Blockchain for Sustainability Newsletter #36
New Projects, Funding updates, and Success Stories!
Success Story
Chainlink clocks $7 trillion in Total Value Enabled
Chainlink, the leading blockchain-based oracle service provider, has proven to be a key catalyst in driving enterprise blockchain. It has enabled several new use cases of blockchain technology, including many projects aimed at the carbon market and social initiatives. In January 2023, the company reported that from the start of 2022 to date, it had recorded a total of $7 trillion in Total Value Enabled (TVE), making it the first and biggest oracle service in the blockchain ecosystem. This value gives the measure of the aggregate USD value of on-chain transactions facilitated by Chainlink oracles across 12 blockchains. | more
Recent Blockchain for Sustainability Projects
Climate Action
DevvStream is working with the leading NGO, Global Green in the United States to establish a program that would enable local and federal government organizations, corporations, and academic institutions to execute their climate plans through carbon markets. | more
Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunication Company), a Bahrain-based telecom service provider has adopted Ericsson’s Customer Acceptance platform, which is an enterprise blockchain-based solution built for automating the collection of acceptance records upon fulfillment of agreed project deliverables. According to Ericsson, this platform can help contain carbon emissions by eliminating the need for customers to visit the site and complete the acceptance process, besides making this process simple, traceable, fast, and efficient. | more
ESG Reporting
CorpStage, a fully integrated system to help businesses measure, manage and report their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) obligations, has partnered with HBAR Foundation to integrate blockchain technology into its platform and address the problem of greenwashing. | more
Chainlink, a blockchain-based oracle service provider has partnered with OpenEarth Foundation and the University of California Berkeley to work on innovative climate solutions that can help fight global climate change. The three organizations will deploy an oracle on the blockchain through Chainlink that will help in accurately measuring the True Cost of Carbon emissions for firms. The data can be useful for any organization and can act as a starting point for it to reduce its environmental impact. | more
Waste Management
Trace Labs has joined the Sustainable Medicines Partnership (SMP), a not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder, action collaborative of 48 organizations, committed to reducing waste of medicines and medicines packaging, making medicines more accessible and more sustainable. Trace Labs will play an important role in this partnership by supporting the creation of industry-relevant knowledge assets on the OriginTrail Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG). | more
Recycling
Fujitsu and Teijin have started joint trials with V Frames and E Bike Advanced Technologies GmbH to enhance the environmental value of recycled carbon fiber used in the manufacture of bicycle frames. This project will promote the sustainable use of recycled materials and trace emissions in the bicycle industry using a blockchain platform. | more
Biodiversity
UK-based start-up iov42 and Singapore-based Double Helix Tracking Technologies have announced a blockchain-based “Due Diligence Management Platform” that aims to help organizations importing into the UK to comply with the due diligence requirements set by the UK Environment Act 2021. This platform is co-funded by Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore. The aim of the platform is to help tackle deforestation in the sourcing and supply chains of commodities. | more
Responsible Supply Chain
Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) has successfully leveraged blockchain technology into its digital food traceability system for fresh pork and chicken products and plans to expand its use for its shrimp business, later this year to ensure exceptional quality and hygienic foods for consumers and customers worldwide. The technology enables the company to track back the entire value chain of a product, including the raw material source, manufacturing facility, and production processes. The company worked with Axons, a leading agri-tech company in Thailand to implement this technology. | more
DIBIZ, a blockchain platform and digital marketplace for the Palm Oil industry, and the National Association of Smallholders (NASH) in Malaysia, have signed an MOU through which 150,000 smallholders will have Free access to DIBIZ App. The platform empowers all stakeholders in the supply chain to embrace sustainability at the lowest cost and democratize the value in sustainability premiums across the value chain covering smallholders. | more
Sustainable Agriculture
Chainparency and Merge Impact are enabling recording and securitizing the first-level field carbon measurements on the blockchain. This would allow companies to transparently verify their regenerative and organic farming credentials. Companies such as 99 Counties, EVEA Farm Management, and Jessen Wheat Company are already using the solution. | more
National Australia Bank has partnered with agri-tech start-up Geora, which uses blockchain to allow farmers to report on the covenants of Agri Green Loan provided by the bank. Some of the farmers benefitting from this technology include Queensland’s Leather Cattle Company. Such reporting can give NAB unprecedented visibility into its loan book and increase the uptake of such loans while promoting sustainable agriculture. | more
Electric Vehicles
eTukTuk, a blockchain-based EV network, consisting of proprietary EVs and charging stations connected through the Cardano blockchain, is launching initial operations in Sri Lanka. This network is aimed to address the dearth of EV charging infrastructure, which is preventing the uptake of EVs in emerging markets. | more and more
Funding Updates
senken, is a platform that facilitates access to a large selection of climate assets (20 million+ carbon credits) for transparent climate action and finance, has raised $7.5 million in a round that was led by Obvious Ventures and saw significant participation from Offline Ventures, Inflection, and Kraken Ventures. Some existing investors such as Climate Capital also participated in the round. | more
PlanetWatch is a high-tech startup based in France that's leveraging the Algorand blockchain, advanced algorithms, and high-performance yet affordable air quality sensors, to deploy dense, low-cost air quality monitoring networks. The company has recently raised EUR 3 million via a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) complemented by bank loans and will use these funds to solidify the business' foundations and prepare for a larger Series A round later this year. The round was led by Borderless Capital. Additional investors include Algorand Inc. and the Algorand Foundation. Two French banks are providing additional liquidity via loans. | more
TheoryMesh, which uses blockchain and machine learning is partnering with CubicFarm Systems Corp. and EcoDairy to create a traceable and transparent supply chain for beef and dairy. It connects all the players in the supply chain allowing consumers to pull up sustainability data on grocery store products using a QR code and ensure the provenance of their food. The company received ~$1.3 million in funding from Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) under its Food Innovation Challenge. | more
ValuesCo is a France-based Web3 company that offers CSR and ESG-focused solutions. The company recently closed on a $2.7 million round to build community rewards ecosystems for NGOs powered by Web3 social tokens, encouraging campaigners to align with the ESG issues they care most about. The seed funding is backed by Flori Ventures, Metaweb Ventures, OWN Fund, and angel investors Rene Reinsberg, Richard Spanton Jr., and others. | more