This week, we list 14 blockchain-driven projects from across the world, where the use of blockchain technology is expected to drive improved ESG/ SDG performance1.
Recycling
Tracing recycled batteries on blockchain | Europe
Project Description: Batteries, especially Lithium-Ion battery, have played an important role in powering the modern-day world, by providing electricity in a convenient and portable format. The demand for lithium-ion batteries is on the rise as they are fueling three mega-trends today – rising EV adoption, renewable energy storage and mobile computing. The supply of these batteries needs to catch-up with this increase in the demand, however, the raw materials used in the battery manufacturing are non-renewable or finite. There is an urgent need to find sustainable way to use these finite resources. The BATRAW project funded by the EU council, aims to reduce the dependance of EU on batteries’ raw materials import. BATRAW is being undertaken by a consortium of 18 partners, led by Leitat. To track and trace the lifecycle of batteries, blockchain would be used, developed by Minespider. All the information captured by relevant stakeholder would be deployed on the blockchain network. This data would be used to provide better understanding of the market and the environmental impact of battery recycling. Mineral composition and sourcing, ESG data, recycled content, performance, and durability parameters are some of the data sets stored on blockchain. This project will demonstrate 2 pilots, the first one being in Spain with BeePlanet, in which the company will utilize semi-automated processes for dismantling the battery and separate 95% of their components. The second one would be with Orano, which will use a mechanical pre-treatment and hydrometallurgical recycling technology to improve the separation process contained in the black mass (the shredded residue of battery), to separate 98% of the graphite, aluminum, copper, and manganese. Blockchain eventually, would enable Europe to implement a circular economy in the battery recycling industry.
Expected Benefits:
This project would catalyze the EV battery recycling process, making way to better utilization of used batteries
Blockchain would provide a basis for comparison and benchmarks for the industry
A transparent supply chain would eliminate any unsustainable element in the supply chain
More Information: Advanced Batteries and Energy Storage Research
Bridging the gap between waste pickers and buy-back centers | South Africa
Project Description: Plastic debris can be very harmful if not managed properly. According to IUCN, at least 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every year, making plastic 80% of all the marine debris found. This debris causes severe injuries or even death to marine wildlife. This signifies a greater need for solutions that prevent plastics from entering the oceans. Mobilizing local communities by incentivizing them for collecting plastic and depositing it with recycling centers before the plastic waste enters the marine ecosystem, can be a useful way to achieve this. Such initiatives can provide additional economic support to the needy people in these communities. To address this, PET Recycling Company (PETCO) has initiated a project called Project Up, which is funded by Coca-Cola Foundation. The main aim of this project is to bridge the gap between waste-pickers and buy-back centers. To do so, the company is using BanQu blockchain network. All the records including transaction, quantities and wages would be deployed on the blockchain network for a faster, secure, and seamless experience. This will be beneficial for both the waste pickers and buyback centers.The waste pickers would have digital proof of the revenue, they receive for the waste they sell, and the buyback centers would be able to digitally track the waste materials they would receive. By the data provided to blockchain, the stakeholders can figure out the products that are easily absorbed into the circular economy, and those that are not. Blockchain would eliminate the need for manually counting or calibrating the waste at every stage after the buy, making the process much more efficient.
Expected Benefits:
Waste pickers can get fair and regular income as the record keeping would be transparent.
This would eventually increase the recycling rate of the country.
Enhanced efficiency of recycling ecosystem.
More Information: IT Web and ICUN
Responsible Supply Chains
Tracking carbon emissions of automotive companies | Global
Project Description: Climate change is the most critical challenge in the 21st century that industries must jointly tackle. To curtail GHG emissions, companies must measure and report their emissions feasibly. While some of the companies can measure and report their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emission, the problem arises at the Scope 3 emissions, as companies are not able to measure their Scope 3 emissions because they are out of their reach. This problem intensifies in the case of Automotive industry where, according to WBCSD, 98% of total GHG emissions are Scope 3, indicating a change in automotive industry will play a huge part against climate change. To address this situation, Catena-X Automotive Network is using SAP Green token for carbon reporting among relevant stakeholders. To facilitate a linear and uniform sustainability reporting standard, Catena-X is partnering with World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Blockchain will be used to enable data transparency for all the participants involved and tracing the carbon footprint in the supply chain. The blockchain platform will be provided by SAP Green Token, which is built on top of Quorum Blockchain, which uses Proof of Authority consensus mechanism, using less energy than traditional p-o-w mechanisms, according to Green Token. Blockchain will notarize and transfer carbon emissions via tokens from one supply chain member’s wallet to the next, without disclosing private or confidential data. This will create a reliable, secure, immutable and easy to share data ledger of the company’s supply chain.
Expected Benefits:
This is the starting point for better understanding of Scope 3 emissions.
Blockchain could also track other information like authenticity of the spare part, provenance, and quality, eliminating any counterfeits.
Having visibility into the sustainability footprint of its supply chain, will allow OEMs to device strategies to reduce the environmental footprint
More Information: CRS Wire, WBCSD and Green Token
Sharing mining ESG data through blockchain | Australia
Project Description: Mining industry is the backbone of almost every other industry and is integral to the global economy. This industry is infamous for having multiple stakeholders in their supply chain. According to MineHub, for moving a container from Africa to the Netherlands, it takes 30 organizations, 100 people, 200 interactions and roughly 30% time is lost for documents to be processes, indicating a need for a better management solution. This industry also has a significant environmental impact that is hard to ignore and costly to resolve. While ICMM mining principles on key sustainability issues related to the industry, show the industry’s resolve and commitment to mitigate ESG challenges, increasing disclosure requirements of sustainable and ESG investors and regulators demand mining companies be more comprehensive, consistent, and current with their ESG reporting and compliance. To address this, BHP, a mining giant, is partnering with MineHub Technology to implement a blockchain-based tracking and traceability solution in its supply chain. This solution would enable enterprise grade digital record keeping and digital trading of data, that will bring efficiency and transparency to the supply chain. Blockchain will consolidate all the scattered stakeholders onto a digital operating workflow. All the data in the supply chain would be stored on the blockchain for an easy, secure, and immutable data sharing experience. By using this platform, all the relevant stakeholders in the company’s supply chain would be able to report and share their ESG data securely and seamlessly.
Expected Benefits:
Mining companies can claim verifiable ESG data.
Mining companies would adhere to the regulatory compliance once its supply chain would be digitized.
Blockchain would save a lot of time and money throughout the process.
Other mining companies will get encourage to report their ESG data and implement blockchain on their supply chain.
More Information: Mining.com, MineHub and ICMM Principles
Blockchain-based marketplace for sustainable clothing | United States
Project Description: Textile industry has one of the biggest environmental impact compared to other industries. According to WEF, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply. 85% of textiles goes to landfills each year and washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the oceans each year, which is equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles. Lack of transparency in the supply chain is a major challenge for the textile industry. To increase the share of brands who use sustainable practices, Neuterra, an ecommerce platform, is using blockchain with AI and RFID to track and trace the supply chain data of various fashion brands that it plans to list on its website. The company will be filtering and showcasing the brands that use sustainable practices, by scrutinizing the brands’ supply chain through a proprietary life cycle analysis that assesses their environmental and social impact across multiple parameters including material extraction, manufacturing, packaging and transportation, consumer use, and end of life. All this data would be deployed on blockchain network for a secure and easy data sharing enablement. Blockchain would be immutable, eliminating any third-party intrusion. All this data would be converted into infographics for the end user on the marketplace. AI would be used to recommend customers brands by analyzing their trends and behavior. This will empower consumers to encourage those brands which are actively involved in their preferred ESG theme. Blockchain with RFID would be used by companies to digitize their supply chain assets, from sourcing to delivering.
Expected Benefits:
Blockchain will help in eliminating green washing done by some companies in the apparel industry.
This will encourage more appeal brands to inculcate sustainable practices into their operations.
Blockchain will enable companies to remove any unethical or unsustainable component in their supply chain.
More Information: Sustainable Brands and WEF
Tracing sustainable hemp on blockchain | Canada
Project Description: Lack of transparency with regards to the supply chain in food items can be a persistent problem if not treated on time. This opaqueness could also be attributed to unsustainable and unethical practices in the supply chain. Cannabis is a growing industry, especially after the legalization of recreational cannabis in some parts of the US. To meet this demand, there has been a rapid increase in the number of cannabis farms throughout the US and Canada. However, lack of transparency with regards to the supply chain in consumables is a persistent problem. To address this Bio-Sunn Technologies would be using the Efixii and clearESG solutions developed by Global Cannabis Applications Corp. (GCAC), to encourage sustainable and transparent supply chain in the CBD and Hemp industry. Efixii will generate a QR code that will be generated to showcase the sustainability angle in the farming activity. clearESG would enable farmers to measure and report their ESG performance. All the supply chain related data would be stored on the blockchain network for an easy, secure, and immutable data sharing experience. This project will cater 1000 farmers and distributors across 20 US states and Canada. Farmers will have to pay a fee per QR code to use this product. Once the farmers deploy their data onto blockchain, all the relevant stakeholders would be able to access that data, eliminating any chance of illicit and fraudulent activity.
Expected Benefits:
Transparency in supply chain would encourage farmers to inculcate a more sustainable farming practice.
Blockchain would enable the consolidation of all the relevant stakeholders onto one ledger.
The market perception about this nascent industry would get improved by a transparent and resilient supply chain.
More Information: Yahoo Finance
Wine traceability on blockchain | United States
Project Description: Wine industry is a niche industry of collectors and connoisseurs. Due to its limited supply, wine producers are generally concerned about the ethical sourcing of raw materials and sustainable practices in the supply chain, like authentically sourced grapes, recycled glass bottles and recycled plastic bottle closures. However, like other industries, an opaque supply chain can play a huge part in companies unsustainable performance. To address this issue, Cuvée Collective (Libation Labs) is partnering with Sustainable Business Consulting to implement blockchain onto their day-to-day operations. All the data related to supply side of the business would be stored on the blockchain. Blockchain would ensure that the suppliers’ claims about ESG could be verified and audited. The company can consolidate their suppliers onto one platform for easy and effective management decisions. To market the wine club created by the company, a NFT collection would be minted on the Flow blockchain. According to Flow’s website, Deloitte Canada found out that minting a NFT on flow consumes less energy that a simple google search or Instagram post. To achieve this, Flow uses p-o-s mechanism, which uses less energy than a traditional p-o-w mechanism (Bitcoin uses this). The ultimate goal for the company is to become carbon negative and this project allows it to take a step toward that goal.
Expected Benefits:
Market wines to wider audience (young and sustainability conscious), by using NFTs.
Track the sustainable farming and sourcing methods for wine on blockchain.
Encourage other brands to use blockchain for tracking their supply chain.
More Information: Venture Beat and Flow
Sustainable sourcing of wood through blockchain | UK
Project Description: According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), up to 15 billion trees are being cut down every year globally, whilst forest loss and damage is the cause of around 10% of global warming. Deforestation also results in the removal of natural habitats of the planet’s wildlife. Hence, the need to address this problem is imperative. To address this situation, iov42 has developed a blockchain based track and trace system for wood/lumber supply chains, including timber wood, which plays a huge role in forest crimes, due to its sudden price inflation. This digitization would encourage companies to ensure their regulatory compliance, eventually curtailing the deforestation due to log cutting. All the data related to the value supply chain of wood, from provenance, quality of the wood to the milling process would be stored on blockchain. Blockchain would eliminate the ethical farming practice of log cutting, ensure equal wage pay to labors and validate the provenance of the wood. All this data would be deployed on a blockchain network for an easy, quick, secure, and immutable data sharing capability.
Expected Benefits:
A transparent supply chain would ensure sustainable sourcing of raw materials.
A feasible and reliant supply chain would enable companies make decisions in a more quick and efficient manner.
Protecting forest cover would help in addressing the issue of global warming
More Information: Business Leader and WWF
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GHG Emissions
Financing algae biomass farms through blockchain | UK
Project Description: CO2 is a significant contributor to air pollution and greenhouse effect, which is responsible for global warming. Naturally, there are elements that sequester CO2, and one of them is algae. An algae biomass farm can successfully sequester the CO2 of the area. However, an algae farm has its operational costs that someone must bear. To facilitate and distribute the costs among various individuals and organizers, Globacap is partnering with Sustainable Impact Token (SIT) to support, develop, construct, and operate algae biomass farms. These plants will be powered by using renewable energy exclusively. According to Bioenergy News, the algae biomass sector is estimated at $5 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% over the next 5 years. To finance this upcoming industry, the companies will take the help of blockchain technology. Blockchain will be used to issue carbon credits based on the carbon sequestration limit of a particular farm. These tokens will be issues via smart contracts deployed on Tezos network, representing a share of a project. This credit will be called Algacoin, a tokenized tradeable asset. All the data on the blockchain, including the carbon credits will be deployed on blockchain network as it provides security, immutability, transparency, and easy data sharing capability. This project will enable a frictionless transferability of securities that will help make carbon-positive projects more liquid.
Expected Benefits:
Blockchain will eliminate any irrelevant overheads related to carbon credits.
All the credits can be audited and verified because of its transparency.
Blockchain would create a frictionless ecosystem for carbon-positive projects to flourish.
More Information: Bioenergy News
Sustainable flying using blockchain | Global
Project Description: The aviation industry is one of the most energy-hungry industry in the world. In 2018, the CO2 emissions from all commercial aviation operations contributed 2.4% to the total CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, according to ICCT. Out of all the CO2 emission by airline industry, 81% came just from passenger operations, indicating a minute change in passenger operations would result in huge positive impact on the climate. Etihad Airways is launching their own NFT collection representing their aircraft fleets, including their Greenliner themed aircraft. Etihad was the first airline in the Middle East to announce it would target net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, and to achieve this, they have initiated various sustainable practices into their operations. The company would be operating on a 30% blend of advanced biofuels (SAF), consuming 15% less fuel, and they would also be measuring the fuel milage and consumption for each aircraft. All these initiatives were under the umbrella of Greenliner aircrafts. To celebrate and promote these aircrafts, the company is using NFTs. These NFT are minted using the Polygon blockchain. Polygon is a layer 2 blockchain that consumes significantly less energy than traditional proof-of-work layer 1 blockchains and has also set aside $20 million to go carbon negative, according to Polygon’s website. This enables Etihad to mint and trade NFTs in small batches because of lower transaction fees as compared to other protocols. A third-party organization, Aerial.is, would be used to track the carbon emission of each NFT. Exclusive rewards will be given to the NFT holders after the sale. Blockchain would enable the company to track their GHG Emissions from individual flights, in a secure and immutable ledger format. The proceeds from the sale of these NFTs will be used by Etihad to purchase sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
Expected Benefits:
Promote the company’s sustainability claims using NFTs, eventually increasing the brand value.
A third-party organization would be tracking the CO2 emissions of NFTs to implement carbon neutrality.
Encourage other aircraft companies to use SAF in their daily operations.
More Information: Simple Flying, ICCT, Etihad Greenliner and Polygon
Diversity and Inclusion
Celebrating LGBTQ+ through NFTs | United States
Project Description: LGBTQIA+ is an underrepresented group of people even in modern societies. To promote the participation of this group, Coca-Cola company is launching their own NFT collection of 136 digital collectables representing 136 years of company’s operations, which are developed by Tafi NFT studio. These NFTs are designed by South African fashion designer Rick Minsi, an LGBTQIA+ advocate. All the funds from the sale of these NFTs will be redirected towards various LGBTQIA+ charities. The differentiating factor of this project is that a portion of the proceeds from the re-sale of these NFTs in the secondary market will also go towards the charities. To mint these NFTs, Polygon blockchain network would be used. A blockchain would provide a secure, transparent, and immutable data sharing ledger to avoid any illicit activity. The project is using polygon over other blockchain networks is because it uses a p-o-s consensus mechanism, that consumes less energy versus the traditional p-o-w mechanisms and does not charge any gas fees during NFT minting, and the company is going carbon negative in 2022 by offsetting its emission using carbon credits, according to Polygon’s website.
Expected Benefits:
Promoting inclusiveness among the community.
Providing a sense of ownership through NFT.
Efficiency in raising funds.
Cost-efficient campaign.
More Information: Ledger Insights and Polygon
Uplifting creators of colour though blockchain | United States
Project Description: Web2 to Web3 transition was believed to drive the diversity on the internet. The main aim of Web3 was to break the digital status quo. However, according to a report from Morning Consult, 62% of the cryptocurrencies are held by white male population, while only 8% are being held with Black/African American males. Considering that cryptos are the backbone of NFT ecosystem, it can be concluded that this statistic can trickled down to the NFT space as well, if not intervened before. These statistics indicate a growing need for establishing diversity and inclusion initiatives in the web3 ecosystem. To address this situation, House of First and The Painted House are launching an NFT collection, under the name Black is Beautiful, consisting of 1000 images, portraying a depiction of raw emotions of Black Americans. The launch of these NFTs is to celebrate and promote the much-needed diversity in the Web3 Space. All the founding members of these companies are from different races and ethnicities. This project is with the partnership with a verity of Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and other black organizations and institutions, to give grants along with access to engagement opportunities. All the NFTs will be minted with the help of a Blockchain network, as it presents a secure and immutable ledger record. All the financial records and data would also be stored on the blockchain network to eliminate any illicit activity.
Expected Benefits:
Efficient and cost-effective fund raising.
Promoting inclusiveness among the community.
Providing a sense of ownership through NFT.
Encouraging other black creators to digitize their art collection to widen their audience.
More Information: Yahoo Finance and Morning Consult
Financial Inclusion
Digitizing the financial ecosystem in Africa using blockchain | South Africa
Project Description: Due to the lack of a proper and reliable financial ecosystem in Africa, African countries actively uses mobile money as a measure to improve the financial inclusion in the continent. Mobile money has lowered the threshold for financial use and increase access. However, there still lies a great uncertainty around the legacy financial system these mobile money applications are operating on. Moreover, the remittance charges on these mobile money systems are as high as a regular bank. To address these concerns, Ennova technologies is using blockchain network for an easy, secure, and immutable financial experience, terming it as Decentralized Finance. The company has two products to showcase this blockchain technology, first one being a digital payment application called Tier App. It provides user with a more convenient digital payment environment and enable digital asset payment, providing high discount rates, low fees, and high security. It also comes under the AUC (Advanced United Continent) project of the company, which enables users to register their credit cards of multiple banks in the digital wallet for easy and seamless shopping experience. The second product is a digital asset exchange called Leo12. This would enable the African citizens a secure trading environment in the digital asset space.
Expected Benefits:
Improve the financial inclusion of South African citizens.
Encourage more and more citizens to learn about digital banking.
Enable NGOs to get remittance free donations from all around the world.
More Information: Yahoo Finance
Community Development
Lotteries to fund philanthropy using blockchain | Ukraine
Project Description: Lotteries, thought by many people as a gambling or money-making scheme, were initially launched to fulfil the purpose of fund collection to contribute to state budgets and dedicated to good causes, especially the state-authorized lotteries. While these motives are in place, due to the lack of transparency in this system, many participants of the game are skeptical of the fund allocation of these lotteries. To address and rectify these concerns, Block Expert has launched a blockchain-based gaming platform called MyLottoCoin based on Ukraine National Lottery (UNL). During the current Ukraine-Russia war, the Ukrainian government is unable to organize the Ukraine National Lottery, a chance to collect funds for the welfare of its citizens. Blockchain will be used to facilitate a play-to-earn lottery game that will replicate the UNL. This game is built in collaboration with WhitePay and United24, allowing the participants to donate while playing this game. While playing this game, the participant would be receiving in-game tokens, that can be staked to earn yield. Using smart contract, 35% of the funds collected will be autonomously allocated to the charitable causes of the Ukrainian Government at each draw. Binance will be used as a blockchain platform for this game. Blockchain would provide secure, easy, and immutable ledger records of all the financial transaction in the game, eliminating any skepticism in the process.
Expected Benefits:
Blockchain would eliminate any operating overheads for lottery organizers.
The game would be reaching to a global audience, which was earlier not possible.
Blockchain would increase the trust in the system, encouraging more and more people to participate.
More Information: Global Newswire
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