Exploring the potential of Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma

Carbon tracking is a challenge in many industries, including the pharma sector. Companies are looking to manage their carbon emissions more effectively and meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, noted Maxence Cacheux, Zblocks co-founder and chief revenue officer. “They need to measure their internal carbon emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions from the energy they use (Scope 2) and indirect emissions from their suppliers (Scope 3),” he noted. Although adoption is early, Zblocks executives believe there is a clear need for Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma. “The challenge that blockchain can solve is is the lack of transparency and trust in carbon accounting and trading systems,” Cacheux said. “There are gaps in reporting. Additionally, all the data you’re collecting from multiple sources can be potentially tampered, and there is no auditability.” Web3-based carbon tracking uses blockchain technology to monitor carbon emissions and offset credits transparently and securely. “Blockchain could be a very interesting way of making this data non-tamperable and you can also transparently make it accessible to multiple parties,” Cacheux said. The technology offers data immutability, tamper resistance and accessibility for multiple parties.

Driving efficiency with Web3-based carbon tracking technology

Web3-based carbon tracking technology relies on smart contracts for data validation and enables efficient trading of tokenized carbon credits, promoting accuracy and accountability. “You can use smart contracts to automate certain tasks that are done in carbon tracking,” Cacheux noted.

Furthermore, blockchain can use smart contracts to automate tasks such as data validation and verification. “There’s also transparent monitoring and reporting using the blockchain,” Cacheux added. “And you can potentially use blockchain for compliance and enforcement,” with smart contracts triggering alerts or enforcing penalties and incentives based on emissions data.

Blockchain “provides trust and transparency,” Cacheux said. “And the trust and transparency comes from the fact that we’re using this decentralized and immutable database among multiple parties.” Nevertheless, adoption of Web3-based carbon tracking is in the early stages. There are several initiatives using Web3 technology for carbon tracking outside of the pharma sector, such as the Carbon Offset Initiative (COI), which aims to create a blockchain-based platform for carbon offsetting; Carbonable, a startup that uses the public Ethereum blockchain to track carbon contributions and offsetting; and Filecoin Green, which has launched CO2.Storage, a Web3 data storage technology designed to enable transparency for carbon offsets.

While blockchain technology holds promise for tracking emissions and promoting sustainability, it is not without its own environmental drawbacks. Critics argue that the technology is energy-intensive. Blockchain has a high demand for servers and energy resources to maintain and secure decentralized networks. Proof-of-work blockchains, such as the well-known cryptocurrency Bitcoin, have significant demands on computational power for mining and transaction validation. These processes contribute to significant energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Integrating blockchain into pharma supply chain management

Integrating Web3-based carbon tracking into global operations and connecting it to Scope 3 emissions requires a platform that allows multiple entities to input data. Key components include data collection from various entities, data validation, and enterprise wallets for data storage and reporting. A consortium use case ensures multiple parties can participate in the same blockchain, while “enterprise connectors” link the blockchain to various systems of record.

“You need the enterprise connectors. And then you need the possibility for enterprises to connect on the same blockchain and participate in the consortium,” Cacheux stated. Third-party companies build these connectors between systems such as [the enterprise resource planning (ERP) companies] SAP or Oracle and the blockchain. “Zblocks Web3 Enterprise platform has built-in enterprise connectors that are bridging the Web2 world, ERP and system of records for example, and the blockchain world.”

Blockchain’s expanding applications in pharma

Web3-based carbon tracking, as an implementation of blockchain technology, could be vital for the pharmaceutical industry, which already faces trust issues. Implementing blockchain can help quantify and compare sustainability efforts, ensuring transparency and commitment to reducing carbon emissions. The implementation of Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma can lead to a more sustainable and transparent supply chain management, and help combat fraud in medicine with its secure track and trace system. Blockchain has a variety of applications in pharma, such as track and trace solutions. The technology is versatile and can be used across different use cases in the sector.