Frank Rondel
Blockchain technology is increasingly being promoted as a tool for tracking emissions in global supply chains, moving the conversation beyond cryptocurrency speculation, reports customreceipt.com. Companies face growing pressure to monitor “Scope 3” emissions—the indirect greenhouse gases generated across supply chains, product use, and transport. These emissions frequently exceed a company’s direct output but remain difficult to trace.
The World Economic Forum has highlighted that just eight global supply chains account for over half of total emissions, underscoring the challenge for businesses managing sprawling procurement networks. Deloitte has pointed to blockchain as a possible solution to increase transparency and traceability, particularly for ESG reporting related to Scope 3 emissions. By functioning as a shared ledger, blockchain allows multiple parties to input and verify data while reducing the risk of post-entry tampering.
Retailers have already explored blockchain in food safety initiatives. Walmart’s pilots using Hyperledger Fabric demonstrate that tracing U.S. mangoes, which previously took days, now takes mere seconds. Frank Yiannas, Walmart’s former food safety chief, described the system as addressing a “complex network” rather than a simple chain. Shipping companies have explored similar applications: in 2019, Maersk’s Lars Kastrup described TradeLens as an effort to deliver “an unprecedented level of transparency,” enabling faster reactions to supply-chain disruptions.
However, adoption challenges persist. Maersk and IBM eventually discontinued TradeLens, citing insufficient participation from industry partners to ensure commercial viability. Analysts now suggest that blockchain could allow companies to capture emissions data in near real-time by linking sensors and tracking devices to tamper-resistant ledgers. Carbon-credit markets have also been flagged as potential areas for blockchain verification technologies.
Carbon markets remain controversial. Research by the Australia Institute has raised integrity questions about offsets, showing that digitizing trades alone does not guarantee that credits represent actual emissions reductions. Blockchain developers, meanwhile, are promoting the technology as a potential revenue source. The PixelPlex Team, writing for Morocco World News, suggested companies could monetize verification and reconciliation processes, previously internal functions, and leverage tokenization to represent fractional ownership in physical assets.
Despite these promises, risks remain. Wharton’s Kevin Werbach described blockchain as “a new structure of trust” but emphasized that governance, dispute resolution, and confidence in the full system are essential. Permissioned blockchains, restricting access to vetted users, are now being positioned for specific applications like traceability, audit trails, and document verification. The long-term success of these projects will depend on committed backers and who ultimately funds the infrastructure.
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