Blockchain technology (BCT) is often discussed as digital support for timber traceability in the context of the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR), which requires operators and traders to demonstrate legality, deforestation-free production, geolocation at the forest parcel level, and verifiable supply chain documentation from 30 December 2026, with an extended timeline for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) until 30 June 2027. This study assesses where BCT can realistically add value in timber supply chains under operational forestry conditions and identifies the necessary technical, organizational, and legal prerequisites. A combination of a targeted literature review and empirical input from experts in the forestry and timber industry, including guided expert web-conferencing interviews (n = 41), an online survey (n = 69 completed responses), and a transdisciplinary workshop (n = 18) was utilized to obtain a comprehensive overview of industry perspectives. Qualitative data from interviews and workshop sessions were analyzed using structured qualitative content analysis, while survey data were evaluated using descriptive statistics. The expected benefits are associated with the introduction of tamper-proof timber harvesting practices and cross-organizational verification mechanisms. To address the discrepancy between biological uncertainty and digital rigidity, the study proposes a dynamic allocation model adapted from the energy sector that distinguishes between fixed and variable wood capacities to automate logistical planning via smart contracts. However, respondents emphasize that practical obstacles, such as limited digital maturity in forestry, fragmented data infrastructures across the supply chain, and unresolved issues of data sovereignty hinder the implementation of BCT. BCT alone is unable to resolve the problem of weak physical-digital identity continuity, a phenomenon widely known as the oracle problem; however, coupling the ledger with physical or biological anchors (e.g., photo-optical, automated inkjet marking identification) can re-establish this physicalādigital continuity and thereby resolve the oracle problem. The results demonstrate that blockchain acts most plausibly as a supporting component within hybrid traceability architectures that prioritize event-based authentication, off-chain data processing where appropriate, and integration with existing certification systems. The study highlights the necessity of defining distinct organizational roles and responsibilities while integrating user-centric digital solutions tailored specifically to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Digital technologies are transforming supply chain management by enabling greater connectivity, transparency, and coordination among supply chain partners. In forestry supply chains, characterized by dispersed resources, multiple stakeholders, and complex operational processes, collaborative governance has become increasingly important for improving coordination and sustainable resource management. However, existing studies mainly focus on operational optimization and digital applications, while the governance implications of digital technologies remain insufficiently explored. This conceptual article explores how digital technologies may enable collaborative governance capability in forestry supply chains through four governance mechanisms: information sharing, resource integration, collaborative decision-making, and adaptive governance. Based on collaborative governance and digital transformation literature, a conceptual framework is proposed to illustrate how digital technologies may support governance processes through the Internet of Things, big data analytics, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. The article provides theoretical insights into digital-enabled collaborative governance and practical implications for sustainable forestry supply chains.
This study develops a cost-effective digital traceability framework for bioethanol supply chains, addressing compliance challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) and Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. A hybrid BlockchaināArtificial Intelligence (AI)āInternet of Things (IoT) architecture minimizes energy consumption through an optimized Proof-of-Stake and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus mechanism. The research integrates a 200-stakeholder international survey, controlled blockchain simulations, smart-contract benchmarking, and Monte Carlo financial modeling. Performance evaluation in a controlled simulation environment demonstrated 1960 transactions per second with sub-second finality, 12-million-gas savings through contract optimization, and compliance latency below 2.1 s. Economic analysis yielded a mean return on investment of 20%, five-year net present value of approximately USD 71,000, and payback within five years in 50% of scenarios. All results derive from reproducible simulations and anonymized data, providing an upper-bound performance envelope prior to field deployment and positioning the framework within emerging hybrid blockchaināAIāIoT monitoring, reporting, and verification systems by explicitly addressing cost realism, readiness heterogeneity, and disruption resilience for SMEs. The framework offers a scalable, energy-efficient pathway for digital compliance in sustainable fuel certification. ā¢ Hybrid Blockchain-AI-IoT framework reduces bioethanol certification energy consumption by >99.999% at 1960 TPS ā¢ Gas-optimized smart contracts cut computational costs by 57% vs. traditional Proof-of-Work systems. ā¢ Economic modeling confirms SME viability: 20% ROI, USD 71,400 NPV, payback within 5 years in 49% of scenarios. ā¢ Framework enables RED II and CORSIA compliance with real-time emission verification in renewable fuel supply chains. ā¢ International validation across 200 stakeholders in Africa, Asia, EU, and North America demonstrating global scalability.
This study quantifies the energy use, carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) emissions, and transaction-related costs of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) in the context of timber traceability. It combines: (i) a PRISMA-guided systematic review of empirical studies on DLT energy consumption; and (ii) benchmark values derived from continuously updated online monitoring sources, captured at defined access dates and fully documented in the . Comparable metrics are reported at the level of individual traceability events (kWh/tx, gCO 2 e/tx, and USD/tx) and are related to a realistic timber supply chain transaction model that was empirically validated in a pilot study. The results reveal substantial differences in sustainability performance across consensus mechanisms. Proof-of-Work (PoW) networks exhibit prohibitively high energy demand and CO 2 e emissions for frequent traceability notarizations. In contrast, Proof-of-Stake (PoS), PBFT-based, hybrid, and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) architectures enable low-energy and low-cost event logging. This study bridges the gap between established DLT sustainability research and the operational requirements of regulated forestry traceability by providing a transparent and reproducible benchmarking workflow that includes URLs, access dates and calculation spreadsheets.
Pedro Henrique Barcha Correia, Marco A. Marques, MaurĆcio A. Pillon, Charles C. Miers Ā· 5 authors
Despite its environmental benefits, forestation is often overlooked in favor of traditional crops that have negative environmental impacts. To address this problem, this work proposes Carbono 21, a digital platform that uses tokenization to create financial incentives for landowners who plant trees or preserve native vegetation in their properties. The basic idea of Carbono 21 is to transform forested areas and assets related to forestation actions into dynamic Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). These tokens are then stored on a consortium blockchain, so they can be leveraged in a variety of forestation initiatives, including forest compensation laws and strategies related to carbon credit generation. Furthermore, tokens stored in Carbono 21 are automatically updated using existing satellite and governmental data platforms, so deforestation events can be quickly identified and the corresponding NFTs frozen. In addition to these practical benefits, the solution proposes novel transparency mechanisms, enabling authorities and other entities to audit transactions and the utilization of green assets. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposal, an implementation was developed and benchmarked. The results reveal satisfactory transaction throughput and latency: small networks can generate over 750 land NFTs per second and query more than 1000 tokens every second, with average latencies of 2s and 0.1s, respectively.