Increased traceability of recycled cardboard and containerboard packaging with the help of blockchain technology
(2019) INTM01 20191Innovation Engineering
- Abstract
- Producers in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry want to, and are sometimes forced to, increase the amount of recycled fibers in packaging, but there is no way to confirm the actual composition of fibers by examining the material optically or chemically. Blockchain technology is often seen as a promising technology for data storage and it is argued that it can help increase transparency through supply chains. Thus, this thesis explores if blockchain or distributed ledger technology, can help the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry and its supply chain to meet the future challenges of traceability of recycled fibers.
The thesis has a descriptive and exploratory approach. It consists of three different phases;... (More) - Producers in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry want to, and are sometimes forced to, increase the amount of recycled fibers in packaging, but there is no way to confirm the actual composition of fibers by examining the material optically or chemically. Blockchain technology is often seen as a promising technology for data storage and it is argued that it can help increase transparency through supply chains. Thus, this thesis explores if blockchain or distributed ledger technology, can help the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry and its supply chain to meet the future challenges of traceability of recycled fibers.
The thesis has a descriptive and exploratory approach. It consists of three different phases; one frame of reference study to establish basic knowledge, one literature study to understand the drivers, opportunities and challenges of applied blockchain/distributed ledger technology in a supply chain-context and an interview study to explore the drivers behind increased traceability in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry.
The results of the studies indicate that neither the usefulness of a blockchain solution nor the ease of using the technology is high enough to implement a blockchain solution in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry today. Only two out of the three most important drivers for blockchain adoption were present within the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry. Most importantly the main driver, lack of trust, was not present within the industry as actors heavily depend on mutual trust. Compared to physical products in industries, where blockchain solutions have been found useful, not many similarities are shared with cardboard or containerboard packaging. Additionally, the technology itself is complex and there is an absence of common standards for implementation. It would demand a great effort to understand the possibilities of the technology due to the absence of large-scale success cases from other supply chains.
Furthermore, there are conflicting viewpoints as found by this study whether the choice of recycled fiber over virgin fibers does guarantee a more sustainable alternative. Thus, the conclusion is that it would be more appropriate to focus on storing the overall carbon footprint as a sustainability metric instead of recycled fibers and further investigate if blockchain can offer a viable solution for storing such data. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- How can one ensure the composition of recycled fibres in a cardboard or containerboard package if it is not possible to verify it optically or chemically? This novel study aims to increase understanding of blockchains potential to support sustainability practices of the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry.
Consumers of today demand sustainable options when purchasing items. Furthermore, European legislation demands that 85 % of all packages made out of paper, cardboard or corrugated paper has to be recycled. Thus, producers in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry want to, and are sometimes forced to, increase the amount of recycled fibers in packaging, but there is no way to confirm the actual composition of... (More) - How can one ensure the composition of recycled fibres in a cardboard or containerboard package if it is not possible to verify it optically or chemically? This novel study aims to increase understanding of blockchains potential to support sustainability practices of the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry.
Consumers of today demand sustainable options when purchasing items. Furthermore, European legislation demands that 85 % of all packages made out of paper, cardboard or corrugated paper has to be recycled. Thus, producers in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry want to, and are sometimes forced to, increase the amount of recycled fibers in packaging, but there is no way to confirm the actual composition of fibers by examining the individual material optically or chemically. Blockchain is often argued to be able to help increase transparency through supply chains. Thus, this thesis explores if blockchain technology can offer the value chain a viable solution to improve traceability of recycled cardboard and containerboard packaging.
The results of the studies indicate that neither the usefulness of implementing a blockchain solution nor the ease of using the technology is high enough to implement a blockchain solution for tracking recycled fibres in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry today as only two out of the three most important drivers for blockchain adoption are present. Most importantly the main driver, lack of trust, was not identified within the industry as actors heavily depend on mutual trust. Compared to products in industries where blockchain solutions have been thought of as useful before, not many similarities are shared with cardboard or containerboard packaging. The technology itself is complex and there is an absence of common standards to use when implementing the technology. It would demand a great amount of effort and education to understand the possibilities of the technology since there are no available large scale success cases from other supply chains to learn from.
There are conflicting viewpoints as found by this study whether the choice of recycled fibers over virgin fibers does guarantee a more sustainable alternative. The sustainability is to a great extent dependent on what type of energy source that is used when producing the paper as well as the mode of transport and the proximity to the supply. Furthermore, the study identifies that there is a potential ambiguity regarding metrics of environmental impact and how it is derived through the value chain. As a result, the contribution of this thesis suggests further research of BCT and its applicability in storing sustainability metrics, as for example carbon footprint, an area which may be expanded outside the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry.
The thesis consists of a thorough explanation of the industry for cardboard and containerboard packaging, certification as well as blockchain technology. Additionally, there is an extensive literature review identifying drivers, opportunities and challenges with blockchain technology in a supply chain context. The literature review helps to verify earlier academic attempts to understand blockchain's potential in a supply chain context. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8986494
- author
- Trulsson, Eric LU and Ragnarsson, Louise LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- INTM01 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Blockchain technology, Distributed ledger technology, Sustainability, Supply chain, Recycling, Cardboard and containerboard packaging industry
- language
- English
- id
- 8986494
- date added to LUP
- 2019-06-25 12:55:46
- date last changed
- 2019-06-25 12:55:46
@misc{8986494,
abstract = {{Producers in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry want to, and are sometimes forced to, increase the amount of recycled fibers in packaging, but there is no way to confirm the actual composition of fibers by examining the material optically or chemically. Blockchain technology is often seen as a promising technology for data storage and it is argued that it can help increase transparency through supply chains. Thus, this thesis explores if blockchain or distributed ledger technology, can help the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry and its supply chain to meet the future challenges of traceability of recycled fibers.
The thesis has a descriptive and exploratory approach. It consists of three different phases; one frame of reference study to establish basic knowledge, one literature study to understand the drivers, opportunities and challenges of applied blockchain/distributed ledger technology in a supply chain-context and an interview study to explore the drivers behind increased traceability in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry.
The results of the studies indicate that neither the usefulness of a blockchain solution nor the ease of using the technology is high enough to implement a blockchain solution in the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry today. Only two out of the three most important drivers for blockchain adoption were present within the cardboard and containerboard packaging industry. Most importantly the main driver, lack of trust, was not present within the industry as actors heavily depend on mutual trust. Compared to physical products in industries, where blockchain solutions have been found useful, not many similarities are shared with cardboard or containerboard packaging. Additionally, the technology itself is complex and there is an absence of common standards for implementation. It would demand a great effort to understand the possibilities of the technology due to the absence of large-scale success cases from other supply chains.
Furthermore, there are conflicting viewpoints as found by this study whether the choice of recycled fiber over virgin fibers does guarantee a more sustainable alternative. Thus, the conclusion is that it would be more appropriate to focus on storing the overall carbon footprint as a sustainability metric instead of recycled fibers and further investigate if blockchain can offer a viable solution for storing such data.}},
author = {{Trulsson, Eric and Ragnarsson, Louise}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Increased traceability of recycled cardboard and containerboard packaging with the help of blockchain technology}},
year = {{2019}},
}