Blockchain-based traceability platforms as a tool for sustainability

Abstract

Among the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social and economic), modern society begins to give greater attention to the environmental and social ones at the expense of the economic. Consumers are beginning to be prepared to pay more for products that are socially and environmentally responsible, but, for taking that decision, they need to be sure that the products they choose are really socially and environmentally friendly. For that, it is necessary to have transparency about what happens in each stage of the products’ supply chain and this information must be available to the consumer. Thus, it is necessary to know the entire supply chain, from the creation of raw materials to the arrival of the final products at the consumer. Storing information (where, who, how, when, etc.) on each of the steps of the supply chain is essential, enabling the traceability of products to become more transparent and even allowing them to be withdrawn from the market if necessary, for health reasons (for example: use of a toxic paint in a clothes’ factory). This position paper proposes the use of the blockchain technology to implement traceability in the supply chain.