Circularise Leads Value Chain Collaboration on Public Blockchain for Mass Balance Certification | Article

Circularise has announced a joint project with ISCC, bringing together material suppliers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), brands and trading companies to test a public, blockchain-based digital system, aiming to support transparency and data integrity for mass balance certification. .

The scheme includes material suppliers Neste, Asahi Kasei, Borealis, Trinseo and Shell; OEMs and brands Arcelik, Philips Domestic Appliances and EVBox; and the trading companies Marubeni and Itochu. According to Circularise, this is the first time 10 chemical industry players and device companies have collaborated to test blockchain-based digital systems as a supplement to the mass balance certification process.

Circularise explains that certification schemes can enable a mass balance system, which facilitates a gradual transition towards the replacement of fossil raw materials with renewable and recycled raw materials while enabling the use of existing infrastructure and equipment instead of building parallel plants and value chains. In the mass balance system, data storage and data integrity are key elements to verify sustainability and compliance with certification requirements.

Circularise says the blockchain-based digital system was tested with the ISCC Plus certification to make the auditing of certified parties more efficient, and to strengthen the integrity of certified data. Participants must have used a public blockchain that enables the authentication, decentralization and encryption of data confirming material flows and related sustainability attributes.

According to Circularise, this approach differs from other blockchain projects where companies use a private blockchain operated by pre-selected 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 really are by reusing the proof of a sustainability claim across assets, forming the basis for trust in data integrity.

As part of the project, material traceability and verification of data across the entire value chain was guaranteed by ISCC Plus certification, Circularise claims. This apparently required site-specific audits, certification and mass balance calculations to provide reassurance about the renewable or recycled content, with Circularise adding that the data was uploaded to the software system to improve mass balance accounting and reporting.

Mesbah Sabur, founder of Circularise, explains: “Blockchain technology is revolutionizing how data is stored and shared. Now companies do not need to keep a balance of goods and transactions in Excel individually. Instead, they can use blockchain and smart contracts to store balances, record transactions and apply bulk balance rules. Every transaction is fully traceable. Auditors can therefore rely on the blockchain for parts of the audit.

“We are excited to bring our know-how in supply chain traceability and data management to project partners to test a public decentralized blockchain with the ISCC Plus certification.”

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

“Our aim 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, with the aim of effectively sharing data and validating sustainability characteristics of their products. Transparent product sustainability characteristics will be to the benefit of industry, consumers and society.”

Jan Henke from ISCC comments: “Certification will become more digital in the future. It will allow certification schemes to simplify the audit process of supply chain actors and reduce the risk of errors. Companies will have an easier way to show compliance and comply with audit rules.”

Through this project, Circularise claims that the partners were able to deepen their knowledge of mass balance systems, adapt internal processes with ISCC Plus requirements and test a new future-proof way of accounting for mass balance credits while easily sharing them across organizations. Overall, the project apparently allowed value chain actors to better substantiate sustainability claims and improve collaboration.

Earlier this year, SABIC established a consortium blockchain project aimed at creating further transparency and digital traceability for its TRUCIRCLE commodity solutions. Meanwhile, Circulor partnered with TotalEnergies and Recycling Technologies to develop a blockchain-enabled traceability solution for hard-to-recycle plastics.