Circularise leads value chain collaboration on public blockchain for mass balance certification

Circularize announced a joint project with ISCCbringing together material suppliers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), brands and commercial companies to test a blockchain-based public digital system, with the aim of supporting transparency and data integrity for the certification of mass balance.

The program includes materials suppliers Neste, Asahi Kasei, Borealis, Trinseo and Shell; OEM and brands Arcelik, Philips Domestic Appliances and EVBox; and the Marubeni and Itochu trading companies. According to Circularise, this is the first time that 10 players from the chemical industry and appliance companies have collaborated to test blockchain-based digital systems in addition to the mass balance certification process.

Circularise explains that certification systems can enable a mass balance system, facilitating a gradual shift to replacing fossil raw materials with renewable and recycled raw materials while allowing the use of existing infrastructure and equipment instead of building factories. and parallel value chains. In the mass balance system, data storage and integrity are key elements to verify durability and compliance with certification requirements.

Circularise claims that its blockchain-based digital system has been tested with ISCC Plus certification to make auditing certified parties more efficient and to strengthen the integrity of certified data. Participants would have used a public blockchain allowing authentication, decentralization and encryption of data verifying material flows and associated sustainability attributes.

According to Circularise, this approach differs from other blockchain projects where companies use a private blockchain operated by pre-screened participants, such as members of a consortium. Circularise adds that using a public blockchain makes it virtually impossible for companies to appear more sustainable than they actually are by reusing evidence of a sustainability claim across assets, forming the foundation of trust. in data integrity.

Within the framework of the project, the traceability of materials and the verification of data throughout the value chain have been guaranteed by the ISCC Plus certification, says Circularise. This apparently required site-specific audits, certification and mass balance calculations to provide reassurance about renewable or recycled content, Circularise adding that the data was uploaded to its software system to improve mass balance accounting and reporting.

Mesbah Sabur, founder of Circularise, explains: “Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the way data is stored and shared. From now on, companies no longer need to individually keep a balance sheet of goods and transactions in Excel. Instead, they can use blockchain and smart contracts to store balances, record transactions, and enforce mass balance rules. Each transaction is fully traceable. Auditors can therefore rely on the blockchain for certain parts of the audit.

“We are excited to bring our knowledge of supply chain traceability and data management to project partners to test a decentralized public blockchain with ISCC Plus certification.”

Isabella Tonaco, vice president of strategy execution and marketing for Neste’s Renewable Polymers and Chemicals business unit, adds, “To make sustainability a shared benefit for society, transparency along of complex value is required. This is currently not readily available.

“Our goal in this project led by ISCC, Circularise and precursor companies is to enable complex value chains to learn and take full advantage of innovative digital solutions, aimed at effectively sharing data and validating the sustainability characteristics of their products Transparent product sustainability attributes will benefit industry, consumers and society.

Jan Henke from ISCC comments: “Certification will become more digital in the future. This will allow certification schemes to simplify the process of auditing supply chain actors and reduce the risk of errors. Businesses will have an easier way to demonstrate compliance and meet auditing rules. »

Through this project, Circularise claims that collaborating partners have succeeded in deepening their knowledge of mass balance systems, aligning internal processes with ISCC Plus requirements, and testing a new future-proof method for mass balance credit accounting while easily sharing them between organizations. Overall, the project apparently enabled value chain actors to better substantiate sustainability claims and improved collaboration.

Earlier this year, SABIC set up a consortium blockchain project to create additional transparency and digital traceability for its TRUCIRCLE raw materials solutions. Meanwhile, Circulor has partnered with TotalEnergies and Recycling Technologies to develop a blockchain-based traceability solution for hard-to-recycle plastics.