There’s no denying that the internet and all of its aspects can help the planet. Sending messages rather than writing a letter can save trees. People can interact face to face instead of driving cars, video chats can help reduce carbon emissions. There are numerous reasons why using the internet is helpful to the environment. Blockchain plays a crucial role in this revolution. The decentralized process with high-end security is one such feature that helps to achieve sustainability goals.
Blockchain and Sustainability
To be sustainable, blockchain must address technological and political issues. Furthermore, there is no surprise that this technology will not be able to fix the problem quickly. However, one of the fundamental features that make an ecosystem sustainable is blockchain’s ability to provide a demonstrable record of Sender’s data, context, and receiver’s data at any given time.
Few organizations that are leading the way in blockchain-assisted sustainability are listed below.
WePower, focuses on enhancing energy usage visibility for conservation. Basically, it is the green energy financing and trading platform based on distributed ledger technology. It assists renewable energy producers in raising funds by allowing them to issue their own energy tokens.
PlasticBank is using cryptocurrency and decentralized platforms to encourage the removal and recycling of plastic.
Brooklyn Microgrid through blockchain technology and their own unique solutions has created Exergy, a permission data platform that provides localized energy marketplaces for trading energy across current grid infrastructure.
How Blockchain can save environment?
Many firms are utilizing blockchain technology since it appears that it can accomplish numerous things in many industries: promote industry sustainability, better people’s lives, arouse humanity, and contribute to the environment.
Take a look at some of the blockchain based solutions that are contributing to society.
1. By Recycling Programs
A blockchain-based recycling scheme might entice people to participate by offering a monetary reward. It can be done in the form of a cryptographic token in exchange for depositing recyclables such as plastic containers, cans, and bottles.
Similar arrangements are already in place in a number of locations globally, particularly in Northern Europe.
2. Energy
A blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy system would eliminate the need to transmit electricity across vast distances, which can result in losses.
The primary advantages of blockchain in the energy sector are cost savings, a sustainable environment and transparency in business.
Also, privacy and trade secrets are extremely important to oil and gas enterprises. Data permissions and selective consortium access to pre-approved parties are available on these private blockchain networks. Private and consortium blockchains serve as a buffer until public blockchains can able to integrate the privacy features that businesses require.
3. Impact of environmental treaties
Blockchain technology has the potential to improve the transparency for enforcing Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). This technology allows public tracking of critical environmental data. It could deter firms and governments from backing down on their environmental promises or misreporting their progress. Once data enters onto the public blockchain, it will remain there indefinitely.
4. Carbon tax
The usage of blockchain to track each product’s carbon footprint would prevent the data from tampering. It may be used to calculate the amount of carbon tax to be levied at the time of sale. If a product with a high carbon footprint is more expensive to purchase, purchasers will be more inclined to choose environmentally friendly items. Further corporations will be more likely to reorganize their supply chains to match this demand.
Consumers will be able to learn the environmental impact of the things they are buying both positive and negative.
5. Blockchain strengthening Non-Profit Organizations
It might be difficult to track where your money goes and its usage when you donate to an environmental charity. In the charitable sector, bureaucracy, corruption, and inefficiency are still prevalent.
Blockchains allow money transactions without the involvement of a bank account, which is advantageous to those in countries where banking infrastructure is lacking.
This means that money can be sent directly to those in need without having to go through a complicated web of middlemen or central authority.
Blockchain technology is still frictional to the masses but if directed at the right problems, it has real potential to enable a shift to cleaner and more resource-preserving decentralized solutions, unlock natural capital, and empower communities. This is particularly important for the environment, where the tragedy of the common people and challenges in capturing the non-financial value are currently so prevalent.
