Blockchain Technology Making the World a Better Place
When you hear the term blockchain or cryptocurrency what is the first thing that springs to your mind? For many, it would be money, finances, the generation of wealth, etc. Which is true in many cases but these only scratch the surface of what the power of blockchain technology can actually be used for. There are in fact many companies implementing blockchain technology in an attempt to make the world a better place. There are companies out there using blockchain tech to eradicate the trade of blood diamonds, empowering farmers in developing countries without access to financial institutions get their goods to both domestic and global markets, as well as give us complete transparency in the food and products we consume. In this article I will touch on how these companies are using blockchain tech to bring these to light.
Everledger
A blood diamond can be defined as;
“Diamonds that are mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgence, an invading army’s war efforts, or a war lord’s activity.”
Many of you reading this article have seen the 2006 Leonardo DiCaprio movie Blood Diamond which depicts the brutal practice and trade of blood diamonds. It is hard to believe that such practices are still ongoing today.
In the 20th-21st century alone, the practice has occurred in countries such as Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, amongst others. Not only are the workers subject to horrifying conditions it has also become a means to fund both criminal and terrorist (notably Al Queda) activities. One of the main drivers behind the trade is that diamonds are one of the most easily concealed and transportable forms of wealth. If you’ve ever visited a jeweller, you will know that a pea sized diamond can be worth upwards of thousands of dollars. On top of this the traditional method for tracking a diamond which consists of comparing slips of paper with serial numbers printed on them along the production line (from mine to retail store) can easily be manipulated.
While only a very small percentage of all diamonds traded in the retail market are blood diamonds, the damaging effects of the minority that have slipped through the cracks motivated Everledger’s founder and CEO Leanne Kemp to do something about it.
Her company has developed a blockchain platform that gives companies in the industry transparent end-to-end tracking in a much more verifiable manner compared to traditional diamond tracking methods. This is thanks to the core characteristics of blockchain technology;
- Security
- Transparency
- Decentralisation
- Immutability
- Programmability
Everledger’s system publishes data to the chain at every step of the process. Starting from mining, laser cutting, grading, certification and finally to sale. The individual responsible for each step of the process can input key identifiable information such as size, weight, ID number, photos, etc., about the diamond. By publishing this information to the ledger at every step of the production process, the platform developed by Everledger is increasing the traceability and transparency of the diamond industry. Thus, empowering both companies in the industry and consumers to track the diamonds they have purchased ensuring they have come from ethical origins.
Since Everledger’s foundation in 2015, the company has expanded from just tracking diamonds. They now employ their technology to track artwork, wines and spirits, apparel, electric car batteries, amongst more, helping consumers to ensure that they are purchasing a legitimate and safe product produced in a cruelty free environment.
BanQu
Investpedia defines someone who is Unbanked as;
“Adults who do not use or do not have access to any traditional financial services including savings accounts, credit cards, or personal current accounts”
Globally there are 1.7 billion adults unbanked, with the majority being workers from emerging economies. The driving factor behind this is the fact they can’t prove their existence in the supply chain.
This obviously puts these individuals at a distinct disadvantage compared to those who are banked. Imagine if you were selling your products/providing a service into the supply chain of a big brand and yet you were unable to open a bank account. Unfortunately, for many people around the world, being locked out of the global economy like this is a reality.
In 2015, the CEO and co-founder, Ashish Gadnis set up BanQu (pronounced “bank you”) in attempt to level the playing field for the world’s unbanked.
The event that sparked Ashish to set up BanQu was when he witnessed a woman in the Democratic Republic of Congo being denied a bank account as the only proof or record she had of her role in the supply chain was a paper receipt. He wanted to ensure that every individual involved in the supply chain is visible in the global economy by recording them in a non-cryptocurrency blockchain-based software to give anyone across the value chain a record of their work history. On top of that, all transactions can be delivered via SMS, so no smartphone is required, helping to reduce the barriers for access.
BanQu is currently active in more that 40 countries across the globe and makes more than 300,000 digital records for fast-moving consumer good supply chains each day. At least 600,000 people are said to be on the network so far.
IBM & Hyperledger
When an outbreak of a foodborne disease happens, it can take days, if not weeks, to find its source. Better traceability could save lives by allowing companies to act faster and protect the livelihoods of farmers by only discarding the produce of affected farms. In 2018, for example, there were at least 18 reported outbreaks of foodborne illnesses in the USA, including E. coli found in romaine lettuce. As investigators could not trace the outbreak to a specific farm, millions of bags/heads of lettuce had to be removed from stores, resulting in consumers losing confidence in romaine lettuce altogether.
The US retail giant Walmart recognised this as an issue and teamed up with IBM using the Hyperledger (an umbrella project of opensource blockchains and related tools) framework to develop a blockchain-based food traceability system.
As a proof of concept, Walmart wanted to see how long it would take them to trace a packet of mango slices back to their source farm. Using traditional tracing methods such as calling and emailing suppliers along the supply chain, they got their answer in just under 7 days. This wasn’t bad by industry standards but Walmart wanted to do better.
They worked with GS1 (the standard authority for barcodes and labelling) to define the data attributes for upload to the blockchain. Suppliers used new labels and uploaded their data through a web-based interface. The result was that Walmart were able to reduce their traceability time from nearly 7 days to 2.2 seconds!
Walmart now traces over 25 products from 5 suppliers using the IBM blockchain built atop the Hyperledger fabric. The products include produce such as strawberries, mangos and leafy greens; meat and poultry such as chicken and pork; dairy such as milk and yogurt; and even multi-ingredients items such as packaged salad and baby food.
Beyond tracing the journey and origin of products along the supply chain, this technology can give insights into other data like sustainability.
The above examples are just scratching the surface of how blockchain technology is making the world a better place. As the adoption increases, so will the use cases, a lot of which will disrupt the current status quo and transform the way the world does business.
As people become more aware of issues such as sustainability, their carbon footprint, etc., the immutable transparency of the technology allows us to track where, who and how the products we consume are coming from or made, empowering consumers to make more sustainable choices.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond
https://everledger.io/industry-solutions/diamonds/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unbanked.asp
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/banqu-financial-inclusion-sustainability/
