How blockchain can boost environmental sustainability

Blockchain technology has been used to track food products from farm to shelves, improve transparency in medical supply chains and provide aid or stimulus to rescue people in a time of a disaster.

Though blockchain is synonymous to cryptocurrencies for many, it has applications beyond that. The very nature of blockchain being transparent and secure makes it a viable solution for many industries. Finance, supply chain, real estate, and retail are some of the significant industries blockchain has already started to disrupt.

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Business leaders, tech companies, and various governments have been exploring the use of blockchain in several fields, including stimulus, charity, and sustainability, especially in this current situation of COVID-19 crisis. Even the United Nations has promoted the use of blockchain in making efforts, such as refugee identification and sending aid to unbanked. You can read more in the eBook shared by the UN.

With such benefits offered, blockchain technology can also be used to promote environmental sustainability in many ways. For instance, blockchain can enable –

· Next-generation sustainability monitoring

· Advanced reporting and verification of resources

· Disaster preparedness

· Humanitarian relief

· Geospatial platforms

· Carbon Accounting

· Air pollution monitoring

As a technology-driven company, we at Akeo organized ‘Blockchain Pitch Deck’ to crowdsource ideas based on blockchain that solve environment-related challenges. You can read more on the ideas that our teams generated in our blog.

Blockchain for Environmental Sustainability

Highly innovative solutions to fight against environmental challenges can be found in blockchain. They might not be directly related to solving that issue; numerous possibilities can be generated with blockchain to promote sustainability. As today is 5th June, World Environment Day, this is the perfect time to explore possibilities of how blockchain can help to boost environmental sustainability.

Energy efficiency

The energy sector has already begun to explore various use cases of blockchain in the current setup. Some of the most prominent use cases of blockchain in the energy sector include large-scale energy trading systems, peer to peer (P2P) solar energy trading, grid management and more. With the continuous growth in electricity consumption electric vehicles, households, and industries, blockchain can enable a system whereby energy producers can trade electricity in a peer to peer manner without needing a central authority.

Natural resources management

Blockchain can help governments and officials to easily keep track of natural resources extraction, land management, deforestation levels in a transparent way. All the data can be integrated into a single flow that will be updated in real-time. Moreover, large-scale projects involving land resource extraction can be precisely measured and verified that no unduly or illegal mining has happened. As data on the blockchain cannot be altered, the whole tracking process can be put under scrutiny to prevent any third party from manipulating the system.

Green energy

Many established companies in the energy sector, such as Acciona Energy, Irene Energy, and Iberdrola are realizing the potential of blockchain in promoting green energy. Iberdrola has initiated a blockchain-based system to ensure that the electricity supplied and consumed is 100% renewable. The system links power plants to households and commercial buildings (where the energy is consumed), allowing to easily trace the source of energy. That’s how blockchain increases transparency and encourages the use of renewable energy.

Vast potential

The potential for blockchain technology to promote environmental sustainability is vast and substantial. However, the technology is still not mature enough and might not be considered as a ready solution for the energy sector. Many companies are still building proofs-of-concept and running trials to explore its potential. It could take time for businesses to realize the true power of blockchain and move towards digital transformation in this rapidly changing world.