Blockchain for Sustainability Weekly
Volume 26 | 25-Sep-22 | 11 Projects
This week we have added 11 new blockchain-driven projects that are aimed at improving sustainability performance.
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ESG Investing
Making green bonds more accessible through blockchain | Denmark
Project Description: A green bond is a financing tool that enables climate and environmental projects to raise external debt financing. However, historically green bonds have been only accessible to institutional investors due to their high barrier to entry, making liquidity tighter and narrower flow of funds. This created a demand for green bonds in the retail segment, opening up a wider cash flow for green bond-backed projects. The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Danish FSA) is regulating a pilot project under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime by ESMA. The group of companies involved, led by Deon Digital, would be tokenizing certain green bonds using a blockchain network. The pilot would be conducted in a sandbox provided by the Danish FSA. Deon Digital will convert its existing green bonds into a blockchain-based token for higher transparency and security. As tokenization requires low cost of issuance than the traditional method, it would allow Deon to make smaller bond issuance and lower minimum trade amount, making it more accessible to a wider market. This trail will combine the DLT trading and settlement process, meaning the financial transactions will also be recorded on the blockchain. This will eliminate any fraudulent activity, making the data tamper-proof. The origination and verification of the green bonds would be handled by Agreena. Other participants in the trial include BEC Financial Technologies, Capital Market Partners, and the University of Copenhagen.
Expected Benefits:
As many countries exempt taxation on green bonds, this will be an attractive offering for retail investors, which was previously untapped.Â
Blockchain would ensure proper verification of green bond attributes, eliminating the risk of greenwashing.Â
Wider adoption of green bonds would ensure sustainable and recurring financing for climate and environmental projects
More Information: Ledger Insights
ESG Reporting
Ensuring accurate and secure ESG data collection through AI, ML, and blockchain | United States
Project Description: As regulators are increasingly mandating carbon transparency, this is driving corporate interest in the carbon offset marketplace. However, verifying and trusting data of environmental attributes remains a challenge for many, creating a threat of greenwashing and double-counting. Context Labs is changing this by developing a blockchain-based ESG reporting platform, CLEAR Path Platform (Context Labs Environmental Attribute Registry), where companies can enter their environmental positive data and verify its effectiveness. The company is leveraging blockchain technology that ensures secure storing and monitoring of environmental attributes of various commodities (carbon emissions, water usage, plastic usage, renewable energy credits, and emission certificates). This platform uses Context Labs’ proprietary enterprise data fabric, CLEAR Path, which utilizes AI and ML to develop empirical and data-driven registry capability. KPMG is collaborating with Context Labs to deploy data and technology solutions to help businesses measure, monitor, and prove their climate and ESG performance and scale their efforts to offer high-quality carbon credits. In addition to this, Williams, Parsons, Project Canary, Carbon GeoCapture, and OxoCarbon are also supporting Context Labs, though not mentioned in what capacity. Blockchain would ensure that ESG-related data would be transparent, secure, attested, trusted, and traceable, while being secure and immutable.Â
Expected Benefits:
Blockchain, AI, and ML would eliminate the threat of greenwashing by enabling safe and secure ESG-related data storage.Â
Greater capitalization of ESG data could reveal new insights and provide alerts to proactively manage business operations.Â
This project would encourage companies to actively participate in the emission offsets marketplace.Â
More Information: Yahoo Finance
Responsible Supply Chain
Tracing cannabis supply chain using AI and blockchain | Canada
Project Description: Apart from its recreational usage, cannabis is also used for medical purposes, predominantly by military veterans. However, due to opaque supply chain operations, supply chain intrusion is a persistent problem for companies that produce cannabis, hampering consumer health. Global Compliance Application Corp. (GCAC) has partnered with Genetica to execute a definitive agreement to develop new supply chain data insights and better product recommendations. GCAC is a blockchain-based supply chain management solution focused on the cannabis industry. By using its three products, ClearESG, Efixii, and Prescriptii, clients can track their cannabis from seedling to harvest. At every point in the supply chain, the data would be collected and stored on the blockchain, providing real-time traceability to cannabis producers. While blockchain would allow GCAC to share this share with relevant stakeholders, it will make the data tamper-proof. Genetica uses AI that would provide recommendations to clients, helping them select the best product. Genetica would provide over 100 million data points and will be combined with Prescriptii's data to launch GCAC’s storefront called Citizen Green.Â
Expected Benefits:
Blockchain and AI would provide the full story to the user about their cannabis product, enabling the recommendation software to accurately generate results. Â
A transparent supply chain would automatically eliminate any fraudulent, fake or inferior product.Â
Blockchain would enable GCAC would command a premium on their product.Â
More Information: Market Screener
Renewable Energy
Tokenizing energy efficient projects through NFTs | Malta
Project Description: Energy efficiency and waste management are gaining attention due to their positive environmental impact. However, most such initiatives require a lot of CAPEX. A sustainable measure would be to create a secure external funding channel for investors and corporations to fund these environmentally friendly initiatives. EFFORCE is tokenizing the energy efficiency industry by leveraging blockchain. To promote and raise awareness about energy efficiency projects, EFFORCE is launching ‘Energy Efficient NFTs’. These NFTs will act as a tool for financing two energy-efficient initiatives. The first project will help EFFORCE to self-produce 1.4 GWh of electricity each year. The second project, termed ‘Combined Cooling Heating’, will provide heat to a sludge drying plant, reducing up to 80% of the total weight of disposable sludge. This electricity would be provided by an undisclosed company (60% of its total energy consumption). All the data, including NFT’s transaction records and the project’s efficiency, would be deployed on the blockchain to enable secure and tamper-proof data sharing. EFFORCE will measure the impact of its projects with a digital version of Megawatts of Energy Saved, ‘mWOZ’, each of which translates to an equivalent of 1 USDC (1 blockchain-based USD coin). Once a selected project is delivering the intended results, which are 735,000 mWOZ and 665,000 mWOZ respectively, mWOZ are credited to contributors holding the project’s NFTs (NFT holders) as a reward for their participation in the financing pool. This will create a sustainable and secure ecosystem for companies who want to take part in energy efficiency projects. mWOZ is a multichain token based on Polygon and Ethereum.
Expected Benefits:
EFFORCE is bridging the gap between companies that are willing to change their energy consumption and investors that are enabling them.Â
The financial incentive would encourage investors and corporations to actively participate in these initiatives.
mWOZ is pegged with USDC, meaning external crypto activity would not affect mWOZ’s performance.Â
More Information: Nasdaq
Blockchain enabling p2p renewable energy trading | India
Project Description: The increasing energy demands call for an alternative energy source other than fossil fuels. Renewable energy is much greener and cleaner than fossil fuel. However, its penetration to the masses is still at a nascent stage. A sustainable way to increase its mass adoption is to initiate a secure and transparent peer-to-peer trading ecosystem for renewable energy. Voltreum is launching a blockchain-based p2p renewable energy trading platform called Volt-X. This platform is based on the Ethereum blockchain and Global Digital Cluster Coin platform, a protocol for p2p trading applications. The primary component of this trading ecosystem is a microgrid architecture that connects small neighborhoods and residential communities in local distribution networks. In addition to microgrids, smart meters would be attached to all the relevant stakeholders, which would capture the production and consumption data. All the transactions on this platform would be conducted using Voltreum’s native cryptocurrency. Volt-X would incorporate solar, wind, hydro, and other sources of renewable energy on the same microgrid, thus facilitating the shift to clean energy that’s available on demand. Â
Expected Benefits:
A p2p energy trading system would increase the renewable share in the overall energy mix.
This project would incentivize users to produce renewable energy.
The production of renewable energy would diversify the energy supply and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and discoms.Â
This project would enable transparent energy trading between parties, eliminating profit-hungry middlemen. Â
More Information: Smart Energy
GHG Emissions
Ensuring data authenticity of carbon credits | Singapore
Project Description: While carbon offset is an evident instrument in the transition to a net zero economy, the legacy carbon market is struggling due to fears of greenwashing, double counting, lack of digitization, and data fragmentation. These challenges hinder the market presence of carbon credits. To address this, Hashstacs (STATCS) is partnering with Everimpact to implement digital MRV practices in the carbon credit marketplace. Digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verifying or D-MRV ensures continuous tracking of carbon-positive projects from the origination of the carbon credit till its retirement. Everimpact would collect all this data through its system of satellites, sensors, and other IoT devices, and store it in ESGpedia, a blockchain-based ESG data storing solution developed by STATCS. This will allow buyers and users to access attributes and data of carbon credits through a common, standardized ESG data registry, giving them a better understanding of the quality of carbon offsets. Blockchain will ensure that the said data would remain immutable and tamper-proof. This will ensure that the environmental attribute of carbon credit is legit.Â
Expected Benefits:
Digital MRV ensures no repeated or double trading of carbon credit is happening.Â
A secure and accurate data storing and monitoring mechanism will ensure the circulation of high-quality carbon credits in the market.Â
Companies can use this solution to cut their emissions and access new funding for their decarbonization project.Â
More Information: Medium
Financial Inclusion
Ensuring affordable line of credit to farmers through blockchain | Brazil
Project Description: Locally produced food builds resiliency in the economy. However, in countries like Brazil, global fertilizer shortages and rising input costs are expected to reduce yields, according to a report by McKinsey. This leads to farmers taking up external financing, but are faced with high-interest rate loans due to the lack of accurate and unbiased farming data. To address this, CreDA (Credit Data Alliance) is piloting a blockchain-based farm data monitoring program in Brazil in partnership with Ager Solution. This data monitoring would allow farmers to access alternative credit scoring model that delivers completive and affordable interest rates. The pilot span across Brazil including, Alta Vista, Barreiras, Bahia & Mirante Santana, and Aguas Da Prata, to analyze geo-tagged data that is assessed to understand the farm size, crop conditions, irrigation, and yield potential. The geo-tagged data is collected by Ager Solution. This data is then modeled with CreDA’s proprietary credit risk algorithms that assess assets and payment behavior both in the traditional system. This data is then stored on the blockchain network, providing adequate and secure data storing and sharing capability. Anyone with a crypto wallet can assess their credit score on the company’s website and mint it as a CreditNFT, which ensures that the score is linked to the individual. Due to blockchain, the score can be adjusted daily through the user’s behavior within the crypto and Web3 ecosystem. This project is part of the company’s Credit4Good program, which aims to combat food shortages. In the future, the project will also incorporate other considerations into the mix such as environmental considerations, participation in shared materials or cooperatives, or local community engagement, all of which could directly influence a farmer’s credit worthiness.Â
Expected Benefits:
The new credit score could slash up to 50% of the previously asked interest rates, according to the press release.Â
The accurate tracking of farming data would enable farmers to access a sustainable line of credit.Â
More Information: Newswire EIN and McKinsey
Customer Privacy
Decentralizing social networking using blockchain | United States
Project Description: With the explosion of digital technology, companies are sweeping up vast data sets around users’ activities. This has led to severe criticism for companies collecting and storing user data. A strong case in point is the 2018 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal, where Cambridge Analytica was using facebook’s user data for political advertising. To address this, MeWe, a social media network focused on user privacy, is utilizing blockchain to wrest control over social networks from corporations and decentralize user data. MeWe would be using the Decentralized Social Network Protocol (DSNP), which was developed by Project Liberty. DSNP is a Polkadot-based network protocol specially designed for social networking sites. Through this collaboration, mass data collection over the internet would get addressed and users would be able to control their data. MeWe doesn’t share users’ data with advertisers, while blockchain would enable the user with an option to store their data in the blockchain itself. Blockchain would provide strong data storage security while making the data immutable.Â
Expected Benefits:
Blockchain would allow users to choose whether they would want to share their data or not, showcasing a strong ethical commitment to the company's user base.Â
This project shines a light on network privacy, which is a persistent issue in today’s day and age.Â
More Information: Coindesk
Community Health and Wellness
Incentivizing healthy habits through NFTs | Australia
Project Description: Healthy habits can help prevent certain health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. However, due to a busy schedule and lack of engaging activities, maintaining these habits tends to become a challenge for many. A sustainable method would be to gamify exercises and incentivize users to showcase their engagement. PUML Better Health is doing the same by incentivizing users to maintain healthy habits while also engaging them in exercise-related challenges. To incentivize users, the company is leveraging blockchain. PUML has recently launched 5000 NFTs, generated by PUML’s in-house NFT studio. These NFTs contain multiple watch designs, including watch faces, dials, colors, and more. In addition to this, there are different levels of NFTs that will decide the amount of incentive each user will get. These NFTs are minted on the Ethereum blockchain, which after the merge, consumes very minimal energy, making these NFTs energy efficient. NFTs will enable users to claim their incentives by showing certain movements through their app. These NFTs will act as a multiplier of the incentive provided, the more NFTs collected, the better the reward. Without the NFT, the user can claim basic app rewards. According to PUML’s website, the challenges are created by corporates, brands, and professional athletes, ranging from meditation and hydration to steps, sleep, and more.Â
Expected Benefits:
PUML will enable users to actively participate in health-related challenges, creating a strong community health ecosystem.Â
The NFTs will act as a strong and inexpensive customer acquisition tool for the company.Â
 Blockchain will ensure that the user data (critical health data) would not get misused or mishandled.
More Information: Global Newswire and PUML
Philanthropy
Cryptocurrencies to drive transparency in NGO Fundraising | United States
Project Description: While external donations play an important part in managing NGO’s operation, the opaqueness around the channel of fundraising creates distrust among the donors. A sustainable measure would be to create a transparent funding funnel for donors to donate. Upbring, an NGO focused on the eradication of child abuse, is developing an endowment fund for the betterment of childhood through their Upbring Innovation Labs and The Giving Block. This fund would enable donors to donate transparently and sustainably. The fund would constitute cryptocurrency as their primary source of holding, meaning the donors would be donating in cryptocurrencies. The endowment fund would be managed by The Giving Block. All transactions related to the fund would be recorded on the blockchain platform, keeping financial data secure and tamper-proof. Cryptocurrency would enable the project developer to easily track donations, eliminate any fraudulent activity, and retain market gains that were not possible in fiat currency. According to the press release, 100% of the endowment fund would be used to finance technology, business, and programmatic solutions to support efforts in breaking the cycle of child abuse. The partnership is exploring the use of NFTs in the near future.Â
Expected Benefits:
The use of cryptocurrency would make cross-border donations inexpensive and seamless, opening up a wider donor base.Â
This method of fundraising would encourage other project owners to implement blockchain solutions, ensuring trust and transparency during fundraising.Â
More Information: Newswire EIN
Community Development
Addressing the untapped market for internet connectivity through blockchain | Africa
Project Description: The Internet has become an important and useful aspect of our life. That is the reason why in 2011, UN General Assembly declared access to the internet a Human Right. However, people in developing nations still lack the necessary internet connectivity, creating a hindrance for them to participate in the global economy. 3air and K3 Telecom are partnering to utilize K3’s wireless broadband connection, K3 Last Mile, to decentralize internet connectivity for the untapped market. In addition to wireless connectivity, the partnership leverages blockchain technology to allow its users access to financial and digital identification solutions available on the 3air platform. 3air uses K3 Last Mile technology to provide up to 1gbps dedicated internet connectivity, over 150 digital TV stations, and IP telephony. 3air’s blockchain platform allows easy access to digital services, identity management, payments, and credit line building. According to 3air's website, Access Point Operators would be rewarded for extending and maintaining a stable internet connection. The transaction on the platform (payment method) would be done using 3air’s native token, which is built on the SKALE blockchain. Previously, the partnership launched the wireless network in Saint Joseph’s Secondary School, Sierra Leone as a development plan for their wireless connectivity. Although, this pilot did not constitute the use of blockchain. The project aims to provide stable internet connectivity in places where it was previously not possible.
Expected Benefits:
This project will provide internet access to underprivileged communities, allowing them access to basic internet services.
Blockchain would ensure that the user data would remain tamper-proof and secure.Â
More Information: NewsBTC, UN General Assembly, and 3air
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