Blockchain platform for sustainability compliance in extractive industries revitalized

Digital transparency company Everledger announced the launching of an improved blockchain-powered platform to make it easier for extractive industries and their clients to evidence their sustainability credentials and compliance with regulatory requirements.

According to the London-based firm, the new features incorporated into the Everledger Platform include sustainability badges, real-time reporting, efficient data capture, interoperability with API connections, and plug-ins to feed and receive data into the blockchain environment.

“Everledger demonstrates the capture of data on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions across the extraction, processing and transportation of materials in the supply chain,” the company said in a media statement. “This will benefit industries such as diamonds, gemstones, automotive, electronics, retail, and luxury goods.”

The solution is also said to offer independent validation of claims around energy efficiency and GHG reductions, renewable energy sourcing, green job metrics, water efficiency, worker and human rights protections and legal sourcing criteria, such as anti-corruption, which facilitates corporate compliance to legislation across multiple jurisdictions – and consumers’ expectations for more sustainable products.

“For example, our climate holistic platform is helping India and U.S.-based Shairu & Atit Diamonds to provide consumers with accessible data related to the carbon footprint of their manufacturing processes,” the press brief states.

Similarly, Brilliant Earth and Fred Meyer Jewelers have also integrated the blockchain technology platform with their supply chain to track the origin of the diamonds they incorporate into their jewelry.

In the view of Carrie George, head of sustainability and impact at Everledger, even though they are not infallible, these types of measures allow for making a more accountable use of finite natural resources.

“There’s no such thing as perfect data – but there are better, valuable and reasonable data that are applicable to the supply chain,” George said. “We can’t let perfect be the enemy of good actions now. Everledger combines multiple data types, permissioned from our ecosystem as well as public and private data. We leverage our existing technology applications to efficiently read, track and calculate emissions and report the data sources and types to our data users. This type of approach allows for increasing improvements in data and enables more and more data providers to become comfortable with measuring, reporting and taking action.”

This story originally appeared on MINING.COM.