portal clearly distinguishes between The Evergreen Exchange-confirmed allocations and fully blockchain-anchored records.
Growth path. As a client’s sustainability commitment grows, the scope and structure of offset coverage can expand. Clients on the scan-triggered pool model can progress toward full product-level offsetting from the point of manufacture. Clients already on the client-name retirement model can deepen their commitment through expanded SKU coverage, increased offset volumes, or integration with lifecycle assessment services available under a separate Order Form.

6. HOW THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO GROW

Evergreen Certified's sustainability authentication is built around a reinforcing cycle that connects consumer engagement, environmental benefit delivery, and business intelligence — designed to grow a client's sustainability commitment over time, not simply document it at a fixed point.

A consumer purchases a product carrying an Evergreen Certified label and scans it for the first time.

That scan triggers a binding allocation of a real carbon offset to that specific unit — immediately committed in The Evergreen Exchange's centralized system. Full decentralized blockchain anchoring occurs when the pool's manifest is formally closed by The Evergreen Exchange.

The consumer sees verifiable proof: the authentication confirmation and the complete Anchor Constitution and Digital Artifact already recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain. The allocation is confirmed in The Evergreen Exchange's system from the moment of scan; blockchain anchoring of the manifest record occurs when the manifest is formally closed by The Evergreen Exchange.

The brand receives data on how many consumers engaged, which products, and with what frequency, direct, quantified evidence of consumer demand for environmental accountability at the product level.

That data gives the brand a credible, evidence-based foundation to make real decisions about their sustainability commitment, not just broader offset coverage, but potentially deeper operational changes: rethinking supply chain sourcing, shifting to cleaner energy, redesigning packaging, or changing manufacturing processes. The goal the data supports over time is a company that has reduced its environmental impact as far as it practically can, and uses offsets only to cover what it genuinely cannot yet eliminate.

As the brand's commitment grows, the proof available through Evergreen Certified grows, creating stronger consumer trust, stronger engagement, and more data to support the next level of commitment.

What Makes This Data Meaningful

The consumer engagement data generated through Evergreen Certified is behavioral data. A consumer who scans an Evergreen Certified label has already purchased the product and chosen to take an additional action to engage with its sustainability claim. A deliberate signal expressed through a real purchase decision. Engagement analytics provided to clients are aggregate and non-individually-identifiable. The underlying server-side scan records, including IP addresses, device identifiers, and scan timestamps, are processed by The Evergreen Exchange as personal data in accordance with its Privacy Policy. Blockchain-anchored records contain only commercial data (label identifiers, offset allocation references, and cryptographic hashes) and do not constitute personal data under applicable law.

This kind of data is directly correlated with business decision-making. It is product-specific, purchase-confirmed, and tied to actual consumer behavior on specific SKUs. It gives brands a clear, quantified picture of how much their customers value sustainability on the products they already buy. The kind of evidence that supports confident investment decisions, internal business cases, and long-term sustainability strategy.

7. HOW EVERGREEN CERTIFIED RELATES TO INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATION REGISTRIES

Evergreen Certified is not an offset certification registry and does not position itself as one. Understanding the distinct and complementary roles of each is important context for anyone evaluating a sustainability claim authenticated through Evergreen Certified.

Independent Certification Registry

Evergreen Certified

Governs methodology, approves projects, enforces auditing standards

Builds downstream transparency infrastructure on top of certified carbon offsets

Verifies that carbon reduction projects are real, measurable, and permanent

Verifies that the label is genuine and the sustainability claim is backed by retired carbon offsets

Issues and retires carbon credits at the portfolio or project level

Fractalizes retired carbon offsets and allocates benefit to individual serialized product units

Documents compliance procedurally — demonstrates process was followed

Exposes full calculation methodology with executed formula chains — anyone can verify the math independently

Relies on institutional trust — trust the auditor, trust the registry

Relies on computational proof — the numbers, formulas, and cryptographic record are publicly inspectable

Carbon credit retirement recorded in centralized registry

Retirement cryptographically anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain — permanent, non-reversible, impossible to double-count

Independent certification registries provide legitimacy — they ensure the underlying carbon reduction is real. Evergreen Certified provides transparency — it makes the proof of that reduction computationally verifiable and publicly inspectable at the individual product level. Together they form a trust model stronger than either alone.

8. LIMITATIONS OF CARBON OFFSETS GENERALLY

Full transparency requires acknowledging not just what Evergreen Certified does, but the broader context in which carbon offsets operate. The following are honest, accurate statements about the nature of carbon offsetting as a practice.

Carbon offsets compensate for emissions — they do not eliminate them. A product carrying an Evergreen Certified sustainability claim has had its carbon impact supported through real-world reduction projects. This is not equivalent to producing zero emissions.
The quality and permanence of any carbon offset depends on the underlying project and the rigor of the certification registry that issued the original carbon credit. The Evergreen Exchange uses only carbon credits from internationally recognized certification registries, but no offset system is without limitations inherent to the voluntary carbon market.
Product-level carbon footprint calculations within Evergreen Certified are estimates based on available client-provided supply chain data and recognized aggregate environmental data systems. As data quality and scope improve over time, calculations may be updated to reflect more complete information.
Scan-triggered benefit allocation means that not every unit in a batch carries an active offset record by default. The scope of offset coverage is determined by the client's commitment level and may vary across engagements. This is by design — the system is built to grow with consumer engagement, generating direct behavioral evidence that gives brands the confidence to expand their sustainability commitment over time.

9. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITY

While The Evergreen Exchange provides the sustainability claim directly as part of the Evergreen Certified system, client brands retain important responsibilities in how they represent and use that claim.

Clients are responsible for ensuring their use of Evergreen Certified's sustainability authentication complies with applicable FTC guidelines, state consumer protection laws, and any other regulations governing environmental marketing claims in the jurisdictions where their products are sold.
Clients are responsible for providing accurate and complete supply chain data used in product-level carbon footprint calculations. The Evergreen Exchange calculates footprints based on submitted data and does not independently audit that data as part of the standard Evergreen Certified system.
Clients are responsible for ensuring that any additional claims they make about their products — beyond the sustainability authentication provided by Evergreen Certified — are truthful, substantiated, and compliant with applicable law.
Clients may not represent Evergreen Certified's sustainability authentication as constituting carbon neutrality, net zero status, or any certification beyond what the system explicitly provides. Products may accurately be described as carbon conscious or climate conscious — terms that reflect intentional action and verified support, not a claim of completion.

The Evergreen Exchange provides the sustainability claim through Evergreen Certified and stands behind the methodology, calculations, and infrastructure that produces it. Clients are responsible for how they represent and apply that claim in their markets.

10. QUESTIONS ABOUT A SPECIFIC PRODUCT OR CLAIM

If you have a question about a specific sustainability claim authenticated through Evergreen Certified — including the offset methodology, the Anchor Constitution, the carbon footprint calculation, or any element of the proof record — we encourage you to reach out. The transparency we offer in the system extends to questions about how it works.

For questions about a specific product's sustainability record: include the serial code visible on the Evergreen Certified label when contacting us.
For regulatory or legal inquiries directed to The Evergreen Exchange: legal@theevergreenexchange.com
For general questions: theevergreenexchange.com/legal