In the current global context of environmental degradation and resource constraints, the pursuit of sustainable development has become an imperative. One avenue that holds promise for achieving this objective is the application of digital technologies, which have the potential to decouple economic growth from its carbon footprint. However, it is crucial to ensure that these technologies are designed and governed in a prudent manner, with a strong alignment to environmental priorities. This study focuses on exploring the potential roles of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) in supply chain coordination and impact mitigation. Furthermore, they have the capacity to incentivize recycling and circular business models, as well as facilitate carbon accounting and offsetting. To fully realize these benefits, it is essential to deploy these technologies within inclusive collaborative frameworks that take into consideration social and ecological considerations. The study also offers policy recommendations that highlight key leverage points for digital innovation, enabling countries to embark on smart and green industrial transformation pathways. By harnessing the potential of blockchain and AI in supply chains, governments can promote transparency, traceability, and accountability, thereby fostering sustainable practices and reducing environmental impacts. Incorporating blockchain and AI technologies into supply chain approaches leads to a substantial improvement in efficiency, as demonstrated by a numerical analysis. In conclusion, the integration of innovative digital technologies offers significant opportunities to optimize production systems and economic activity while prioritizing sustainability objectives for the betterment of society and the environment. These technologies have the potential to mitigate environmental externalities by addressing information imbalances within global supply chains. However, it is essential to prioritize inclusive governance that emphasizes democratic participation to mitigate any unintended negative consequences, especially for vulnerable communities. By ensuring inclusive decision-making processes, we can maximize the positive impact of these technologies while minimizing potential harm.
This paper analytically explores the value of blockchain technology in building consumer trust in recyclers. We focus on an e-commerce closed-loop supply chain composed of an online platform and a manufacturer. In the forward chain, the platform selects a reselling or marketplace model to sell products. In the reverse chain, the platform collects used products, and the unknown whereabouts of the used products will cause consumer mistrust and be detrimental to the corporate image. Blockchain technology can address these challenges by improving the visibility of the recycling chain. By constructing differential game models, we specify the conditions for blockchain implementation and explore its impact on the online sales model choice and the E-CLSC performance. The findings show that the manufacturer consistently benefits from blockchain technology, while the platform decides to adopt it when the long-term profits outweigh the initial investment costs. Interestingly, the sales model selection will not change with the advent of blockchain technology. We further show the benefits of blockchain-enabled recycling and provide tangible insights for related practitioners.
Chien‐Ming Chen, Qingkai Miao, Saru Kumari, Muhammad Khurram Khan · 5 authors
The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) integrates wireless, mobile networking, cloud infrastructure, IoT, and wireless sensor networks, establishing an intelligent transportation system. While electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to environmental sustainability, they encounter challenges; battery-swapping technology emerges as a viable solution. Nevertheless, concerns arise regarding data security, privacy, and potential single points of failure. To address these issues, we propose a privacy-preserving authentication protocol based on intelligent blockchain. This protocol ensures the security and reliability of data storage and transaction verification processes, simultaneously upholding privacy, including user anonymity and untraceability. Additionally, leveraging the decentralized nature of intelligent blockchain, each participating node retains a copy of the data and verifies it through consensus algorithms to ensure its integrity and credibility. Verification using the Real-Oracle Random (ROR) model demonstrates both effectiveness and security, with informal analysis confirming resilience against known attacks. Comparative analysis underscores the proposed protocol’s security and performance advantages, placing emphasis on its reliability.
Ludmila Courtillat--Piazza, Thibault Pirson, Louis Golard, David Bol
Bitcoin mining is regularly pointed out for its massive energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions, hence contributing significantly to climate change. However, most studies ignore the environmental impacts of producing mining equipment, which is problematic given the short lifespan of such highly specific hardware. In this study, we perform a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of dedicated Bitcoin mining equipment, considering their specific architecture. Our results show that the application-specific integrated circuit designed for Bitcoin mining is the main contributor to production-related impacts. This observation applies to most impact categories, including the global warming potential. In addition, this finding stresses out the necessity to carefully consider the specificity of the hardware. By comparing these results with several usage scenarios, we also demonstrate that the impacts of producing this type of equipment can be significant (up to 80% of the total life cycle impacts), depending on the sources of electricity supply for the use phase. Therefore, we highlight the need to consider the production phase when assessing the environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining hardware. To test the validity of our results, we use the Sphera LCA and ecoinvent databases for the background modeling of our system. Surprisingly, it leads to results with variations of up to 4 orders of magnitude for toxicity-related indicators, despite using the same foreground modeling. This database mismatch phenomenon, already identified in previous studies, calls for better understanding, consideration and discussion of environmental impacts in the field of electronics, going well beyond climate change indicators.
The purpose of the Energy Supply Chain smart contract that is being given here is to enable an Ethereum blockchain-based transparent and safe supply chain management system for energy items. The contract uses a decentralized method to track the lifespan of energy goods from producer generation to consumer use. It was implemented in Solidity version 0.8.0. According to the contract, the products can be in one of the following states: “Created,” “Shipped,” “Received,” “In Use,” and “Completed.” To guarantee that certain tasks can only be carried out by approved parties, including the contract owner, product manufacturer, distributor, and customer, the agreement makes use of a series of modifiers. The contract permits the production, shipment, receipt, use, and completion of energy products through a sequence of actions and state transitions. The contract owner's production of energy products, the producer's delivery of goods to a distributor, and the confirmation of receipts are among the essential features. by the distributor, the customer starting to use the product, and the product's lifecycle coming to an end. By setting off these events, the product's route through the supply chain is transparently documented. Through the utilization of smart contracts and blockchain technology, the Energy Supply Chain contract improves transparency and confidence in the energy supply chain. It provides a decentralized approach to tracking and certify the origin of energy goods from production to consumption.
For the benefit of the environment, the people and the economy, it is important to implement effective waste management. To make waste management more efficient, sustainable and accountable, introduction of blockchain technology to the waste management techniques will be an essential aid. With blockchain technology, it is easier to attain traceability and transparency in a system as it provides a tamper-proof record of the entire transaction. The basic idea of the system will contain a blockchain network and a web application that will be based on a platform like Ethereum.
Ran Wang, Cheng Xu, Fangwen Ye, S.H. Tang · 5 authors
Material data forms the foundation of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The rapid advancement of big data technology has opened up new opportunities for material research and development, ushering in the era of data-driven paradigms. As the cornerstone for material genetic engineering technology, the material big data platform is expanding its data scale and facing an increasing demand for sharing in light of the continuous progress and widespread application of big data technology. However, this development also poses security challenges, including the risks of data leakage and tampering. To address these challenges, this article focuses on the National Materials Genetic Engineering Discrete Data Exchange Platform (MGED). It leverages blockchain technology to design a secure material big-data storage and sharing architecture, S-MBDA, ensuring the security and reliability of the material’s big data platform. Additionally, a verifiable retrieval scheme based on a two-layer index structure of bitmap and MPT tree is proposed to enhance the efficiency of blockchain-based retrieval. This scheme aims to guarantee the integrity of retrieval data while achieving efficient and accurate searches across heterogeneous data sources. Through integrating blockchain technology and adopting a novel retrieval scheme, the article presents a comprehensive approach to secure material data storage, sharing, and retrieval. The proposed architecture and scheme address the critical security concerns associated with material big data platforms and contribute to the efficient and accurate retrieval of heterogeneous data.
The construction industry is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, primarily due to the generation of substantial construction and demolition waste. However, the current practices in construction and demolition waste management (CDWM) face various information management challenges that undermine their overall effectiveness. Correspondingly, this research proposes the integration of blockchain technology as a strategic solution to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of CDWM. Despite the potential of blockchain in revolutionizing CDWM, research in this area remains limited. To address such a gap, this study adopts a design science action research methodology to integrate the use of blockchain technology into CDWM. Specifically, this study has creatively introduced the blockchain-based data supply chain to address the principal–agent problem in CDWM and develop a novel blockchain-enabled framework for CDWM. Additionally, a six-layer system architecture for the blockchain-based CDWM information system has been developed. This integration holds the promise of streamlining and empowering CDWM processes and thereby improving the administration and regulation of CDWM. Notably, the utilization of blockchain technology also presents an innovative opportunity for carbon reduction and offsetting within the construction industry. This research makes a substantial contribution to the field by introducing a novel approach to address information management challenges in CDWM, thereby promoting sustainable practices in the construction industry.
The paper proposes a traceability framework based on methodological approach for the deployment of IOTA-Based Distributed Ledger in the mining industry, as a first step of certification and labelling of the sustainable material production. The methodology is evaluated in real-world implementation in scope of the DIG_IT project. The implementation provides significant amount of heterogeneous data originating from different processes and sources during the operation in mines, such as vehicles operations, mining and raw material extraction, workers physical parameters, environmental parameters, sensors (field, biometric, assets), market (supply chains, commodity prices), weather data, etc. Most of these datasets, especially the data about the emission, needs integrity and the ability to be audited by the public community, government and the stakeholders. The methodology for establishing the transparency for the mining operations, the requirements, technical architecture, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) assessment, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) infrastructure, as well as end-to-end traceability, are proposed and evaluated with the actual deployment. The approach advocates end to end security for the increased traceability and data integrity based on Distributed Ledger Technology. Namely, W3C Decentralised Identities and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) should be deployed from the data source to the cloud and anchored onto the Blockchain. The approach showed promising results with the regulations compliance made possible, making the data available and advertised publicly for the emission compliance.
Abstract The built environment fundamentally suffers from organisational fragmentation in various aspects, such as data flow, finance, and supply chains. Blockchain technology can be considered a transformative solution to the inherent fragmentation of this industry. This chapter first defines the basics of blockchain technology to show how a peer-to-peer network could enable a decentralised, traceable, and immutable information system across the life cycles of built assets. Then, an overview of blockchain literature within the context of a circular economy, with real-life examples and the current state of blockchain adoption in the circular built environment, is presented, and the role that this technology plays in addressing certain circular strategies is discussed. Afterward, implementation challenges and incentives are identified to set realistic expectations regarding the capabilities of blockchain technologies. Emerging concepts within blockchain technologies are then presented to give insights into prospects beyond current literature and use cases in the circular built environment. Finally, the future of blockchain technology in a circular built environment is discussed to present the applicability of blockchain and its possible integration with other emerging digitalisation tools, such as building information modelling (BIM) and material passports, in wider domains of circular, smart cities and communities.
In today's age of product liability, physical warranties always pose a risk. It presents challenges such as fraud, card balance, and inability to identify the correct product and ownership. This project offers a new solution for the quality problem by drawing warranty cards on the blockchain. The main responsibilities of this project include converting traditional tokens into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the flexible warranty dates of the wide range of products. Doing this verifies the authenticity and ownership of the product and eliminates the possibility of a fake or duplicate warranty. In addition, the automated burn bot in the system ensures that the card becomes invalid after the warranty period expires, to ensure the accuracy of the warranty conditions. One of the best features of this blockchain-based approach is that the ownership of the warranty can be switched easily to the new customer by just transferring the NFT to the wallet linked to that customer. The project is an exemplary example of how blockchain technology can transform traditional processes, improve security, increase confidence in defence and ultimately deliver benefits for customers and products.
This study presents a comprehensive framework for optimizing gas fees in decentralized finance (DeFi) pools on the Ethereum blockchain, aimed at enhancing both transaction efficiency and security. The proposed Theory of Gas Fee Minimization strategically optimizes parameters such as the initial token supply, transaction volumes, and gas fees to achieve significant cost reductions and increased transaction throughput. Our computational simulations demonstrate that by addressing factors like market volatility, network congestion, and impact cost factors, the framework effectively minimizes gas fees while reducing the profitability of sandwich attacks, thereby enhancing the security of DeFi ecosystems. The introduction of the Gas Cost Surface provides a novel approach to dynamically managing gas fees, offering insights into the complex interactions between swap amounts and market volatility. This research underscores the importance of rigorous optimization techniques in DeFi protocol design, contributing to the development of more efficient, secure, and user-friendly decentralized financial systems. The findings provide valuable guidance for developers, researchers, and stakeholders seeking to improve the performance and resilience of DeFi platforms, setting new standards for efficiency and security in the blockchain ecosystem.
Yanhong Wang, Shuqiao Dai, Zhigang Jiang, Qingshan Gong
This paper addresses the challenge of integrating discarded products as pivotal raw materials in the remanufacturing process. The pervasive lack of transparency in the origin of discarded products and the prevalent issues of diminished recycling value in existing market recycling models underscore the need for a transformative solution. In response, this study introduces a novel remanufacturing-centric recycling framework that harnesses blockchain (BC) technology and reverse logistics (RL). This framework orchestrates transactions within the recycling market by systematically tracking the quality attributes of products. The proposed model innovates by deploying dynamic game theory to devise recycling pricing strategies tailored for recycling entities. Additionally, the incorporation of an appraisal mechanism for recycled product quality enhances the capability of recycling entities to acquire high-value items. The model’s viability and pioneering attributes are corroborated through a case study involving a retailer’s engine recycling strategy. The empirical findings validate the model’s potential in creating a standardized market for recycling high-value products, thereby empowering remanufacturers to access superior-quality discarded materials through optimized recycling channels.
Luis Jimenez-Castillo, Joseph Sarkis, Sara Saberi, Tianchi Yao
Purpose The authors explore the impact of an emerging technology, blockchain technology, on diverse governance mechanisms and sustainable supply chain practices and how its relationships with the linkage of these elements. Design/methodology/approach The methodology incorporates a literature review and a qualitative empirical analysis of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) standards. Expert opinions from various firms and organizations within the electronics sector are assessed. Through a thematic analysis, the relationships are identified and examined. Findings Data immutability, transparency and traceability capabilities of blockchain technology enhance the relationship between environmental standards and ecological supply chain sustainability practices. Although immature, the blockchain can influence the governance of supply chain sustainability practices. Immaturity of technology, lack of expertise, sharing information and trust have delayed adoption. Originality/value There is limited empirical evidence regarding blockchain's impact on governance mechanisms, specifically hybrid public-private mechanisms and sustainable supply chain practices. The study further evaluates how particular blockchain features may exert varying influences on these aspects and different sustainable supply chain traits. As an exploratory study, it proposes new areas for further research, including how blockchain's traceability function can improve sustainability standard adoption. Additionally, there is a call for integrating blockchain with technologies like IoT and sensors which may influence supply chain governance mechanisms, standards and sustainability practices.
Dec 1, 2023·International journal of intelligent computing and information sciences/International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Information Sciences
Mohamed A. Abo-Soliman, Eman shaaban, Mirvat Al-Qutt, Karim Emara
The use of distributed ledger technology for industrial IoT devices is increasing recently to ensure network security and data protection. Factories and manufacturing plants inclined lately to deploy both Industrial IoT and DLT applications in order to enable autonomous secure operations. IoT helps in simplifying business processes, improving user’s experience and leading to better cost efficiencies, while DLT ensures security, transparency and trust. DLT-based IoT supports secure automation for industrial systems and fosters transformation into the industry 4 age. However, DLT still faces several challenges such as scalability, high cost and security. Moreover, there is no clear understanding about DLT-IoT architecture by a wide range of the industrial community. This work introduces DLT as a major key component of industrial IoT systems that benefits the industry with high level of protection and trust. It also surveys different DLT consensus with regard to industry in order to construct a comparative analysis between the most common algorithms. The study concludes by a selection criteria chart for building integrated DLT-IoT solution suitable for different types of businesses.
Katarzyna Bułkowska, Magdalena Zielińska, Maciej Bułkowski
Implementing blockchain technology in waste management is a novel approach to environmental sustainability and accountability challenges in our modern world. Blockchain, a technology that enables decentralized and immutable ledgers, is now being re-imagined as a tool to revolutionize waste management. This innovative approach aims to improve waste management transparency, traceability, and efficiency, resulting in significant environmental and economic benefits. In traditional waste management systems, the tracking and disposal of waste materials are not transparent and can be vulnerable to fraud, mismanagement, and inefficiency. Blockchain technology provides a secure and transparent platform for recording every step in the waste management lifecycle, from waste generation to collection, transportation, recycling, or disposal. Every transaction in the blockchain is recorded in a tamper-proof manner, enabling real-time monitoring and verification of waste-related data. This paper introduces the concept of using blockchain technology in waste management. The main goal of this work is to show the implementation of blockchain technology in an existing waste management company, using smart contracts in the recycling process to provide transparency. Also, the digital product passport was redefined in terms of circular economy and waste recycling.
Jefferson Leandro Schmidt, Simone Sehnem, Juliano Danilo Spuldaro
Abstract Companies and industries face various challenges when it comes to embracing the circular economy (CE). These challenges not only deter companies from adopting effective strategies that promote it but also hinder industries from effectively establishing a circular system that ensures the addition of economic value to the supply chain. To address these challenges, blockchain technology has emerged as a new and revolutionary protocol for sharing and updating information. It does so by linking databases within a decentralized, peer‐to‐peer, open‐access network, guaranteeing secure, immutable, and irreversible operations. Within this context, the primary objective of this article is to investigate how blockchain technology supports the transition to the CE. Additionally, the paper aims to identify the barriers that hinder the process of transitioning to the CE. To achieve this, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, considering 22 articles published in recent years across Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases. The results of this review underscore the considerable potential of blockchain in supporting companies and industries as they embrace their roles in the CE and seek to overcome the barriers they encounter. The findings reveal that blockchain supports the transition to the CE by facilitating decentralization, enabling smart contracting, enhancing information sharing and improvement, ensuring traceability and transparency, providing incentives, offering protection and security, and promoting value creation. However, in examining the barriers that blockchain may face in supporting companies and industries as they transition to the CE, certain challenges are highlighted. These include issues related to low scalability, insufficient funding, underdeveloped regulations, limited infrastructure support, a lack of standardization and generalization, high initial adoption costs, associated risks, and a deficiency in engagement and awareness. In conclusion, this study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating that although barriers may pose challenges to blockchain's role in facilitating the CE transition, the benefits it offers are likely to outweigh these obstacles.