The Standing connects everyday payments to real environmental impact — and keeps trees valuable only while they remain alive.
Instead of relying on donations, subscriptions, or symbolic offsets, The Standing transforms real economic activity into tree planting — and keeps trees valuable only while they remain alive.
The system is funded by real usage — not dependent on donations or future promises. It scales naturally as more people participate. And it never stops asking the most important question: is the tree still there?
When people pay at partner stores, part of each transaction is automatically directed to the Planting Pool.
From the user's perspective, the payment is simple — with the added benefit of cashback in Ring that can be used across all partner stores.
Pay at a partner store → receive 1–15% cashback in Ring → 1% of the transaction goes automatically to the Planting Pool. No extra steps. No opt-in.
Cashback and Planting Pool contributions apply to payments processed through The Standing. Transfers made outside the platform do not generate rewards or fund planting.
A fixed portion of every payment feeds a shared Planting Pool. This pool exists exclusively to finance the planting of trees registered in the system.
The reward per approved planting is calculated directly from the pool balance at the moment of approval — not set by a committee or guaranteed in advance.
If the pool is low and the reward falls below planting cost, the rational response is to wait. The pool accumulates. The reward rises. Planting resumes. No central decision. No subsidy required.
Trees can be planted by individuals, families, schools, communities, NGOs, or companies. To enter the system, each tree must be planted in the real world, meet defined environmental and regional criteria, be registered with location and visual proof, and pass approval.
Once approved, each tree receives a unique Tree ID, becomes visible on the public Tree Map, and begins its lifecycle in the system.
Only large native species qualify. A catalog of accepted species by region is publicly available. The economic reward reflects the difference between a native tree of large canopy planted in appropriate soil — and everything else.
All approved trees are visible on a public map. Each tree carries its own transparent history — where it was planted, when it was planted, its current status, and its full verification history.
The Tree Map is not a representation of reforestation somewhere unspecified. It is specific trees, in specific places, with specific records. Anyone can explore it. No login required.
Trees only continue to matter in the system while they remain alive. For that reason, The Standing relies on periodic verification.
Every 6 months, a verification window opens for each registered tree. Anyone can visit the tree, submit visual evidence, and confirm whether it is alive or no longer standing. Both outcomes are valid — the map needs to reflect reality, not assumptions.
These verifications are rewarded — creating a direct incentive for people to keep trees monitored over time, ensuring the public record stays accurate and trustworthy.
When a valid verification is approved, the protocol mints a reward and distributes it automatically — with no intermediary.
The planter earns 15% of every future verification of their tree — for as long as it remains standing. Each completed verification starts the clock on the next one. The economic relationship between planter and tree has no scheduled end.
The system is indifferent to promises. It responds to outcomes.
More payments lead to a larger planting pool, more trees planted, more trees tracked, and stronger incentives to keep them alive. The result is a living environmental system that grows through real-world use and remains accountable to everyone.