Blockchain for Sustainability Weekly | #30
New Projects, Funding updates, and Industry Events
New Projects
Climate Action
Due to the increased pressure from regulatory authorities and conscious consumers, carbon credits have turned out to be a great tool for carbon offsetting. However, legacy carbon credits lack digitization, which creates friction in the accurate data flow. In addition to this, verification agencies find it challenging to access and authenticate the collected data, creating a threat of greenwashing. This leads to verifying information on carbon credits or other such financial instruments like green bonds, uncertain and challenging. While emerging technologies like blockchain, remote sensing, and IoT addresses the accurate data storing problems, it also expedites tokenizing/digitizing the legacy carbon trading marketplaces, which is demonstrated in the projects from the last two weeks:
Companies Involved: Bank of International Settlements (BIS), Hong Kong Monetary Authority, UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub, Goldman Sachs, Porini Foundation, IUCN, Huawei, Filecoin Green, Toucan, KlimaDAO, Flowcarbon, Moss, dClimate, Hyphen, Nori, Regen Network, BitGreen, Senken, Thallo, Ripple, The HBAR Foundation, Envision Blockchain, Return Protocol, Gainforest, and ForGround (Bayer).
BIS, Goldman Sachs, HKMA test tokenized green bond project Genesis 2.0 | more
Indonesia weighs blockchain-powered carbon trading scheme | more
Nori Partners With Bayer’s ForGround Platform to Scale Its Carbon Marketplace Through Verified Carbon Removals | more
Filecoin Green Launches CO2.Storage: the Web3 Data Storage Solution for Carbon Offsets | more
Huawei and Partners Explore Conserving Nature with Technology at Huawei Connect 2022 Paris | more
Responsible Supply Chain
Responsible supply chain management enables the ability to track and trace every aspect of the supply chain, ensuring ethical operational conduct. However, some companies, due to their supply chain complexity, find it challenging to track and trace their supply chain. This allows intermediaries to rake in profits while showcasing unethical business practices, which disallows companies to communicate with their relevant stakeholders. This becomes even more concerning in the case of the pharmaceutical industry, where consumers’ health is on the line. Emerging technologies like blockchain can solve the problems of transparency and unethical business practices as demonstrated in the following three projects.
Companies involved: ServBlock, Microsoft, Breitling, Sourcemap, Kelheim Fibres, and TextileGenesis
Wicklow’s ServBlock teams up with Microsoft to bring NFTs to pharma | more
Breitling Partners with Sourcemap to Debut First-Ever Fully Traceable Watch| more
Kelheim Fibres, TextileGenesis Partner for More Transparency in the Supply Chain | more
Waste Management
As companies are moving toward circularity or circular economy, waste management is becoming a critical task. However, companies are finding it difficult to track and trace recycled waste products in their supply chain operation, especially downstream supply chain, hampering the company’s ESG credentials. Blockchain can be used as a data storing and sharing platform, as demonstrated in the three given projects.
Companies involved: Everledger, Ford, Ascend Performance Materials, ITW Global Fasteners, Certified Circular Plastic (Plastic Finder), LyondellBasell, and Shakti Plastic Industries.
Everledger and Ford release EV battery passport pilot for material recycling | more
Ascend Launches ReDefyne Recycled Materials; Partners with ITW on Blockchain Traceability | more
LyondellBasell and Shakti Plastic Industries Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up the largest plastic recycling plant in India | more
Biodiversity
Preserving the biodiversity of natural ecosystems is crucial for the sustainability of humans as well as other species. Driven by this realization, several companies and communities have initiated various conservation projects to protect and flourish biodiversity. However, they find it challenging to track the progress of their projects, which can discourage them to start a new one. This also restricts the ability of corporations to showcase credible ESG data. Blockchain can be used to store the progress of these conservation initiatives, as demonstrated in these two recent projects.
Companies Involved: Emirates NBD, Jubail Island, EcoMatcher, Storey Group, Earth Wallet, Dollar Donation Club, Trees for the Future, and Humans I Trust.
Emirates NBD Group signs MoU with Jubail Island in Abu Dhabi to plant 3,000 trees - strengthening its ESG initiatives | more
Earth Wallet releases NFTree Seed Program to Plant One Million Trees at Climate Change Forum | more
Sustainable Mining
The mining industry is the backbone of the world economy and ensuring sustainable mining operations is critical for mining companies. However, these companies find it challenging to track every stage of their mining operation, creating a hindrance in asserting sustainable mining operations. Blockchain can come in handy when it comes to secure and reliable data-storing technology, as shown in the following project.
Companies involved: Solidaridad, Minexx, and HA Exploits.
First fully traceable mineral extracted in Ghana | more
Funding Updates
Recent Fundraising Activity
IMPT: As covered in the past edition, IMPT enables shoppers to offset/neutralize their purchases using blockchain-based carbon credits. Currently, the company is raising funds via its Initial Coin Offering and has raised $12 million as of 1st November, up from $5.5 million recorded last week, according to Cryptonews. | more
Notebook Labs: A blockchain startup that aims to verify the identities of crypto users without compromising their privacy. The company has raised $3.3 million in a seed funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto. Other investors included Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Abstract Ventures, Pioneer Fund, and NFX, among others. The newly raised funds will be utilized to build a development team, scale the technology infrastructure, and funding of security audits. | more
3air: A blockchain-based startup aiming to connect citizens of developing countries by combining high-speed broadband internet with a blockchain-based platform. The company recently announced a strategic partnership with Ikigai Ventures, that will help grow the company its scale of operations. The funding amount was not disclosed. | more
Funding Ecosystem News
Topl announced the launch of its first-ever developer grant program, which will fund designers, visionaries, and changemakers that are focusing on impact as a key driver while building solutions in the Web3 ecosystem. Topl will provide $500,000 in cash and $500,000 in tokens for projects built on Topl’s blockchain network. The sustainability and Impact of NFTs will be one of the key drivers for determining the winning projects. | more
Stats of the week
In a recently published EY CEO Outlook Pulse Survey, 34% of the global CEOs identified “Climate change impacts and pressures to build sustainability” as the greatest risk to their business. In the same survey, 39% of the CEOs identified “Building sustainability/ESG as a core aspect of all products and services to engage customers” as the most important strategic actions their company will pursue in the next six months. | CEO Agenda by EY.
Upcoming Events
Web3 & Blockchain World: 8-9 November, Toronto, CA. Includes session on Blockchain and ESG
Token 2049: 9-10 November, London, UK. Includes a session on data privacy in blockchain and a keynote speech on carbon credits by KlimaDAO.
Democracy4All - Blockchain & Governance: 10-11 November, Spain. Includes session on Decentralization as a public good: Corruption and inequality, NFTs complimenting plastic credit markets, and blockchain driving circular economy.
Texas Blockchain Summit: 17-18 November, Texas, United States. Includes session on crypto energy consumption and ways to control it.
Next Block Expo - The Blockchain Festival of Europe: 23- 24 November, Berlin, Germany. Includes session on blockchain for sustainability and women's participation in the web3 community.
The Blockchain Revolution Italian Summit: 23- 24 November, Italy. The event covers the topic of the consumption and production of renewable energy using upcoming technologies including blockchain.
Women Web3 Miami: 30 November- 1 December, Florida, United States. Includes session on ways and methods to break the glass ceiling for women participation in web3.
If you are attending or conducting a conference, event, or webinar that deals with blockchain for sustainability topics. Please submit the details to us at: newsletter@esg-intelligence.com