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Sustainability Certification Goes Blockchain

Wehner, Niklas LU (2018) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEN41 20181
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract
Food production accounts for some of the most significant social and environmental impacts at global scale. Reliable information on who produced a product where and under what conditions is a critical enabler for meaningful action on some of the most pressing challenges. Third party certification and labelling remain widely used tools to identify sustainably produced commodities. Fragmented auditing approaches and fraudulent supply chain actors risk undermining effectiveness and trust in certification. More efficient sharing of trustworthy information is a precondition to drive positive impact and strengthen confidence in certification and the global food system. Blockchain is a distributed electronic ledger technology that has been... (More)
Food production accounts for some of the most significant social and environmental impacts at global scale. Reliable information on who produced a product where and under what conditions is a critical enabler for meaningful action on some of the most pressing challenges. Third party certification and labelling remain widely used tools to identify sustainably produced commodities. Fragmented auditing approaches and fraudulent supply chain actors risk undermining effectiveness and trust in certification. More efficient sharing of trustworthy information is a precondition to drive positive impact and strengthen confidence in certification and the global food system. Blockchain is a distributed electronic ledger technology that has been proposed as a potential solution by creating fully traceable, transparent and trusted supply chains through immutable record keeping. Combining blockchain technology and sustainability certification might provide stakeholders with a powerful instrument to step up transparency and sustainability in food supply chains. This thesis uses an exploratory case study approach to further define the field of research on blockchain applications for supply chain management and certification, and to show how key actors and processes might be affected by the introduction of blockchain technology. Insights from 20 expert interviews and a review of various use cases and pilot projects indicate that blockchain technology has the potential to improve the effectiveness of sustainability certification and strengthen trust in related claims. Key stakeholders, such as certification bodies, will need to adapt to a changing landscape as digitalisation further progresses in the food sector. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wehner, Niklas LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A Case Study on the Added Value and Impact of Blockchain on Third-party Sustainability Certification
course
IMEN41 20181
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
third party sustainability certification, blockchain, traceability, global value chains, supply chain management
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2018:34
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
8962967
date added to LUP
2018-11-08 15:48:49
date last changed
2018-11-09 12:12:03
@misc{8962967,
  abstract     = {{Food production accounts for some of the most significant social and environmental impacts at global scale. Reliable information on who produced a product where and under what conditions is a critical enabler for meaningful action on some of the most pressing challenges. Third party certification and labelling remain widely used tools to identify sustainably produced commodities. Fragmented auditing approaches and fraudulent supply chain actors risk undermining effectiveness and trust in certification. More efficient sharing of trustworthy information is a precondition to drive positive impact and strengthen confidence in certification and the global food system. Blockchain is a distributed electronic ledger technology that has been proposed as a potential solution by creating fully traceable, transparent and trusted supply chains through immutable record keeping. Combining blockchain technology and sustainability certification might provide stakeholders with a powerful instrument to step up transparency and sustainability in food supply chains. This thesis uses an exploratory case study approach to further define the field of research on blockchain applications for supply chain management and certification, and to show how key actors and processes might be affected by the introduction of blockchain technology. Insights from 20 expert interviews and a review of various use cases and pilot projects indicate that blockchain technology has the potential to improve the effectiveness of sustainability certification and strengthen trust in related claims. Key stakeholders, such as certification bodies, will need to adapt to a changing landscape as digitalisation further progresses in the food sector.}},
  author       = {{Wehner, Niklas}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{Sustainability Certification Goes Blockchain}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}