COP27: Digital Trust Technology Supports International Climate Action
November 1st, 2022
The Government of British Columbia (B.C.) and Spherity, both members of the Global Battery Alliance (GBA), are cooperating to facilitate the secure exchange of sustainability information using digital trust technology. As a global movement builds towards low-carbon and net-zero environmental strategies, natural resource companies need to prove they’re adhering to international climate change goals. Greenhouse gas emissions reporting is also a relevant ingredient of the upcoming digital product passport regulated by the European Commission.
The Energy & Mines Digital Trust (EMDT) pilot project was initiated in November 2020 by the Government of British Columbia in partnership with TELUS. It is enabling a collaborative digital ecosystem between the B.C. government, natural resource companies, and global organizations around the world through their pilot project. The EMDT expedites the global exchange of trusted sustainability data with investors, purchasers, and regulators.
Using the Spherity Product Passport Solution, mining companies (here: Copper Mountain Mining Corporation) can receive a business registration credential from the B.C. government and a greenhouse gas emissions report verification statement from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the form of digital credentials.
Digital credentials, also known as verifiable credentials, are the digital equivalent of a physical credential, such as a mining company’s permit to operate. Verifiable credentials are cryptographically signed and thus provide verifiability, integrity, and non-repudiation. With verifiable credentials, natural resource companies can in the future bypass the need for physical documentation, instead sharing information in a digital format that is secure and trustworthy.
To support the ecosystem’s growth to scale, EMDT has created a highly interoperable tool, called Traction. Using Traction, natural resource companies, governments, and non-government organizations can exchange sustainability information in the form of digital credentials.
Using Traction, the Government of British Columbia can issue a business registration digital credential to Copper Mountain Mining Corporation. PwC issues a greenhouse gas emissions verification report digital credential Northern Block’s Orbit. With just a few clicks, Copper Mountain holds two digital credentials and can use them to satisfy requests for information, including those from an automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Facilitating Interoperability
All involved parties have developed digital trust technologies using Hyperledger Aries, Hyperledger Indy, and the Aries Interop Profile 1.0 to enable the exchange of sustainability data in the form of digital credentials. The credential formats are compliant with the existing analog registration form and the greenhouse gas emission report format.
About Spherity
Spherity offers a production-grade Digital Product Passport solution for multiple industries, such as batteries including the natural resource sector, pharmaceuticals, textiles, buildings, and electronics. This wallet technology will make it easier for companies and organizations to prove that they are adhering to regulatory audit & compliance requirements in their respective fields.
To learn more about the Energy & Mines Digital Trust project, visit the case study site.
To learn more about Spherity’s digital trust work, visit this page.
