The smart grid is a vital component of our modern economy's digital infrastructure. However, it is also an energy system that is ready for change. 

In response to climate-related extreme weather events, utilities and power producers are developing new strategies for modernizing the electric grid.

With the economy electrifying and decarbonizing, grid modernization technologies can also assist utilities in managing increased loads and bringing new centralized generation and storage online.

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In this piece, we'll look at how blockchain technology may be applied to build a smarter, more sustainable grid.

What is the Smart Grid?

The smart grid is a digital network that enables communication between utilities and consumers. It is a complex system that includes grid-connected devices and sensors, as well as software that can monitor and control the flow of electricity. The smart grid has the potential to transform the way we generate, distribute, and use energy. It can help us move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources and make the power system more efficient and reliable.

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The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions hosted a webinar in October 2022 to discuss how grid modernization can withstand increasingly intense conditions. The panelists also discussed how technology can assist in addressing climate challenges and barriers blocking its implementation.

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Here are key points for stakeholders in the grid transformation:

• The electric grid needs to be modernized to deal with the consequences of climate change and increasing demand from electric vehicles.
• Innovation is happening at the boundaries of power grids, including distributed power resources and energy storages, user-end gadgets, and automation. This will give utilities control over the grid, benefiting them in extreme climate conditions.
• Utility industry partners and services are increasing, including tech and car firms. Grid operators and utilities must collaborate to prepare for EVs' high demand for power.
• Utilities now need to finance and deploy advanced technologies across their distribution networks in a timely manner and to help them move forward with innovation and climate-resilient solutions.
• Financing grid upgrades is difficult, as the technology becomes obsolete quickly and more investments may be needed. Utilities must develop new economic models, raise awareness, and secure funding.

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Main Problems of the Renewable Energy Sector

A major barrier to the adoption of renewable energy technologies is their high upfront costs. But other challenges need to be addressed for renewables to scale.

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The intermittency of wind and solar power is one of the main challenges facing the renewable energy sector. Because the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, renewable energy sources can't always meet our energy needs. This is why we need a reliable backup source of power, such as natural gas, to supplement renewables.

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Another challenge facing renewables is the fact that they often require more land than traditional energy sources. For example, a wind farm needs a large area of land to generate enough power to meet our needs. This can be a challenge in places where land is already in high demand, such as densely populated areas.

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Finally, the environmental impacts of renewable energy technologies need to be considered. Although renewables are often considered “green," some technologies, such as large-scale solar farms, can significantly impact the environment.

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Despite these challenges, the potential of renewable energy is huge. With the right policies in place, renewables can play a major role in our transition to a low-carbon future.

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Benefits of Digital Transformation In the Renewable Energy Sector

The renewable energy sector is in the midst of a digital transformation. This shift is driven by the need to increase the efficiency and reliability of the power grid, as well as reduce the environmental impact of energy production.

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The ability to collect and analyze data more effectively is one of the main benefits of digital transformation. By collecting data on everything from weather patterns to the output of individual solar panels, we can gain a better understanding of how the renewable energy system is performing. The data can then be used to improve the system's efficiency.

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The digital transformation is also helping us move away from traditional centralized models of power generation and towards a more decentralized system, generating power closer to where it is needed and reducing the environmental impact of the renewable energy sector.

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Renewable Energy for a Decentralized, People-Centered Energy Transition

The renewable energy transition is often seen as a centralized, top-down process, with utilities and governments driving the shift from fossil fuels to clean renewables. However, this doesn't have to be the case.

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A decentralized, people-centered approach to the energy transition can provide many benefits:

• Engage people in the transition process and to build a sense of ownership over the energy system.
• Can make use of local knowledge and resources and be tailored to the specific needs of a community.
• Can aid in creating a more fair and just energy system. This is because it gives people more control over their energy usage and can help address the issue of energy poverty.

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Impact of Blockchain Technology on Smart Grids

Energy use is changing on a global scale due to the emergence of renewable energy, the growing electrification of transportation, and the demand for a more efficient and reliable power grid. 

One technology that is often seen as key to this transition is blockchain, a distributed database that allows secure, transparent, and tamper-proof transactions.

Blockchain can also help us improve the efficiency of the smart grid. For example, it can create smart contracts that execute transactions automatically. By doing so, data can be shared instantly, and transactions can be executed without manual intervention.

Blockchain can also help us create a more secure smart grid by creating a decentralized network that is not controlled by any one central authority. This makes it an ideal technology for managing the smart grid.

Blockchain seems to be ideally suited to make the transition to a sustainable energy system, increasing grid efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of energy production.

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MARCO Track & Trace enables end-to-end supply chain traceability

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Finboot developed MARCO, the first no-code/low-code platform designed to simplify blockchain for business users. MARCO is a blockchain-agnostic platform and has been designed to empower users to rapidly experiment and validate the immediate benefits of using blockchain to efficiently move into live production - at scale. 

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Within MARCO there is Track & Trace, a solution that provides trusted connections  between stakeholders in a supply chain, gathering and sharing data, creating digital product passports and supporting accurate reporting.

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The solution also promotes collaboration insights providing near real time supply chain monitoring. Full communication with other stakeholders, helping you take the right decisions at the right time. Reduce lead time, improve stockage, receive early warning signs and improve your sustainability impact.

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Perhaps what’s most important, is that MARCO Track & Trace has already been validated in a wide range of sectors, including Oil & Energy, Chemicals, Construction, Mining and Aviation, among others. Its strong customer base includes Repsol, SABIC, Iberia to name a few.

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MARCO TRACK & TRACE, enables trusted shared record-keeping between stakeholders in a supply chain.

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• Digital product passports: end-to-end supply chain visibility, asset digitalisation and tracking (provenance, quality, and compliance data in a secure and easily shareable environment).
• ESG and sustainability reporting: traceability of renewables including management of sustainability credits to help substantiate ESG claims (automated mass balance bookkeeping integrated to production and sales ops and systems). 
• Invoice reconciliation: using smart contracts for supplier communications and automated business rules validation. 

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To know more about MARCO Track & Trace, download for free our ebook: 

¨Unlock Web3 with MARCO: Pioneer no-code/low-code platform for blockchain powered digital ecosystems¨.

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CARDIFF, UK, WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2023 – Finboot is announcing today it has appointed former Evonik Chief Information Officer and Head of Global IT Services, Dr Bettina Uhlich, as a Non-Executive Director on the board.

Evonik is a listed German chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Essen.  It is one of the largest chemical companies in the world.  Dr Uhlich enjoyed a 34-year career at Evonik – working in numerous roles across the business. 

Her vast and senior-level experience encompasses an understanding of complex processes involved in chemical manufacture, including procurement, supply chains, distribution and supporting IT systems. This 360-degree view of complex chain processes means she was one of the early adopters when it comes to realising the value of blockchain, and how it can aid automation and efficiency.

Nish Kotecha, Chairman and Co-Founder of Finboot, says: 

“We are really thrilled Dr Uhlich is joining the Finboot board.  She is a blockchain for business pioneer who understands the importance of making technology easy to use, enabling hesitant enterprises to adopt it.  Dr Uhlich understands the trust blockchain instils in the supply chain, which is a crucial unique selling point and that will maximise efficiency and growth.  She literally wrote a book on it.  I look forward to working more closely with her.”

Dr Uhlich says:

“I believe in IT with a purpose.  Blockchain’s purpose is clear to entrench trust and truth so data can be shared between different parts of value chains – including different companies.

“Finboot’s Blockchain platform, MARCO, is a great solution.  The key thing for me is that because it is a no code / low code application it is easy to use; and you do not need to have lots of training or be a coder to operate it.  

“This is crucial for enterprises who do not have big IT departments or big pockets.  SMEs are the key ‘engine rooms’ in modern industrialised economies, and Germany is no different.  For this reason I see huge growth potential for Finboot in Germany and throughout Europe.

“I am looking forward to connecting Finboot with the blockchain community in Germany and beyond along with the Finboot team to achieve our goals.”

– ENDS –

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Notes to Editors

For more information, please contact nicola@impactandinfluence.global or  chris@impactandinfluence.global    

About Dr Bettina Uhlich

Former CIO and Head of Global IT Services, Evonik AG: Since 2014 to 2022 Dr Bettina Uhlich was responsible for the IT of Evonik AG as Chief Information Officer and Head of Global IT Services as a recognised partner for the implementation of the digitisation goals in the group. In all she worked at Evonik for over 30 years. 

Dr Uhlich began her career in finance and accounting at Degussa AG. From 2010 to 2014 she was the head of the group project PROVE (Process and Value Excellence) with the development of the strategic system platforms with standardised business processes, business models and data models in the group. Until 2016, Uhlich was also responsible for Global Financial Services. In addition, Bettina Uhlich achieved third place as CIO of the year for large companies in 2016. 

Dr Uhlich is the author the book Wirtschaft im Umbruch: Warum die Chemieindustrie dabei der wichtigste Treiber ist Blockchain - Wirtschaft im Umbruch: Warum die Chemieindustrie dabei der wichtigste Treiber ist

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About Finboot

Finboot is a technology company simplifying enterprise blockchain. We facilitate the core priorities of industry leaders to enable fast and easy adoption of digital ecosystems powered by blockchain. 

Finboot created the first No-code / Low-code platform and ecosystem, MARCO, to enable Web3: Bringing the future of the internet to business. 

MARCO greatly improves management of value chains and drives forward digitalisation, sustainability and ESG agendas. 

MARCO connects blockchain technologies securely under one roof, turning data into trusted digital assets and accelerating the road towards interoperability. 

Our purpose at Finboot is to enable Web3 and unlock its full value.  Finboot is making blockchain accessible and understandable to business and delivering the leading No-code / Low-code platform and ecosystem for a decentralised world.

www.finboot.com

Over the last few years, the use of blockchain in business has become a hot topic. 

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But what exactly is blockchain? And how can it help in the marketing sphere? 

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What is Blockchain? 

Blockchain technology enables the storage of information — including transactions and other data — in a secure, distributed ledger system that is accessible to everyone in the network. This ledger can be shared, in a secure way, with other companies too.  

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By using blockchain storage, companies no longer have to rely on centralised data storage systems or trust third-party organisations to securely store their data.

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Blockchain technology records digital events in chronological order. Each transaction made on the blockchain is stored in an immutable ledger which can be viewed by all parties while remaining secure and private. This means that companies can use blockchain to keep track of customer data, purchases, payments and other transactions without fear of tampering or fraud. Companies can also use it to optimise their production and supply chain, create new products or even use it to help track, audit and validate their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) claims. 

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Taking crypto coins as payment is only one aspect of the blockchain technology application; it is much more than that.

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How can Blockchain help in the Marketing Function?

I believe there are many ways in which blockchain technology can help with marketing campaigns for business. A prime example for me is that companies can use blockchain technology to track customer interactions across multiple channels and devices, making it easier to personalize and tailor messages and content for each user. 

Businesses can also use blockchain technology to better understand how customers interact with their products or services, allowing them to improve their offerings and make sure they are meeting customer needs.

Smart Contracts Save Time and Money for Marketers

Businesses can also use blockchain-based smart contracts to automate certain processes, such as payment processing or data collection, not only with customers but also with suppliers and partners. 

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Blockchain technology can also provide valuable insights into their own production and supply chain process, which can help marketers develop more effective data lead campaigns. 

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Blockchain technology also has the ability to create new types of digital assets that can be used for marketing purposes. These assets could include anything from digital coupons and loyalty points to virtual currency tokens used for promotional campaigns or rewards programs. By leveraging the power of smart contracts, companies could create these assets quickly and easily with built-in security features that make them difficult (if not impossible) for hackers or malicious actors to exploit. 

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Smart contracts also could not only eliminate costs through improved operational efficiency and cutting conflict-associated costs in advertising campaigns, but also improve safety and customer satisfaction.

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Boost Sustainable Campaigns with Digital Product Passports 

Digital product passports are another key feature of blockchain technology  that marketers can use. It creates a digital record of a product's journey from raw materials to finished goods, including information on the energy used, the emissions generated, and the waste produced. By tracking a product's value chain from manufacture to purchase to disposal, we can gain a much more comprehensive understanding of its environmental and social impacts. For example, consumers could learn how much of the product they are using contains recycled material, allowing them to calculate their environmental impact.  This is really appealing for businesses with ESG commitments - and indeed those looking to increase their ESG undertakings.  In this way, blockchain can support more sustainable and ethical consumption. 

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Engage Brand Loyalty by Offering Trust 

Finally, using blockchain technology produces high quality data and feedback on advertising penetration. By using blockchain to track their ads, advertisers can receive improved data on how their ads are being received and adjust their strategy accordingly. This allows advertisers to create more targeted ad campaigns that are likely to gain better traction with target audiences. Customers may also feel reassured their personal information is securely stored, making them more likely to provide it.  

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Furthermore, in terms of social impact, businesses can track the number of jobs created by their products, either directly or indirectly. They can also track the diversity of their workforce, as well as any gender pay gaps. Finally, they are better able to track any investments they have made in the communities where their products are manufactured and the benefits those communities receive from those investments. Consumers today are very savvy and highly attuned to such issues, and a decentralised secure ledger can assist businesses to build and then protect key brand values.

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Conclusion

As a marketing specialist at Finboot (an SME that makes the adoption of digital ecosystems powered by blockchain easier for enterprises), I know that the possibilities offered by blockchain technology are truly exciting — in my field of marketing as well as many others.

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From increasing transparency with digital product passports and providing better customer insights to creating unique digital assets and automating processes with smart contracts, blockchain has the potential to transform how we “do marketing” to enhance connection between brands and customers and in turn increasing customer satisfaction.

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As we move into 2023 and beyond, I expect more businesses across all sectors and disciplines — including marketing — to start leveraging this innovative new tech! And of course the elephant in the room is that there is no Web3 or Industry 4.0 without blockchain. Companies that want to stay ahead of the competition should consider integrating blockchain into their current strategy.

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Sign up to our monthly newsletter for curated news and content on everything Finboot and enterprise blockchain technology.

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We are delighted to have two guest bloggers today: Natalia Ruiz, Managing Partner and Carlos Gonzalez, Investment Manager of Net Zero Ventures. 

Net Zero Ventures is a new venture fund that focuses on global decarbonisation opportunities and is highly committed to and focused on matters relating to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) – i.e. measuring a business's impact on society.

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What is your connection with Finboot? 

Finboot was one of the companies selected by the Repsol Entrepreneurs Fund in its annual accelerator programme. From there, as Corporate Venturing at Repsol we had the opportunity to mentor Finboot, helping to develop its low code / no code blockchain platform, MARCO. 

After that, we decided to become an investor and strategic partner to Finboot.. In fact, we were so invested in Finboot’s solution that we  decided to contract Finboot to provide a blockchain solution for Repsol Technology Lab. The partnership will help us  improve the traceability of samples, which we have now rolled out across many of our facilities in Spain.  

So Repsol is both an investor in Finboot and one of its customers!

Is climate change the biggest challenge the energy sector and indeed the world is facing today?  

Without a doubt, it is the biggest challenge affecting us all!  Climate change matters so much, at so many levels, not just because of the suffering and injustice it is already causing, but also because it will  affect future generations. 

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Companies are reluctant to shift to green tech due to a belief that its infrastructure cost is expensive. What can blockchain and companies like Finboot do to change this mindset? 

Energy companies are recognising the transformative impact of blockchain technology. For example, the World Economic Forum, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and PwC released a joint report identifying more than 65 ways we can disrupt how we  manage environmental resources, helping to drive sustainable growth and value creation. It also argues that new global platforms are urgently needed to incubate a responsible blockchain ecosystem rather than specific projects.  

For example  blockchain technology has the potential to improve efficiencies for utility providers by tracking the custody of grid materials. Beyond provenance tracking, blockchain offers solutions for renewable energy distribution.

It is clear we need companies such as Finboot to implement and roll out this innovative technology.

As the world goes digital, reliance on electricity has soared significantly. Meanwhile, electricity production generates the second-largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. 

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If adopting green tech is not yet affordable, what initiatives can companies adopt to balance their use of electricity? 

Combining green technology solutions and strategies to decrease energy demand seems to offer the highest likelihood of long-term carbon reductions. Energy efficiency opportunities, such as lighting upgrades, HVAC improvements, on-site energy generation, controls and demand management strategies have the potential to deliver the most positive impact. 

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What next-gen green technologies, relatively low in terms of cost, can be adopted? ‍

To name a few: 

- Recycling and waste management, using smart containers, automated food waste tracking systems and automated optical scanning technologies can help sort mixed plastics by separating them from others. 

- Waste-to-Energy. The generation of energy from waste such as material placed in rubbish bins and sewerage.   

- Vertical gardens and farms. The installation of vertical gardens in buildings also helps save energy and creates oxygen from CO2 and new ecosystems for animals, birds and insects. Due to their installation along walls, vertical gardens reduce the intense noise pollution that comes from outside. They also help mitigate the high summer temperatures that come with climate change, resulting in significant savings in energy, heating and air conditioning. 

- Net zero energy buildings. Buildings with net zero energy consumption, mean the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels.  

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Reskilling can be a great way to get non-STEM professionals involved in climate change initiatives, but what skills are actually in demand within renewable energy companies? What role can blockchain play in this? 

With the transition to net zero underway, more and more companies will need a workforce with green skills, which will require support across a variety of industries. Two main green skillsets are required: 

- Engineering skills for the design and production of technology 

- Managerial skills for implementing and monitoring environmental organisational practices

One of the most relevant skills will be digital literacy. Executives, managers and leaders must have a comprehensive understanding of digital and a fluid digital mindset. They must understand data analytics, software development, cloud computing, blockchain, SaaS platforms, intelligent automation and cyber security. 

Acquiring and pushing these skills will help shape a business strategy that will work towards the digital fabric of the future.

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Increased demand for, and use of, electricity and heat produced from fossil fuels, combined with a growing global population, have led to increasing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere and rising temperatures. 

Using energy more efficiently and moving to more renewable / low carbon sources is essential to reduce CO2 emissions, reach net zero and tackle climate change.  

To minimise carbon emissions in the energy industry, innovative technologies are required. Increased investment in R&D is necessary, but they will not produce the desired outcomes in isolation.

Digital transformation is  key to the future of business, and has a significant impact on both environmental and corporate sustainability. Increasingly advanced and indeed emerging economies are driven by data. At the same time, consumers desire simplicity, efficiency and convenience and businesses must provide these elements in order to remain competitive.

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The Beginning: Energy Transition Advancing a Lower Carbon Future

Energy transition refers to a shift away from carbon-based fuels to low / no carbon and net zero alternatives. To achieve it, businesses and organisations must reduce their carbon footprint and take action to address climate change. It also means that organisations need to embrace digital transformation in order to maintain customer satisfaction, product production, and growth while meeting sustainability goals.  

“Green technology” can cover any technology aimed at achieving net zero. Examples include electric transport, wind turbines and solar panels.

Energy storage is also seen as crucial to aid the further deployment of renewable technologies on the power grid. Battery storage allows energy grid managers to smooth  demand surges and cover any intermittency of supply from renewable sources. Green and innovative technologies are essential for the energy transition. Combined with other energy efficiency measures, they are necessary to shift to a net zero future.

The transition is well under way.  According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of renewables in meeting global energy demand is expected to reach 12.4 percent in 2023, a 20% increase from 2018. Renewables will enjoy the fastest growth in the electricity sector, providing almost 30 per cent of power demand in 2023, up from 24 per cent in 2017. 

Technical advancement is crucial for the energy transition - as is tracking and recording its progress.

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The importance of data, tracking, and data security

Any plan to meet global climate and sustainable development goals must use technology and data. However, data is useless unless it is accurate, up to date, and secure. That is why data integrity is so critical.

The use of digital solutions can facilitate the control of renewable energy sources. Initiatives like these may save downtime by managing maintenance with an innovative method to modernise manufacturing processes, making them more competitive and energy-efficient.

The introduction of 'smart factories' combines the best engineering practices and the latest technology, for example, blockchain, virtual reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and artificial intelligence.

Smart factories employ advanced software, sensors, and robots to gather and scrutinise the data before making important decisions. In power plants, sensors collect data from a dam, turbine or pipe and forward it to control monitoring rooms. Adopting new software allows the operators to point out any abnormal patterns in machine operation and curb potential risks before they occur (predictive maintenance). This enables faster repairs, controlled gas emissions, and non-interference with production.

The adoption of blockchain technology, a decentralised digital ledger where data is safely shared, allows the tracking of renewable energy from its source to the consumer and generates insights into the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Data such as location and time are also included.

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Innovation: Driving the Energy Transition

NASA has been monitoring greenhouse gas emissions for many years. They can capture specific gas emission rates and data, leading to better understanding, control and plans to curb gas emissions. When using blockchain to track, record, and manage data, you introduce trust, security, transparency and accountability into the system.

This is because companies can access and share information with third parties such as  trading partners. All parties involved get a record of each transaction in a decentralised recording mechanism that cannot be interfered with by anyone. Having one source of truth builds trust among the companies involved and makes new collaborations a possibility.

Innovation is driving progress, and we have begun to see small shifts in the right direction. 

• Thanks to research and development in this area, progress has been achieved in energy storage, a critical component of an effective energy transition. Storage capacity has also increased. According to IRENA, electricity storage will triple by 2030, and costs could fall by more than half (IRENA 2017).
• In transportation, there have been shifts to electric vehicles, but there is still a long way to go.
• Heating and cooling of buildings still account for a significant portion of global energy use, and while there have been some developments in this area, we need to see much more to come close to achieving climate goals.

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How Blockchain Technology Helps

Perhaps the most exciting innovations of late have come about in blockchain technology. Blockchain has the potential to revolutionise the energy market by providing a more efficient way of allocating energy to specific channels. It can even be used to establish a needs-basis hierarchy. This would quicken the certification of renewable energy and improve traceability.

A blockchain asset comes with a history that can be verified, ensuring authenticity. Within a blockchain, both parties can access the record simultaneously without needing additional authentication.

Blockchain technology allows direct engagement between energy producers and consumers. A direct line of communication will lead to greater understanding between parties, for example, solar panel companies battery system suppliers.

With blockchain platforms transparency can be improved in energy exchange, at all levels, including the use of:

Digital product passports: End-to-end supply chain visibility, asset digitalisation, and tracking.

Many electrical and electronic products often have a short life span as components wear out and designs are improved.  . This leads to e-waste. This has led to the introduction of digital product passports. The primary purpose of passports is to gather and store  data concerning a product and its supply chain and make the data available to all stakeholders and consumers to facilitate a better understanding of a product and its impact on the environment.

Sustainability data: Traceability of circular plastics and renewable fuels, including management of sustainability credits to help substantiate ESG claims.

Blockchain provides a transparent and secure platform for tracing renewable fuels such as solar and circular plastics through the creation of a distributed ledger that facilitates reliable and secure tracking of data.  

Invoice reconciliation: Using Smart Contracts for supplier communications and automated business rule validation.

Blockchain technology can improve efficiency within climate and energy markets through communication between suppliers, improved invoice reconciliation and the validation of automated business rules. Also, blockchain significantly reduces the cost and time associated with each process while improving transparency within the climate and energy markets, ensuring all participants act responsibly.

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Growing the Trend: Lower Carbon Business Opportunities

With an increasing awareness of the importance of sustainability, many businesses are looking for ways to lower their carbon footprint. One way to do this is to switch to renewable energy sources including solar, green hydrogen, wind power (off and on shore) , and hydro . 

Solar energy uses  photovoltaic cells to transform sunlight into electricity. Solar energy can also be used for the cooling and heating of buildings and desalinating water.

Green hydrogen is flexible in that it can be transported and stored easily. When used in fuel cells, it can generate electricity and also produce hot water. Wind turbines convert wind energy into electricity, and are currently the cheapest form of renewable energy.

Another way businesses are reducing their carbon footprint is by adopting new consumer services. Smart grids, for example, help businesses automatically adjust their energy use according to off peak demand, preventing blackouts and reducing energy waste. This not only saves businesses money but also helps to reduce emissions.

Consumers are also demanding more renewable / sustainable energy. The energy sector must meet this demand or risk losing customers and revenue.

Blockchain applications for sustainable energy

The First European Platform to Trade Energy

In May 2017, the German software company Ponton launched the first platform to trade energy products over the counter using blockchain. Participants in the gas and electricity generation markets can validate and certify transactions without the involvement of a third party, reducing transaction costs, increasing the efficiency of the value chain, and ensuring safe and fast transactions. In the initial (pilot) version, 39 German power and gas generators participated. In May 2019, the platform was officially launched, allowing its use throughout Europe. Participating companies include Iberdrola (a Spanish energy company), Total (a French oil company), RWE (a German energy company), and Enel (an Italian energy company).

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A Case Study in Chile

An example of the real-world application of blockchain in energy was set up in Chile, in 2014. Chile's Ministry of Energy started a Public Solar Roof Program (PTSP) to facilitate the installation of PV systems in public buildings. This project showed what can happen when the public and private sectors work together, using a blockchain platform that promotes integrity and transparency of data. This project was able to reduce CO2 emissions by 800 tons/yr. and saved a quarter of a million dollars in the process.

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A Spanish Use Case 

ACCIONA Energía, a Spanish renewable energy company, launched ablockchain project to improve the traceability of renewable energy generated worldwide. It allows consumers to check, in real time, the origin of the renewable energy they are consuming. Five hydroelectric and wind generators in Spain and four corporate clients in Portugal are piloting the project, which will then be scaled up to countries such as Mexico and Chile.

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Sun Exchange

The business model involves the purchase of photovoltaic cells and then the leases of them to schools and businesses in emerging markets. People from around the world can buy panels and lease them to recipients and receive dividends for doing so. In this way many households in developing economies are accessing electricity whilst not having to be connected to the grid. 

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This article was originally published in AGBI Arabian Gulf Business Insight on December 1, 2022.

And can be also be found here: https://www.agbi.com/opinion/ftx-one-step-back-for-crypto-two-steps-forward-for-blockchain/

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In 1998, when FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was only six years old, Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) was bailed out by a group of 14 banks in a deal put together by the US Federal Reserve.

The brainchild of infamous Salomon Brothers bond trader John Meriwether, LTCM had been established in 1994, bringing together heavyweights from academia and trading and leading economists including Myron Scholes and Robert Merton.

LTCM attracted over $1.3 billion at inception and a $3.4 billion bailout just four years later.

So, what went wrong? Answer: A liquidity crisis.

I recall during my time at JP Morgan working on the structuring of the LTCM bailout. Our focus was the potential market disruption and the related market implications.

The parallels are clear to the sudden meltdown of FTX.

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In the absence of regulation, the crypto world should have adopted a higher operational threshold and financial discipline. The crypto market is embryonic and lacks strong institutions that could step in and prevent a wider market impact.

At the start of the year FTX raised $400 million, setting a new peak valuation of $32 billion. In the beginning of November, rumours suggested it may be undercapitalised. This drove over $650 million in withdrawals, after which FTX closed its doors, further confirming it was in a liquidity crisis.

This shattered the price of FTT (the token issued by FTX) by over 90 percent and in turn impacted the price of all other crypto currencies.

Could this have been avoided? Yes.

And what’s ironic is that FTX was sitting on the technology that could have made it transparent and resilient: Blockchain.

Before we start it’s important to separate crypto, which is a single application of blockchain technology, and the role of a crypto trader, which was FTX’s model. Crypto is to blockchain what email is to the internet – it’s one of many possible applications.

While the curtain is being drawn back on the true operations of FTX, it is clear that the true assets of FTX were unknown and lacked transparency, and therefore trust.

This compares with the traditional banking and financial sector, which rely on regulators to set the threshold for transparency through reporting and independent auditors and apply standard assessment rules.

The challenge with a lack of transparency is that the value you can apply to your assets is capped, particularly when the market for those assets is very small. This is why we have external audits to independently ascertain the true picture.

Consider, FTX, whose balance sheet was reported to consist of large holdings of the digital token FTT. As the value of FTT fell, so did FTX’s capitalisation. I can now see why transparency could be an impediment.

Remember the Neil Woodford (a celebrated London ‘superstar’ fund manager) scandal in 2019?

A £10 billion-plus fund collapsing overnight because the assets it claimed to have included large investments in unlisted and illiquid stocks whose value was self-determined rather than externally validated.  

Ultimately trust (which leads to confidence) requires transparency to validate integrity.

Had blockchain been used to underpin the accounting framework of FTX, it is likely that false entries would never have been approved by the distributed ledger technology.

The time-stamped links of blocks could reveal alterations or tampering to the recorded transactions, as well as providing an immediate insight into the performance of the company at any given time.

And if investors had been fully aware of the hyped assets of FTX, would they have trusted the platform?

Adopting technologies such as blockchain into the reporting and audit framework of a fund could provide a fresh approach so that investors can avoid being caught out. More validated, immutable information will generate trust in the crypto market and audit industry as a whole.

There is a clear argument for an automated blockchain that can act as a single source of truth for the benefit of investors, on whose trust the share price of listed entities partially depends.

At the time of writing, incoming FTX CEO John Ray (appointed to manage the bankruptcy, having previously performed the same role at the $23 billion winddown of Enron) said he had never seen such a “complete failure of corporate controls and trustworthy financial information”.

FTX had a unique opportunity to establish itself as the gold standard underpinning the crypto markets, but this required a different mindset at the start – not just to praise the virtues of blockchain technology, but to also use it to build a transparent, trustworthy platform for all.

It’s ironic that the very technology that enabled crypto could have addressed FTX’s transparency and custody challenges.

The blow-up will undoubtedly set back crypto progression, but it should not affect Blockchain’s advancement.

The contagion has started as other crypto exchanges are restricting or suspending withdrawals and unfortunately, many will be caught in the tsunami.

The silver lining is that even the hardened protagonists against the need for regulation may now recognise its importance. This, along with greater transparency, could support the growth of a trusted safer crypto market.

Unfortunately, given the current lack of regulation and self-certification in this embryonic market, I fear this will not be the last crypto blow-up (even with an alleged fraud).

This market quickly needs more and better regulation, and supervision, to prevent this and to start to r-build trust.  

Blockchain can play a crucial part in this. And if it does not happen, then as the philosopher George Santayana put it: “Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.”

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In this short video Finboot’s Alvaro Llobet, Head of Product and Oscar Gomez Manresa, Tech Lead, discuss the future of blockchain - specifically how the use of blockchain is increasing and how blockchain-agnostic solutions (that is software and hardware that are compatible with many different blockchain networks), will work and help shape the future. 

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Finboot are pioneers of blockchain-agnostic solutions. The key strands of their thinking, to date, as you will see in the video are:

• There will be more standards: Currently all different blockchains are using different ways to interact. Eventually, these different methods will converge  into common standards. This will make it easier for blockchain databases to communicate with each other.
• There will be less need for different blockchains;: the focus will be on a few large scale blockchains that will offer all the features needed. There will be no need for numerous smaller chains. 
• Blockchain will become more user-friendly and easier to use 
• Increasingly business will be built with blockchain being integral from the start. There will be more connectivity between different applications. There will be increased collaboration. 

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Watch this video to get full insights from industry insiders to understand the rapidly evolving blockchain marketplace. 

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Most current applications are built for use with a specific blockchain technology and often a single blockchain network. This makes them rigid and ill equipped to adapt to changes that constantly occur in such a nascent ecosystem. It also hinders their ability to scale. 

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While full interoperability between different blockchain frameworks is still a work in progress, a blockchain agnostic solution will take an organisation one step forward in that direction, allowing flexibility of usage and interaction between different ledger technologies among the applications. 

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By using MARCO, organisations are able to work with different ledger and blockchain technologies seamlessly, by using the same enterprise software application. Our middleware facilitates - uniquely - interactions between those technologies without the need for further and extensive technical development, reducing (or even removing) the pain of having to migrate from one ledger technology to the other. 

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Being agnostic gives the company the freedom to choose the best blockchain technology for their needs without losing compatibility.

Future-proofing blockchain development is deeply enshrined in our mission: being an emerging technology, blockchain is continuously evolving and, as a result, shortsighted solutions are at risk of becoming obsolete in the near future. However, with MARCO, enterprises are provided with the necessary flexibility to avoid becoming outdated and ensure that their solutions are able to evolve, migrate and adapt to what is ahead.

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To know more about MARCO, you can download this free ebook: Unlock Web3 with MARCO 

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Technology company Finboot, whose purpose is to unlock the full value of enterprise Web3, announces the launch of the MARCO Academy and MARCO Docs. Two brand new spaces aimed at strengthening Finboot’s mission to make blockchain accessible and understandable to business users.

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Finboot is known for creating the first no-code/low-code blockchain platform and ecosystem MARCO; their flagship product that enables companies to adapt blockchain without writing a single line of code. MARCO has already made a huge impact in the market by bringing the value of the underlying technology to companies like SABIC, one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturers, Global multi-energy provider Repsol, and the leader in responsible chemicals for leather solutions and coatings, Stahl. All of whom have been using MARCO’s no-code and low-code capabilities to accelerate the time-to-value of their digital initiatives. They are using blockchain to redefine the way they manage their supply chains, drive forward digital transformation, and accelerate their ESG and sustainability agendas. 

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More recently, with the intention of expanding their global footprint, Finboot launched their Global Partnership Program. The program is designed to work with System Integrators (SIs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to maximise the reach of the MARCO platform. Finboot is already working with digital transformation consultancy Quantion and digital engineering company Nitor Infotech as the first comers to MARCO’s partner ecosystem. Working with both their technical and commercial teams to accelerate the adoption of blockchain worldwide. 

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In this line, Finboot is now launching two new channels to help fulfil their vision to democratise access to enterprise Web3. Providing any developer and citizen developer the tools they need to build and configure no-code/low-code solutions powered by blockchain.

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The MARCO Academy (https://academy.finboot.com/) aimed at transforming the way users learn about blockchain, the use cases of the technology, and how to easily configure and deploy solutions with MARCO. The Academy includes courses from high-level use cases of the technology and specific customer case studies, to more technical and practical courses on how to use the MARCO platform and its no-code applications. All resources are open to the public, with the objective of arming visitors with valuable and trusted content on enterprise blockchain and MARCO.. 

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MARCO Docs (https://docs.marco.finboot.com/) opens the doors to MARCO's low-code capabilities and SDK. Our documentation site is built to enable MARCO developers with basic technical knowledge to unlock the value of blockchain and enterprise web3. Content includes documentation on our APIs to drive users on integrations with our existing no-code applications. We also cover the specifics of our broader set of APIs and SDK to create new applications powered by MARCO.

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With these new channels, Finboot intends to grow the community of developers and citizen developers around MARCO. Very much aligned with our Global Partnership Program which we expect to scale throughout 2023. We are now taking on new applications to join our Global Partnership program opened for SIs, ISVs, and any others interested in accelerating the adoption of blockchain. Reach out to us and join us in our mission to make blockchain accessible and understandable to business users:

www.finboot.com/contact

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Notes to Editors

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For more information, please contact nicola@impactandinfluence.global or chris@impactandinfluence.global

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Github is one of the most famous code hosting and collaboration platforms. It has built an ecosystem of nearly 100 million developers and over 300 million code repositories. Very safely, anyone would assume that the company is all about coding. Interestingly enough, on the company’s 10th anniversary, Chris Wanstrath, Github’s co-founder and then CEO said to his team: “The future of coding is no coding at all”. His whole vision was that coding was not going to continue to be the “main event” anymore; building software was. 

Five years later, I think his vision was pretty spot on. You look at the way software is being built, and it's all about leveraging the value of what others have built to make your own building experience easier, more scalable and more secure. Undoubtedly, Software Development Kits (SDKs) play a critical role in building software today. That is why in this article, I want to provide a quick overview on what SDKs are, their benefits, and what role they play to help us at Finboot unlock the value of enterprise Web3. 

What is an SDK? 

A software development kit (SDK) is a set of software tools and programs provided by software vendors that developers can use to build applications for specific platforms. SDKs help developers easily integrate their apps with a vendor's services. 

SDKs include documentation, application programming interfaces (APIs), code samples, libraries and processes, as well as guides that developers can use and integrate into their apps. Developers can use SDKs to build and maintain specific functionalities in their applications without having to code everything from scratch. 

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What are the Benefits of SDKs? 

Numerous programming languages and mobile applications can use different types of SDKs. SDKs streamline common procedures and increase programme functionality by gathering the necessary set of tools in one place bringing to the table the following advantages: 

- Simple integration: Think of Stripe. Stripe is a payment processing platform. They created several SDKs so that developers can easily integrate online payments in their applications. 

- Time and cost savings: Think of Shopify. If anyone is in need of easy development and fast deployment of their e-commerce site, they should look at Shopify’s SDKs for an accelerated time to value. 

- Enhanced performance: Think of Twilio. Their SDKs are designed to bring text, chat, voice and video messaging to your applications. 

In come MARCO’s SDKs 

With the same view of enabling simple integrations, minimising resources and enhancing functionality and user experience, Finboot has introduced MARCO, a platform and ecosystem with SDKs that will simplify blockchain for business and quickly unlock the value of enterprise Web3. What Stripe did to payments, Shopify to e-commerce, and Twilio to communications, MARCO is doing to enterprise Web3.

Building blockchain applications from scratch is complex and therefore costly. It is a huge challenge and you may end up facing issues with scalability, performance and interoperability. MARCO’s low-code capabilities and SDKs can reduce development time and mitigate risks. Giving you time to focus on the specifics of your application and its business case; not on the ins-and-outs of blockchain.  

Moreover, MARCO’s no-code/low-code approach is a more visual and intuitive software development environment. Allowing enterprise and citizen developers to drag and drop application components, connect them together and build their own blockchain powered digital ecosystems.

With MARCO’s no-code capabilities, companies can start using blockchain without writing a single line of code. While our low-code capabilities and SDKs can be used to build new applications focused on easy deployment and fast development. Both approaches (no-code/low-code) can be easily integrated into existing systems architecture through standard integrations.

Sticking to Chris’ idea of building software as the main event. You can think of MARCO as your blockchain LEGOⓇ set; arming you with all the building blocks to construct the digital ecosystems of the future.

If you would like to know more about MARCO look at our Dev Portal or contact us.

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There are various types of blockchain technology on the market now. In this blog post, we'll examine a consortium blockchain's fundamental components and explain how it operates. 

A new market and business system started to grow around the blockchain as soon as it emerged as the new tech trend. Federated or Blockchain consortium is one of them.

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What is a Blockchain Consortium? 

- Public blockchains or open blockchains are accessible to anyone with an internet connection. 

- Private blockchains generally serve an enterprise for corporate software solutions and resolve business cases. 

A hybrid of the former two blockchains is the consortium blockchain, which is more of a permissioned type of distributed ledger. 

A consortium blockchain's main goal is to increase cooperation in order to tackle an industry's ongoing difficulties. Consortium blockchain can be used by organisations with shared objectives to restructure workflow, transparency, and accountability. According to the Deloitte analysis, 74% of firms are choosing blockchain consortiums. 

Instead of beginning from scratch, consortium blockchain allows newcomers to join the established framework and share information. With the aid of this technology, businesses may work together to find answers while reducing development costs and time. Federated blockchains are another name for consortium blockchains. 

Therefore, the network is not ruled by a single entity, and all the other organisations contribute to that. It can be considered a platform where various businesses can gather and, if necessary, share information. It is a collaborative environment in which there is no room for abuse on the platform. 

There are three types of blockchain consortium on the market at present.

Technology-centered: These provide solutions based on technical standards as well as reusable blockchain platforms. Furthermore, this particular blockchain industry consortium operates only to aid blockchain in gaining awareness on a global scale. 

Business-centered: These usually create blockchain solutions for a particular business problem. In practice, this blockchain consortium design would concentrate on a particular blockchain use case, such as banking, supply chain management, healthcare, etc. 

Dual-focused: When providing a platform or solution, they concentrate on both technology and business. So, in a way, they would provide an open-source platform appropriate for any kind of solution while also providing commercial products. 

Benefits of Blockchain Consortium 

There are certain benefits that you should expect from the federated blockchain. 

● Cost Savings: By building on the established structures in each blockchain, solutions can be developed in a shorter amount of time with shared resources. In this way, fewer development costs are required through economies of scale. There is also no service or transaction fee for dealings within a consortium blockchain.

● Accelerate Learning: If you want to advance in the blockchain industry, you'll need complete learning support. Thus, anticipating an acceleration of learning processes would be advantageous. Many consortiums provide training and dev support. This is one of the reasons for why Finboot create MARCO, a Low-code/No-code platform designed to enable blockchain for business users, who can immediately adopt the technology without writing a single line of code by selecting one of our No-code apps.

● Sharing Risk: all businesses share the risk in the event of a new blockchain solution. There are many hazards in the industry. MARCO is a blockchain-agnostic platform, which ensures compatibility, provides flexibility and future-proofs your blockchain strategy. You can work with any combination of blockchain networks across the spectrum from private-permissioned networks to public-permissionless ecosystems.

● Build Critical Mass of Adoption: For a federated blockchain, there shouldn't be just one solution built. Achieving mass adoption would make it simple for your business to soar to new heights. Reaching the worldwide market would be difficult without mass adoption. 

● Securing Relevance /Lifespan: It is very difficult to stay current in the area as technology is always evolving. 

● Influencing Standards: The market predicted that Blockchain will quickly achieve interoperability. To establish yourself in a market worth a trillion dollars, you would need to influence standards. 

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Disadvantages of Consortium Blockchain 

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We also can point out a few disadvantages related with blockchain consortiums:

• A consortium blockchain can get bureaucratic since you must get more than one enterprise to agree to a communication protocol, set up the rules and standards
• Upgrading the blockchain is a long and tedious task requiring every member’s permission. 
• There are chances of frequent disputes between the member organisations. 

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The Potential of Consortium and Federated Blockchains 

The use of a consortium blockchain makes sense for companies looking for member-to-member operations and communication. Coordination between participants on the blockchain platform makes problem-solving simple and quicker. This can be developed by any organisation using open source platforms in accordance with the objectives they have specified. Organisations are allowed to decide on their own standards and requirements, however working with experienced blockchain developers can yield better results. 

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Some of the industries where a consortium blockchain could be a interesting option:

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Finance and Banking 

Since banks require credit scores, KYC, and other information from time to time, they can come together and form a consortium. This consortium can have its data stored over one blockchain that can be accessed by all the banks. It would help understand the cases of defaulters and stay up to date with the credit score and other details. 

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Logistics 

In the case of logistics, where it is crucial having multiple partners synced to keep track of the packages, having their own consortium blockchain with a smart contract could automatically update the data at every centre when a product is shipped. 

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Healthcare and Insurance 

Hospitals, medical clinics and insurance companies have to manage a huge amount of data. Having a consortium blockchain for companies in the same region would allow fast and better collaboration to update these records of various patients occasionally. Meaning, no need in keeping files and other records to check a patient’s history or current health conditions.

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Why MARCO is perfect for Blockchain Consortiums 

While full interoperability between different blockchain frameworks is still a work in progress, a blockchain agnostic solution will take an organisation one step forward in that direction, allowing flexibility of usage and interaction between different ledger technologies among the applications.

Being agnostic, MARCO gives the company the freedom to choose the best blockchain technology for their needs without losing compatibility, regardless of the type of blockchain, which is perfect for everyone who wants to work with blockchain, especially those who have chosen a consortium to start with. 

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The scientific consensus is that we have reached a crunch point.  We have a rapidly closing window of the next few years or so where if the world works together, cuts emissions, switches to renewables and adopts and implements net zero plans - in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement - we can limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees centigrade.  

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Official peer reviewed data published by the United Nations is quite simply frightening. 

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Blockchain can help by accurately recording each company’s carbon footprint. Blockchain technology has the capacity to measure carbon footprints through intelligent sensors compatible with the Internet of Things (IoT). 

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The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications network.

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Incidentally the Internet of Things or IoT is considered, by many, to be a bit of a misnomer as devices do not need to be connected to the public internet, they only need to be connected to a network and be individually addressable.  

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Blockchain + IoT combined make it possible to calculate energy consumption and generate data that can be analysed in the blockchain.

So how blockchain technology help companies reduce their carbon footprint and help fight climate change?  

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Restructuring ESG

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One source of market friction is overwhelming demand. Zero net corporate commitments mean global demand for voluntary carbon offsets is projected to grow from USD$1 billion in 2021 to USD$50 billion by 2030.

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The first thing blockchain has changed in how ESG markets operate, is improving market efficiencies. Market structure is a constant problem, even with ESG product standardisation. According to Sussex Research Online, “at the most fundamental level, carbon markets are problematic because they often presume that the relationship between emissions and climate change is a linear one, that a one-to-one tradeoff is present between emissions and offsets, and that a carbon credit is “homogenous” or “equally valuable” independent of when and where carbon dioxide was emitted. Each of these assumptions is wrong.”.

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However, the implementation of blockchain into carbon markets has made three major improvements. First, decentralisation is reducing the difficulty of registering, managing, and trading carbon credits. For example, the ESG1 platform is already generating public chain offsets from energy measurement software such as Corda and Smart Contracts. This type of automated credit validation system is simplifying markets and consequently increases quota utilisation.  A great example of this is Air Carbon in Abu Dhabi. It will be the first fully regulated carbon trading and clearing centre in the world.

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Blockchain is helping drive the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda. 

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Many greentech discussions focus on the environmental problems of blockchain supported mining. But it should not be forgotten  that this technology was invented to democratise social policy and financial governance.

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Blockchain, Satellites, and ESG

NASA and other space agencies have been monitoring greenhouse gas emissions for years. However, with the new generation of private satellite operators, like Spire Global and GHGSat, it is now possible to focus on individual facilities and detect specific emission rates. Better, specific data, means a clearer understanding, more control, and more effective plans to reduce emissions.  

Oil and gas corporations are the largest industrial source of emissions worldwide and are the leading users of these services. Other industrial sectors which produce a large amount of carbon dioxide include electricity generation, coal mining, steel manufacturing, cement production, agriculture and waste management.

Large amounts of high quality satellite data has produced data analytics companies such as Descartes Labs, Enverus, Kayrros and SatSense etc. These specialised companies help emission generators, regulators and market analysts by providing them with high quality data. This data is then used by investors and fundraisers to better understand whether a company’s claims are pure greenwashing.

But where does blockchain fit in? 

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The lack of transparency in the unregulated carbon offset marketplaces, and the lack of proof re offsets, is where blockchain can make a positive difference.

Blockchain can provide an auditable and standardised recording system, without the need for centralised management. It records, tracks and manages data that is critical for ESG environmental reports.

When environmental data is recorded by satellites and IoT devices, real-time evaluations are transferred to the blockchain by intermediaries. This way, automatic transactions can be made (smart contracts), because they are based on actual numbers, not just speculation.

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Can Blockchain Help With Recycling?

In this information age, brands cannot and should not escape their stakeholders' watchful eyes. Hence, a new material revolution is needed to fight the global waste crisis and climate change.

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The chemical industry for one seems to be in the lead in the race for net zero. Moreover, it is contributing to circular society technologies, as chemicals are prevalent in almost all manufactured goods. 

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Material procurement and traceability are more important than ever, but circular systems and economies cannot exist without traceability. 

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So, is there any solution on the horizon? 

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We call it the “Mass Balance” approach. This system allows manufacturers to know what percentage of their product is sustainable. The approach encourages recycled and renewable materials accountability. This is where our blockchain ecosystem, MARCO, comes in.

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Due to its decentralised nature, blockchain technology can help with the certification of sustainable material uses, mass balance concepts, trust and visibility. Physical assets can be digitised into tokens. As the physical assets shift, so do the tokens. Every transaction or mineral is attached to the previous one, which makes the process tamper/proof, visible, and traceable.

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The decentralised nature of blockchain gives all participants the same level of control, and jurisdiction over data. Data is shared with all participants equally, and it is synchronised in real-real time. When it comes to the chemical industry, members would have full transparency over the entire supply chain.

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Regenerative agriculture programmes

Smart contracts can empower regenerative agriculture programmes including rewarding (and thus incentivising) raw material providers for reducing their carbon footprint. This is usually done through land-based practices such as tree planting and conservation.

A great example of this is the Green World Campaign. They are building smart contracts using satellite data and are automatically depositing rewards to individuals that successfully regenerate land by planting trees and improving top soils and drainage, etc.

Payouts are made when trusted intermediaries acquire data from satellite images that trigger smart contracts on the blockchain. This guarantees people earn rewards fairly and transparently. This generates trust.  

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Digital product passport

The implementation of technology in the food supply chain can improve traceability and can have a positive impact on the food industry. Many operations, such as safety control, are still managed manually and are vulnerable to human error. If the food industry decides to digitise its manufacturing process, it would be able to leverage digital methods such as “Digital Product Passports', to validate food safety and ESG compliance. A digital product passport would store all the information about the components of certain products, which would enable long-term control and production transparency.

Sustainability credentials

Transparency and trust are not only important to consumers. In the B2B sector, certification for sustainable procurement of chemicals and environmentally friendly and socially responsible production conditions is essential.

When communicating their favourable outcomes, businesses need to be confident that they have an undeniable record that verifies their message. By adopting a transparent digital agenda, including using blockchain technology to demonstrate transparency in ways not possible with other digital technologies, businesses can improve their sustainability credentials and reports.

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Energy Grid Decentralisation

Giant facilities are usually centralised and often cause sustainability issues. On the other hand,  distributed grid aggregates distributed energy generation from distributed energy sources. These are typically renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power. A decentralised grid is the best solution for communities and individuals to become owners of energy distribution and generation.

These energy grids can use real-time satellite weather data to predict charge throughout the grid. By redistributing energy within the grid, you can respond to changes in weather and fluctuations in energy supply from renewable sources.

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A distributed energy grid would give consumers more control over their energy supply, offering flexibility, customisation and convenience. Decentralisation of energy generation, transmission and distribution, from microgrids serving small communities to grids serving entire urban areas, cities or countries, would result in more autonomy in terms of electricity supply. Furthermore, it would provide much more resilience and reliability. 

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Conclusion

Climate change and carbon footprints are real, and the clock is ticking.

The most important thing to remember when introducing blockchain and smart contracts into your business model is that individual, isolated efforts can become networks - that can then identify everyone's contribution to helping combat climate change.

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Aside from the usual frisson of seeing Finboot’s name in print in SABIC’s public quarter three 2022 quarterly earnings report, I think it illustrates blockchain is increasingly seen as a hard-edged commercial “must have” lever to drive cost savings in supply chains whilst at the same time turbo charging the circular economy.  

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In its Q3 report SABIC states: “SABIC has launched a pilot project with technology company Finboot, advanced recycling pioneer Plastic Energy, and packaging specialist Intraplás to investigate the possibilities of blockchain technology to support end-to-end digital traceability of certified circular TRUCIRCLE™ feedstock in customer products.  Tracing the journey of feedstock through the complex petrochemical value chain is currently a difficult undertaking and SABIC’s pilot is the first of its kind in the industry to trace the product from feedstock production to converter, going further than previous industry applications of blockchain in end-to-end tracing. The platform offers reduced costs, time and improved data integration for all value chain partners.” SABIC, third quarter 2022 highlights, page 3  

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SABIC’s blockchain pilot project, which started at the beginning of the third quarter of 2021, in July, is a collaborative effort involving Finboot, recycling pioneer Plastic Energy and packaging specialist Intraplás. Blockchain is bringing streamlined delivery processes, improved inventory management, increased transparency and traceability for certified circular plastic pellet feedstock used in customer products. 

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Following the journey of feedstocks through the complex production chain is tricky. To improve this process and the delivery of its circular / recycled feedstock to customers, SABIC has turned to blockchain.  

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“If you cannot measure it, you cannot change it” as mathematician Lord [absolute] Kelvin once said.  Blockchain allows businesses to measure supply chain efficiencies and provides business with the only database technology that provides a time stamped immutable audit tracker.  Every solution needs data – and data recorded accurately, monitored, managed and audited precisely for consumers, regulators, shareholders and internal stakeholders.  

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As with SABIC, Finboot effectively simplifies blockchain – the ultimate audit tracker – for business. 

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Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO at Finboot, 3 November 2022 

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www.finboot.com

Blockchain and Industry 4.0 are buzzwords around start-ups as well as established industries for some time. They are more than buzzwords now - both are real business solutions that have the potential to drive efficiencies, cost savings and increased profits. Here we take a closer look at how blockchain technology is helping to the development of Industry 4.0.

What is Industry 4.0? Put simply Industry 4.0 is the digitisation of manufacturing.  

The term Industry 4.0 is actually not new! Representatives of different industries coined it in 2011 during the Hanover Fair in Germany. Two years later, the German Government adopted “Industry 4.0” as the name for its strategic initiative to revolutionise manufacturing across Germany.

Industry 4.0 is shorthand the “fourth industrial revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the current and developing environment in which disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way modern people live and work.  

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Industry 4.0 / The Fourth Industrial Revolution will drive an integration of digital technologies into manufacturing. The approach of combining new technologies with engineering best practices, is resulting in “smart factories”.

Smart factories use robotics, sensors, and sophisticated software to collect and analyse data that becomes the basis of the leadership team’s decision-making. Applying technologies in this way does not negate human experience however. This technology supplements human experience with data from all aspects of the manufacturing process.

Cross-referencing this information with insights from enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, supply chain information, as well as customer service feedback creates a multi-layered picture for company decision makers. The smart factories approach puts an end to silos of information by connecting departments and delivering greater visibility across the organisation.

What Technologies are Driving Industry 4.0?

Apart from the blockchain, the main technologies driving industry 4.0 are artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous robotics, additive manufacturing and cloud computing. Some of these technologies, like AI, started life several decades ago. Today, significant advances in computing and the development of digital technologies are enabling them to influence all aspects of our professional and personal lives.

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a form of intelligence shown by machines - particularly  computers. Whilst researchers previously thought of AI as a technology that is mimicking human intelligence, current definitions tend to stress a computer’s ability to make rational n responses to various situations and inputs. Machine learning is a key part of AI and another technology driving industry 4.0. Machine learning is the capacity of machines such as computers to learn and refine how they apply algorithms without human intervention.

The IoT is integral to the progress of Industry 4.0 from a theoretical concept into reality. The term refers to devices with the processing power and capability of exchanging data with each other. The IoT also includes the technology that makes connections and the exchange of data between devices possible.

Autonomous robotics and additive manufacturing are likely to have the most visible impact on industry 4.0. Additive manufacturing uses technologies like 3-D printing to minimise the cost and time it takes to produce a prototype of a new product or start manufacturing. Autonomous robotics refers to a scenario in which machines learn to interact with each other. For manufacturing, that would mean introducing previously unidentified efficiencies into the production process.

Cloud computing has revolutionised how companies and organisations think about and run their IT resources and departments. A few years ago, supporting large IT demands meant maintaining large servers, providing storage, hosting databases and installing networking capability with physical cables. Cloud computing has made it possible for all these resources to be delivered via the internet.

The last of the main technologies driving Industry 4.0 is the blockchain. Blockchain is changing how organisations and individuals store data. Rather than keeping the information in one single place, blockchain is a decentralised ledger or database that stores data off-site. Once created, a record can no longer be altered or removed. Information is stored in blocks. As blocks fill up, they are sealed and connected to the previous block, creating a blockchain.  

None of these exciting technologies, that are driving Industry 4.0 have been developed in isolation.  r. And despite their individual benefits when they are used together they collectively drive huge efficiencies and advances.  .

Bringing Blockchain Technology into Industry 4.0

The concept of industry 4.0 is aiming to change the way the world produces things, looking for faster, more efficient manufacturing. Blockchain technology can help underpin  this fourth revolution by creating a transparent record of production processes that can be accessed from anywhere. The blockchain also opens up a real-time communications channel that can be shared by manufacturers around the globe.

As a result, implementing changes, updating algorithms and manufacturing processes become far more straightforward. Because of its secure ledger or database, the blockchain enables manufacturers to manage intellectual property rights and store proprietary product information safely. It also helps  the creation of global supply chains, - a key issue facing all economies across the world at the moment.

Applications of Blockchain in Industry 4.0: a Review

Blockchain gained notoriety as a tool to facilitate secure transactions of cryptocurrency. Whilst the technology continues to transform the financial sector, other applications are also gaining ground:

·   Manufacturing data protection

·   Resolution of quality issues

·   Supply chain development

This is not an exhaustive list - just the  most pertinent examples of blockchain applications for the benefit of Industry 4.0.

1. Manufacturing Data Protection

As businesses (and individuals) worldwide are producing more data, data protection has become a key concern.  In the manufacturing sector, companies need to secure the integrity of commercial data whilst also sharing it with the appropriate partners.

Blockchain provides the ideal vehicle to support sharing between a specific group of people whilst limiting unwanted access through encryption. Sensitive, valuable data is protected from potential cyberattacks. Encryption also makes blockchain safer for the transfer of information than many alternatives.

In addition, permanently retained records are ideal for avoiding disputes about copyright,  distribution rights and delivery timings for products and processes.

2. Resolution of Quality Issues

Product recalls and dealing with other quality issues are normal parts of manufacturing. Blockchain technology makes recalls more efficient. Because permanent digital purchase records exist, manufacturers can recall faulty products in a targeted manner.

Rather than asking thousands of customers to return a product, manufacturers can identify problems more specifically and resolve them by working with specific customers. Permanent records of manufacturing processes make it easier to identify quality issues  and resolve them quickly too.

Blockchain also helps drive recycling rates up by showing which parts can be recycled and how.  In this way blockchain is driving the circular economy.  

3. Supply Chain Development

Supply chain bottlenecks have made headlines for the past few years. As blockchain applications evolve, they will allow companies to predict and prevent bottlenecks through real-time updates and greater control of in-house processes and activities.

In many cases, blockchain technology will be implemented jointly with an organisation’s existing ERP platforms and strengthen them.

Why should blockchain be implemented to support Industry 4.0?

Blockchain technology and Industry 4.0 continue to evolve. As these technologies develop, new applications will become apparent. Neither is looking to replace human intelligence and expertise in manufacturing. The goal of Industry 4.0 is to improve the way the world produces goods through technology.

Blockchain technology is ideally placed to support companies looking to embrace digital transformation and become Industry 4.0 leaders.

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BARCELONA, SPAIN, NOVEMBER 4, 2022 – Blockchain tech firm Finboot and digital transformation services consultancy Quantion have entered into a partnership agreement, enabling large companies in the European market to benefit from blockchain technology particularly in terms of making their processes more efficient. 

Paris Dufrayer, Chief Revenue Officer, Finboot, says:

“This partnership between Finboot and Quantion is very exciting. We are a perfect match!  Quantion has the same vision as Finboot: It wants to help accelerate companies’ digital transformation to make them more efficient, saving time and money, while making them greener as well.

Quantion complements Finboot’s wealth of knowledge and expertise on supply chains. Together, with Finboot’s innovative and proven ‘low-code’ platform – MARCO, Quantion can streamline the complex supply chains of their clients.  We are already working on projects together and working towards securing joint new customers.``

Carme Pellicero, General Manager of Quantion, says:

"Blockchain technology has extraordinary potential to provide greater transparency, security, and more efficiently in managing the traceability of processes. Therefore, it allows a collaborative framework of trust between parties in a distributed ecosystem.

This collaboration with Finboot will allow us to help companies that want to incorporate Blockchain technology with end-to-end support. That means, delivering services from the setup to any integration required.¨ 

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Finboot has developed MARCO, a 'low-code' platform that simplifies digital transformation by enabling companies to develop and deploy digital solutions with minimum efforts and resources.  This ‘low-code’ platform accelerates the 'time to value' - the time it takes to deliver an application to market.

Quantion provides a key bridge between tech start-ups and larger companies. Like Finboot, Quantion strives to help companies accelerate their digital transformation.  This alliance will help companies wanting and / or needing to innovate and optimise complex processes. 

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– ENDS –

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Notes to Editors

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For more information, please contact nicola@impactandinfluence.global or chris@impactandinfluence.global 

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About Finboot

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Finboot is a technology company that gives its world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value and building trust through blockchain.

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Finboot has developed MARCO, a 'low-code' platform that simplifies digital transformation by enabling companies to develop and deploy digital solutions with minimum efforts and resources.  This ‘low-code’ platform accelerates the 'time to value' - the time it takes to deliver an application to market. 

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• MARCO brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously
• It also powers 'no-code' applications which helps businesses realise value
• It enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, which increases traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency  

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Finboot is headquartered in the UK with a base in Spain.

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www.finboot.com 

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About Quantion

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Quantion is a digital factory. We combine our teams in cutting-edge technologies and digital deep experiences with the innovation ecosystem, to ensure that we can provide the best solution to face business challenges, from its concept to its implementation.

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Quantion was born in mid-2015 with the aim of being a bridge between the world of new generation companies and traditional markets. Our continuous growth is based on an outstanding and attractive value proposition.

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Quantion works with the leading companies in Spain across different vertical markets including utilities, consumer health technologies, media, financial services, insurance and public administration.

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Quantion has offices in Barcelona and Madrid.  

‍www.quantion.com

Digital transformation tech firm Finboot and digital engineering company Nitor Infotech Pvt. Ltd have entered into a partnership agreement, enabling Nitor Infotech to benefit from Finboot’s innovative blockchain MARCO platform to help its clients improve their supply chains and processes as well to support their sustainability initiatives.

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Finboot has developed MARCO, a 'low-code' platform that simplifies digital transformation by enabling companies to develop and deploy digital solutions based in blockchain technology with minimum efforts and resources.  This ‘low-code’ platform accelerates the 'time to value' - the time it takes to deliver an application to market. 

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Nitor Infotech brings supply chain, consultancy and IT services expertise enabling rapid rollout of Finboot’s MARCO platform to its current customers – specifically a number of India and US projects where the blockchain platform will help shape and implement impactful digital transformation. Nitor Infotech joined forces with Finboot to strengthen its customer service and extend their current offering with the MARCO platform to North Americas.  

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Finboot and Nitor Infotech are offering a blockchain solution that can be deployed, at pace, bringing short term return on investment in highly regulated sectors - where supply chain processes are complex but vital to business success.

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Nitor Infotech is well-established in the manufacturing, healthcare and retail markets and Finboot expands Nitor Infotech’s solution offering with its leading digitalisation solutions to address supply chain, business processes and environment, safety and health goals. This new joint Finboot-Nitor Infotech offer will also increase transparency, make collaboration and team working easier, and increase trust in data with a blockchain agnostic platform.  

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Paris Dufrayer, Chief Revenue Officer, Finboot, says: 

“Our partnership will bring to the North American and Indian markets a complete digitalisation solution by covering business consulting expertise on supply chain and enterprise processes, also offering the next step of implementation and system integration services to the licensing and management of Finboot Software as a Service (SaaS) platform.”

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Sanjeev Fadnavis, CEO, Nitor Infotech, says: 

“We are very excited to be working with Finboot.  Nitor Infotech and Finboot have similar values and approaches. We both want to work together with our customers to create a better world through accelerating digital transformation and leveraging tech solutions to the issues humanity faces.  For example, improving manufacturing supply chains will increase efficiency and help them on their journey to net zero.”

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Finboot recently announced expanding its presence in America by announcing new customers and a local Partnerships & Business Advisor for the United States and Canada, Thomas Iseler, who has joined the Finboot team to be responsible for initiating and establishing new businesses and managing existing partnerships.

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The move reflects the technology firm’s growth plans and expands to other sectors and geographies. This partnership agreement is part of a bigger platform growth plan which will be announced in the coming month.

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– ENDS –

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Notes to Editors

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For more information, please contact nicola@impactandinfluence.global or chris@impactandinfluence.global 

‍

About Finboot

‍

Finboot is a technology company that gives its world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value and building trust through blockchain.

‍

Finboot has developed MARCO, a 'low-code' platform that simplifies digital transformation by enabling companies to develop and deploy digital solutions with minimum efforts and resources.  This ‘low-code’ platform accelerates the 'time to value' - the time it takes to deliver an application to market. 

‍

• MARCO brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously
• It also powers 'no-code' applications which helps businesses realise value
• It enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, which increases traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency  

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Finboot is headquartered in the UK with a base in Spain.

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www.finboot.com 

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About Nitor Infotech

Since 2006, Nitor Infotech has garnered experience in handling multiple technology projects across industries and gained strong expertise in areas of technology consulting, solutioning and product engineering.

With a robust team of technology and domain experts, we have helped leading Enterprises and ISVs in the realm of supply chain management, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and BFSI with modern-day products and top-notch services. Digitisation being our key strategy, we digitally assess their operational capabilities in order to help them achieve their end-goals.   

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https://www.nitorinfotech.com/

We’re excited to announce that Cassarah James has joined the Finboot sales team as our new Business Development Manager based in the UK.

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Cassarah brings more than 10 years of experience in sales, working with companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai and Aexus. For nearly eight of those 10 years, Cassarah lived and worked in mid-Wales after gaining her law degree from Aberystwyth University.

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Across her previous roles, Cassarah has created, developed and maintained excellent client relationships; so much so that she is no stranger to Finboot! Cassarah worked for Finboot in the past as part of the Sales Development Representative (SDR) team.

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In her new role, she will be responsible for identifying new markets and customer needs, building and nourishing long-term relationships with existing clients and creating new business with new customer acquisitions.

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Cassarah says: “I am so excited to rejoin the Finboot team, it’s great to be part of such a vibrant and progressive company! MARCO’s unique and cutting edge digital ecosystem is leading the way in supporting ESG standards, supply chain traceability and much more. I very much look forward to helping Finboot grow its client network in the UK and beyond”.

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Paris Dufrayer, Finboot’s Chief Revenue Officer, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Cassarah to the team, she will be a key member of the international Finboot team as we continue to grow and target other sectors and expand into new geographies.”

Please join us in welcoming Cassarah James to Finboot!

The Digital Product Passport – Transparent and Sustainable Supply Chains Powered by Blockchain 

The Circular Economy Action Plan constitutes the Sustainable Products Initiative, which aims to implement a digital product passport. The passport is meant to facilitate supply chain traceability by collecting data about the value chain of the products. 

The digital product passport (DPP) will help the adoption of more sustainable practices by ensuring products are made using  renewable energy and free from hazardous chemicals. The passport will also help create a circular economy by making it easier to recycle products at the end of their lives. 

The DPP is powered by blockchain technology, allowing transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain. Here's a deeper look into the dynamics of digital product passports. 

What is a Digital Product Passport? 

A DPP is a digital record of a product's value chain. It collects data about the product's journey from raw materials to finished goods, including information on the energy used, the emissions generated, and the waste produced. 

The data is stored on a blockchain, a distributed database that allows for transparent and tamper-proof data sharing. The digital product passport can verify the sustainability of a product and ensure that it meets environmental and social standards. 

Why Should We Start Using Digital Product Passports? 

By tracking a product's entire journey from manufacture to purchase to disposal, we can gain a much more comprehensive understanding of its environmental and social impacts. Here are some reasons to implement digital product passports. 

1. Increased Transparency for both Consumers and Businesses 

At the moment, there's rampant mislabeling and de-facto greenwashing in the marketplace. It happens when companies make claims about their products that are not accurate or they downplay the environmental impacts of their product. 

Digital product passports would help increase transparency: businesses would be required to provide accurate information and consumers would be able to easily access this information to make informed choices. 

2. Improved Sustainable Practices in a Product's Lifestyle

DPPs would also help improve product recycling and waste reduction. By tracking products throughout their lifecycle, we can identify opportunities to recycle or reuse them at the end of their life. In addition, it would help businesses to design products with sustainability in mind. By understanding the full impacts of a product. 

● Carbon Footprint: With an average carbon footprint of 13 tonnes of CO2-e per person, the UK is one of the worst offenders when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the EU produces 2.5 billion tonnes of waste annually. A digital product passport would help businesses and consumers understand the carbon footprint of a product and make better choices about their purchases. Consumers can learn how much of the product they're using contains recycled material, allowing them to calculate their environmental impact. 

● Water Footprint: By understanding the water footprint of a product, it will be possible to quantify one's environmental impact. A product with a large water footprint might be made with an excessive amount of cotton. To offset the impact of this product, the consumer might choose to purchase products made with recycled materials. 

● Material Grades: With greater access to information about raw materials, it will be easier to improve the quality of recyclable materials. Moreover, it might be possible to choose products made with certified sustainable products. 

3. Boost the Circular Economy 

DPPs would also contribute to the development of a circular economy, in which waste is designed out of the system, and products are made to be reused, repaired, or recycled back into the manufacturing process. 

DPPs enable businesses to track their products throughout the entire lifecycle. It would allow businesses to identify opportunities to close the loop and keep materials in use for as long as possible, and more importantly, it would allow businesses to sell products as a service rather than as physical objects. 

The benefits of a circular economy are numerous, and digital product passports would be a key step in implementing it. For instance, a report shows that a circular economy will create up to 700,000 jobs in the EU by 2030. 

4. Centralised Information Flow 

DPPs provide a centralised platform for all of the information. By mandating that businesses report certain information about their products, it will be simpler for the end-users to make informed decisions about their purchases and recycling habits. 

Moreover, it will allow businesses to share data about their products with each other and develop new ways to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process.

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Why Use Blockchain for Digital Product Passports? 

Blockchain technology refers to a digital ledger of transactions (DLT) distributed across a network of computers. For example, this technology can be used to create "digital product passports" that would provide a secure and tamper-proof way to track the journey of a product from its point of origin to the consumer and to end of life. 

There are many potential applications for blockchain technology in the food industry, including supply chain transparency, food safety and quality control. Here are some reasons to use blockchain in the supply chain and other applications of digital product passports. 

● Supply Chain Traceability 

● Reduces Compliance Costs 

● Accelerate Data Transfer Processing 

Many industries, such as food, fashion and automotive producers, require the sharing of product information between different parties. In these industries, blockchain could help to accelerate data transfer and processing. 

As blockchain technology uses cryptographic techniques, it would be very difficult for anyone to tamper with the data stored on the blockchain. Thus, it will help ensure the accuracy and integrity of product information - in short it provides immutable truth. 

Final Words 

A digital product passport has several benefits, such as supply chain sustainability, providing consumers with information about products' environmental and social impacts, and supporting more sustainable and ethical consumption. 

Digital product passports are still in their infancy, but several initiatives are underway to promote their use for supply chain transparency. It is hoped that the use of digital product passports will become more widespread in the future as DLT blockchain technology gains momentum. 

These passports will potentially find their applications in the fashion, food, and electronics sectors. Therefore, the benefits of using these passports must be clear to consumers so that they can make information-based choices about the products they purchase.

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Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO at Finboot, recently gave an interview for the Digital Supply Chain podcast by Tom Raftery talking about the adoption and use cases of blockchain for supply chain. Finboot is also going to participate in the Logistic and Automation event in Madrid later this month (26&27 of October). These initiatives are not random, they are coordinated efforts aligned with Finboot’s strategy. Initiatives that have been timed just right, as we see more and more companies are making investments in this emerging  technology, with supply chain and logistics being a hotspot for blockchain implementations.

Blockchain is growing in popularity as more companies learn more about how it may enhance their business operations and financial outcomes and use their human and financial resources to invest in it. And over time, businesses that do not implement this technology run the risk of being left out of the market. 

Logistics, on the other hand, is one of the fundamental components of modern industry and is on the rise. According to a Transparency Market Research (TMR) report, the market is currently worth $8.1T, but by 2023 it will be worth $15.5T. Volumes, estimated to be 54.6B tonnes in 2015, are likely to reach 92.1B tonnes by 2024. 

Blockchain is empowering businesses in this market to improve routing, expedite production processes and ensure transparency to the entire supply chain. 

Let’s find out why logistics companies should consider blосkchain implementаtion, use cases included. 

Digging deeper into the application of blockchain technology in logistics 

Let's focus on the use of blockchain in suррlу chains аnd potential challenges that this technology can encounter in logistics. Lack of transparency between buyers and manufacturers is the industry’s key problem, including miscommunication and difficulties tracing each delivery stage. 

Juan Miguel, in his interview, stated: ¨blockchain is a technology that in spite of not being designed initially for supply chains it does address many of the data driven pain points of the industry. I come back to immutable shared record keeping, automated reconciliation and settlement, end to end workflow visibility.

For supply chain professionals this is amazing because how often do they need to go out on the hunt in search of information they should have access to, but they never got? How often do they enter disputes over mismatched records?¨

Primarily, blockchain improves: 

- Shipping and freight in lоgistiсs: Blockchain саn bе usеd tо boost both international and local shipping processes, forcing manufacturers and transport companies to enhance their production capacity and the efficiency of their production processes. 

- Inventory tracking: The technology offers thе ability to manage each company’s products not оnlу at thе mаcro lеvеl, but also at the micro level. Disputes can be resolved much fаstеr with immutаblе dаtа аnd rеаl-timе саrgо information. Thanks to automation, mаnу disрutеs саn be resolved in minutes with just reliable dаtа. 

- Transportation: the carrier and the consignee often interpret the delivery time differently, which reduces the on-time delivery rate. Using blockchain this can be avoided since all participants in the supply chain have access to the same version of all shipping documents. Additionally, the entire exchange of data is stored in blocks, so it is not feasible to erase or modify this data and it is much simpler to identify the cause of a conflict. 

Finboot experience in blockchain and logistics 

According to Juan, ¨Finboot has created a Low-code platform called MARCO. MARCO’s low-code capabilities our team has built a supply chain solution called Track & Trace. Which is all about supply chain digitalization and traceability. The power of Track & Trace is that it is fully configurable from a front-end interface. Clients can build their own workflows, define the assets in their value chains and the data they want to capture. All of this without writing a single line of code.

SABIC is one of Finboot's interesting success stories. They are using the MARCO Track & Trace application to improve the management of sustainability credits in the production of circular polymers. They are building an ecosystem in which we are able to trace the final packaging all the way back to the plastic waste of origin. And they are doing so at a level of granularity and visibility that is unlike anything else out there in the circular economy of plastics.

Iberia airlines is another client, in their case they are using a different MARCO app, which helps them with supplier communications. This was specifically deployed in the refueling process so that they will receive delivery notes from refueling, validate those automatically based on pre-agreed business rules and once everything’s been reconciled send the data directly from blockchain into their financial systems. It’s an incredible improvement in visibility, giving them great capabilities to forecast what the biggest cost for any airline.¨

When it comes to the adoption of blockchain technology, one of the biggest challenges is the implementation into the current ecosystem. However, Juan believes ¨the solution is combining blockchain with another digital trend: Low-code and No-code platforms, in which, in some cases, you need very little software background or training.¨

He also pointed out that three key takeaways for those who was listing to the podcast (or reading this article):

1. One, blockchain is not as mysterious as many make it look and can do a lot more than the whole crypto world, it has huge potential use cases for different industries and purposes.
2. Two, supply chain is a killer use case for blockchain, so any enterprise out there struggling with their supply chain data or digitalization, should be looking into blockchain to increase traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.
3. And three, it’s a lot easier than you think. Reach out to us, and we’ll show how adopting this emerging technology with a low-code approach can save you a lot of time and money and accelerate your time to value.

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The construction industry is always under pressure to be more efficient (ie producing more, with less waste and as quickly as safely possible). For instance, in the UK, 75% of capital projects go over budget, and 20% of cost overruns are caused by poor project administration and management. 

Smart contracts have the potential to help construction companies operate more efficiently: our latest ebook “Blockchain and regulations - a digital transformation in the construction industry”, explores these advantages. 

A smart contract is a self-executing, coded contract with pre-defined terms. It facilitates the execution of a contract through automation and without interference. Lots of research is going into how to create smart contracts, how to make smart contracts safe, maintainable or updateable. 

OK, so where do smart contracts exist? Where are they executed? And how do they work? 

Smart contracts are verified, executed and enforced by a non biased computer program that runs on a blockchain network. The program starts running once the smart contract's terms have been accepted by all parties. As the contract is verified and enforced by the blockchain network, a third party is no longer needed. 

The fact is that smart contracts can be executed by code rather than people, removing the possibility of human error and automating tasks that would traditionally require human interaction. 

One of the best aspects of the blockchain is that there is no need to pay middlemen (intermediaries) and that it saves time and dispute because it is a decentralised system that exists between all permitted participants.

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Blockchains unquestionably operate faster, cheaper, and more securely than conventional systems, this explains why more smart contracts are being used to conduct transactions on various blockchain networks, such as Ethereum, Solana, Tezos, Hyperledger, etc. 

Use Cases of Smart Contracts 

Construction

Contractors in the UK have talked about "the golden thread" for a while now, but what exactly is it? The Golden Thread is the idea of having an exhaustive audit trail that spans the whole lifecycle of a construction project, from sourcing materials to project completion and maintenance.

Essentially the golden thread is both:

• the information about a building that allows someone to understand a building and keep it safe, and
• the information management to ensure the information is accurate, easily understandable, can be accessed by those who need it and is up to date.

It will be the duty of the people responsible for a building to put in place and maintain a golden thread of information. Having a golden thread will mean that those people responsible will have easily accessible, reliable, up to date and accurate information. Without this information, it is very difficult to manage and maintain buildings safely.

Blockchain technology can provide a solution that not only brings together all of the relevant information but can ensure regulatory compliance. 

Read more about what can organisations do to prepare themselves for the changes ahead in the construction sector.

Real Estate 

If you wanted to rent out your flat, you would have to pay a middleman like Craigslist or a newspaper or site to advertise, and you would also have to pay someone to verify that the tenant paid rent and followed through. 

You can reduce costs by using a decentralised solution. You simply encode your contract on a smart contract. Smart contracts are revolutionary in terms of transforming the current real estate practices, replacing traditional contracts as the sole agreement between seller and buyer. It automatically executes the requirements as soon as specific conditions of the contract are met. 

All parties including the bank, the agent, and the mortgage lender can sign an agreement via smart contracts and transactions are kept on a blockchain.

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Healthcare 

Personal health records can now be encoded and stored on a blockchain platform with a private key which would grant access only to specific individuals. 

Patients’ records could be securely stored on a blockchain system and automatically sent to insurance providers - so they have a record of what treatments have been administered and paid for. Smart contracts, too, could be used for general healthcare management, such as supervising drugs, regulation compliance, testing results, and managing healthcare supplies - speaking of which, you can download and read further on how this process is improved through blockchain in Finboot’s ebook on ‘Blockchain technology in the pharmaceutical industry: Fostering Transparency and Traceability’ 

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Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) 

NFTs have gained enormous market traction in recent years. Data from DappRadar, a firm that tracks sales, showed that trading in NFTs reached $22bn in 2021, compared with just $100m in 2020, and that the floor market cap of the top 100 NFTs ever issued – a measure of their collective value – was $16.7bn as they turned out to be the most successful use-case of smart contracts. To learn more on the explosion of these, check our most recent blog post on NFTs. 

NFTs are created through a minting process that requires the use of smart contracts set up on the blockchain. 

A smart contract is a tool that allows implementing a sale agreement between the NFT owner and the buyer. The smart contract contains information on the NFT, such as the work’s creator, other parties who are entitled to royalties each time the NFT is sold, and the work’s ownership history. Smart contracts frequently include a link to the work they represent, which can be viewed by only the owner. 

Finboot’s expertise on Smart Contracts 

Although smart contracts are native to blockchain itself, at Finboot we have abstracted the deployment, configuration and access to them through our Low-code platform and ecosystem MARCO. We’ve taken this complex blockchain feature and have turned it into something that business users can understand and use without becoming a blockchain expert. Some of customers like Iberia and the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation are already seamlessly using smart contracts on some of their daily ops.

Our solution BLOCKSTAMP enables the configuration of business logic into smart contracts, allowing the automatization of processes and dramatically reducing the back-office workload. With our implementations, we automatically reconcile invoices between different stakeholders, minimising disputes and reducing time to settlement, better cash flows for all the involved stakeholders.

The term — “web 3.0” or “web3” — seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment.  But what is it?  And what does it mean?  

Web 3.0 or web3 is a new kind of internet service built upon decentralised blockchains, the shared ledger systems also used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether.  

Although the phrase has been in use for some time, it has just recently become more widely used. 

The term was originally coined by Ethereum co-founder and Polygon founder Gavin Wood in 2014. 

Web3, has been described by investor Packy McCormick, as "the internet owned by the builders and users - orchestrated with tokens."  https://future.com/why-web3-matters/ 

As envisioned by the Web 3.0 Foundation, Web3 will be a public world wide web of computers where data and content are registered in blockchains, tokenised or managed and accessed on peer-to-peer distributed networks. 

Web3 advocates expect it to assume a number of different shapes, including decentralised social networks, "play-to-earn" video games that give players cryptocurrency tokens and NFT marketplaces that let users purchase and sell bits of digital culture. We believe that web3 will revolutionise the internet as we currently know it, overthrowing current gatekeepers and bringing a brand-new, middleman-free, digital economy. 

How did we get from Web 2.0 to Web 3? 

The legacy of the internet as we know it is undeniable, because thanks to it, democracy gained a new meaning, giving voice to everyone who wanted space, from consumers, small businesses and even non-profit communities and associations. The digital revolution provided by the Internet 2.0 has also ensured a never-before-seen democratisation of information, in business and in human relationships. Even though the internet still serves as the primary driver of digital transformation, the technology goes much far further than it used to. Everything we currently know as Web2 should be improved by the third stage of the Web's evolution. This version will invite us into virtual reality settings so we can visit a museum, a concert, or far-off places without leaving the comfort of our homes. In a world where we can use custom settings and preferences to modify our reality, we can expand the boundaries of our creativity.

Web3 is a group of associated technologies aiming to make the Web and the internet more decentralised, verifiable, and secure. In order to safeguard us in the digital sphere when our privacy or even life safety may be at risk, it strives to give us the opportunity to engage and create freely on the internet.

Users constantly serve as commodities in the modern internet environment, creating value along with their data. Large organisations having control over our personal information has been for years a cause for concern. 

The Web 3.0 movement is fueled in part by this sentiment. Although the movement may have its roots in blockchain technology, it has a broader agenda.  Building this much needed decentralised infrastructure that safeguards personal property and privacy is key to Web 3.0.

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, famously said, "for people who want to make sure the Web serves humanity, we have to concern ourselves with what people are building on top of it." https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/the-man-who-created-the-world-wide-web-has-some-regrets 

But what exactly does Web 3.0 or Web3 look like and what are the technical implications? 

The Evolution of Web Infrastructure: 

The internet was born with simple "read-only" technology, which meant that users could essentially read and search for information. The primary function of this Web 1.0 environment, which served as an extension of actual physical storefronts, was advertising. 

Later on, the arrival of Web 2.0 gave users the ability to produce their own content and engage with the internet on a deeper level, thanks to the introduction of a "read-write" functionality. This infrastructure continues to guide international business models by enabling the rapid expansion of blogs, social media platforms, and online reviews. 

This period of strong growth has come with drawbacks and challenges that Web 3.0 seeks to address. 

Web3 aims to put power and control back into the hands of users and enter a “read-write-own” era. 

An understanding of the unique features of Web 3.0 will help this process be rolled out. .

Web 2.0 > Web 3.0 (Mat Zago)

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Characteristics of Web 3.0 

Most of us find it difficult to define in exact terms, but it can be effectively broken down into unique components. 

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Semantic Web

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The semantic web enhances the capabilities of the current online infrastructure by producing and connecting content based on a comprehension of words. Context is key and used in search and analysis instead of keywords and numbers. 

Source: The Semantic Web Stack Connectivity 

Thanks to semantic metadata, Web 3.0 achieves greater connectivity. By leveraging all available data, the user experience improves. 

• Artificial Intelligence: Web 3.0 technology has the ability to process information similarly to how humans do. Platforms can better meet user needs as a result of ongoing learning
• 3D Capabilities: Many Web 3.0 platforms are already using three-dimensional design. For now, only a few potential use cases include computer games, e-commerce applications, and mapping software 
• Ubiquitous: Every device connects to the web, all content is accessible by multiple apps and associated services are available everywhere in the decentralised Web 3.0 ecosystem

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The role of blockchain in Web3

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From simple observations regarding web 3.0, it becomes apparent how important blockchain technology will be. Blockchain entered the scene as a powerful force, and its unique characteristics revolutionised traditional business operations. Decentralisation, however, is the key characteristic of blockchain that makes it a perfect basis for web 3.0. A new type of internet is required because of the prevalent problems associated with web 2.0, particularly centralised management and data integrity worries. 

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Web 3.0 or web3 will allow consumers access to a more free and open internet.

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Recently, blockchain technology and the usage of smart contracts is being considered as a solution for creating, maintaining, and sharing built assets. 

Alongside safety, countries globally are also considering climate change by applying building emissions regulations within building guidelines. Design and construction regulations that improve the energy efficiency of buildings are crucial to limit global warming to 1.5°C before the end of the century if we are to achieve net-zero. Some of the regulations that have been promised by governments in China, across Europe and the United States are quite ambitious. 

How are different countries taking action? 

China, the largest global emitter of CO2, has pledged to reach peak emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2060. According to the Green Buildings Performance Network (GBPN), ¨China’s central and local governments have recognized the urgent need to improve building energy efficiency, through the adoption of both regulatory policies (i.e., building codes) and market-based and financial policies (i.e., building energy labels and incentives)”.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which is focused on Europe, is the foundation of the EU’s building energy regulations. It includes the “development of national Long-Term Renovation Strategies (LTRS) for the decarbonization of building stock by 2050, setting minimum performance requirements at cost-optimal levels for buildings undergoing major renovation and meeting the Nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB).” 

State and local governments in the US have the option to adopt one of the national model energy codes, which establish the minimum standards for the energy-efficient design and construction of new buildings as well as for renovations. In the US, buildings account for 39 per cent of energy use and two-thirds of electricity. 

The goal of these regulations is to work toward carbon neutrality while fostering climate awareness and encouraging investment in clean technologies and data collection. 

Our ebook about Blockchain and regulations explains how blockchain will play a role in design and construction regulations, and how it will power and maintain the safety of residents over time, as well as help to tackle climate change.

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What is a Green Building? 

Any building or structure of any kind can be a structure of green construction, better called green building.

Green buildings typically include efficient use of energy particularly renewable energy, such as solar energy, water, and other resources, measures to reduce pollution and waste, the ability to reuse and recycle, good environmental air quality indoor, use of non-toxic and sustainable materials, environmentally friendly design, construction and operation methods that enable adaptation to a changing environment and last but not least the quality of life of building’s occupants. 

The construction industry is known for being conservative. It’s among the least digitised sectors, but also one of the most wasteful, generating 35 per cent of the global landfill mass. However, the need for new buildings is more urgent than ever due to the rise of urbanisation and population growth. 

Construction is vulnerable to disruption as a result of these challenges and the urgent need for innovation and digital transformation. Blockchain can help. 

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More Ethical, Greener, and Cheaper Buildings 

Even though people are becoming more conscious of environmentally friendly techniques, sustainable construction has yet to become mainstream, and blockchain can contribute to a global acceleration of this process. 

Blockchain has the potential to serve as the building materials passport. Developers will be able to better address sustainability issues by using the information about each construction product to estimate a building's life cycle, reduce its environmental impact, or recycle materials. 

Project managers will also be able to determine whether raw materials or products come from ethical sources. Blockchain can therefore be a powerful factor in driving the circular economy in construction and encouraging positive behaviour change. 

Digital transformation as a necessary next step 

The need for a more digitalised model in the construction industry has been extensively documented, acknowledging that while the industry is aware of a shift towards digitalisation, implementation remains complicated. 

Less than six per cent of construction companies take advantage of digital tools, and 100 per cent of companies that deal with building materials believe that they have not yet reached their full digital potential, according to a Roland Berger report on digitalization in the European construction industry. This is a reality despite the fact that 93% of industry participants believe that digital solutions will eventually affect every step of the process.

Another report on Digitalisation of the Construction Industry published by Oliver Wyman, an international management consulting firm, affirms that digitalisation offers various ways to increase operational efficiency, and “provides a great opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects.” 

The UNE’s 2020 report, “BIM: Standardisation of digital information for the planning, construction and management of buildings and civil engineering projects,” outlines the advantages of implementing digital processes and technologies in the construction sector, including: 

● optimising goals and improving the quality of the end product 

● enhancing competitiveness 

● allowing new functionalities that improve infrastructure 

● ensuring consistency and interoperability between organisations 

● lowering costs 

● reducing environmental impact 

It is obvious that digital transformation is an important strategy that helps construction organisations reduce their environmental impact while also streamlining their operations and boosting productivity. In this way, administrative digitalisation technologies can assist businesses to optimise internal operations, manage construction contracts more efficiently, and reduce or completely eliminate paper processes. 

Accelerating digital information and building through Blockchain, the golden thread of information will speed up the culture change needed in the construction sector. Digital transformation will help drive accountability, transparency and compliance in the industry, which in turn, will help it to meet sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements while increasing operational efficiency.

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The UK Government’s review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety (Hackitt, 2018) identified a series of failings in the construction sector including ambiguous and inconsistent regulations and standards; lack of clarity of roles, responsibilities and enforcement of regulations and standards; poor product testing; and failure to address building occupants’ concerns around health and safety. This thorough review resulted in two major recommendations: the need for far greater traceability and a digital record to provide the golden thread of information. 

The ability to ensure availability and access to the right information in the right format at the right time is crucial for successful operations within the construction sector. Information quality is as important as information traceability as this is the  information that drives decision-making. 

Understanding “The Golden Thread” 

Contractors in the UK have talked about "the golden thread" for a while now, but what exactly is it? It is the idea of having an exhaustive audit trail that spans the whole lifecycle of a construction project, from sourcing materials to project completion and maintenance. 

Identification, collaboration and clarity before, during and after a project are key to the golden thread being successful. 

Going further, the Golden Thread report from the UK Government talks about the need for a ‘Single source of truth’ by bringing all information together in a single place and recording changes in full. Blockchain technology can address this need for good.

Blockchain technology can provide a solution that not only brings together all of the relevant information but can ensure regulatory compliance. 

How does blockchain apply?

Firstly, all information should be stored digitally to achieve the golden thread. Contractors, subcontractors and asset owners have long kept records and copies of relevant safety, supplier, and project information. However, the disconnect between a main contractor and its subcontractor’s supplier, for example, would mean that these audit trails are rendered useless when retrospective action is needed. 

To ensure a golden thread, all information needs to be stored digitally. Long-standing records and copies of safety, supplier, and project data are preserved by contractors, subcontractors, and asset owners. Moving this information to digital formats and connected workflows via blockchain, allows information to easily be updated and viewed as necessary. 

The more transparent, real-time and collaborative a project can be, the more beneficial the golden thread can be for everyone. Using the golden thread can, in turn  reap benefits beyond increased safety and quality - such as time and cost-saving. 

What can organisations do now to prepare themselves for the changes ahead? 

Given the way information is now stored and used, the golden thread concept—data flowing through the many stages of a building's life and acquiring more related data along the way—seems challenging to implement. When data is organised and stored separately and independently, it does not flow so easily between parties - making it difficult for all to have clear visibility. 

Due to the fact that there are different tools for various stages of the development lifecycle, it makes it arduous for the software or system supplier to export data. Or the party that created the data, and hence was likely the owner of the data at that time, might desire to retain that data for commercial reasons. 

Managing such a high supply chain, keeping track of work, schedules, costs and payments takes enormous effort and requires enormous resources. Construction projects have to deal with different forms of mistakes, delays, and accidents at different stages. 

These key points are areas where blockchain can make a difference and make these processes more efficient, transparent and accountable for all parties involved in the project. 

At Finboot we are committed to the adoption of DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) to support digitalisation in the construction industry and enable solutions to many of its challenges.

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If you want to know more about Blockchain in Construction industry, check out Finboot's ebook 📘 Blockchain and regulations - a digital transformation in the construction industry.

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The Sixth Annual Blockchain in Oil and Gas Conference, Houston, Texas at the Hilton Americas was a big event in a big state!  

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Many companies – including all the big players – were represented here.  Finboot’s client Repsol was one of large oil and gas companies which had representatives here:  

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It has been great to be at the Sixth Annual Blockchain in Oil and Gas Conference, Houston, Texas the past two days (Sep 14 - 15).  

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A key focus of this year’s conference was how blockchain technology can enable carbon tracking and mitigation – which is a huge driver for oil and gas companies today.  This driver comes from consumer, political and regulatory pressure and the desire of the industry to do the right thing to help fight climate change.  

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Blockchain technology is helping to supercharge the oil and gas industry’s digital transformation.  Blockchain helps maximise company efficiencies and puts downward pressure on costs and a time of rising costs elsewhere in the supply chain.

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Me (Paris) and others Finboot colleagues (Juan, CEO and Noslen, Business Development Manager) had good conversations with a range of attendees about the benefits and advantages that blockchain brings. 

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From some of these conversations and from what I saw these 2 days in the event,it becomes clear that the oil and gas sector is under huge pressure to be greener and reduce its prices in the face of global inflation.  Blockchain is a large part of the solution but we still found some barriers for adoption of blockchain to address some of the challenges of the oil and gas industry, such as streamline their operations, reduce costs, and enhance development opportunities through sustainable practices.

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 I will summarise the main barriers for adoption into 3 main challenges: 

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1- ¨Education¨ which has to do with the fact that many recent problems in the ¨crypto¨ world gave a bad reputation to the technology, but it really has nothing to do with the technology solution itself, but how some people use it.

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2- ¨Legacy systems¨, there is a natural resistance into substituting the old known ERPs and supply chain systems technologies out there to this new concept of distributed data. 

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3 - ¨Willingness¨, and last but not least the point would be, who are the early adopters and how different players and stakeholders get into the same ecosystem to share and work together. 

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But we can see the industry and companies evolving and leading into this new digital era.

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From what I saw in the Lone Star State the industry is willing to embrace this technology.  This gives me hope for a cleaner, greener, more efficient and lower priced, energy future.  

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If you want to know more about how blockchain can help the energy industry overcome the fundamental challenges of Energy transition, Decarbonization and Net-zero Emissions, please contact us.

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I leave you readers with some great pics from this event!

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Paris Dufrayer

16 September 2022

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We are pleased to announce our participation in the 6th Annual Blockchain in Oil and Gas Conference - Texas, held in partnership with Blockchain for Energy on September 14-15, 2022.

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The world’s only Blockchain-focused event in oil and gas is returning to Houston for the sixth consecutive year. It’s an opportunity to join hundreds of thought leaders, executives, and researchers from across the industry and will gather operators, service companies, EPCs, and industry stakeholders invested in transforming the future of oil and gas through Blockchain technology. The conference will highlight opportunities to create industry solutions and guidelines, leveraging blockchain technology to reduce costs, improve timelines and eliminate disputes in any given process.  

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A key focus of the 2022 conference will be blockchain as an enabler for carbon tracking and mitigation - the key generational driver for oil and gas companies today.   

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Advancing toward a net zero emissions future is one of the biggest challenges — if not the biggest — facing humanity today and the clock is ticking loudly. The oil and gas industry must take a leadership role by not only reducing its own carbon footprint but transforming the global energy systems.  

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Different oil and gas companies will decarbonise at different speeds. Digitalisation will not only accelerate the passage, but also provide proof of the quality of their transition.  

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Juan Miguel Perez Rosas, CEO, Finboot, will share his thoughts on the future of the #blockchain in the #oil and gas industry on Day 2 at the “Blockchain, Cleantech and the road to Net Zero”, session.  

Our team will be attending the event to catch up with clients and exchange ideas on solving ESG challenges with #blockchain solutions. We will also count with our Advisor Geoffrey Cann attending our booth, who will be signing some of his books. Geoffrey is a highly regarded author, publisher, broadcaster and independent adviser for digital transformation in the oil and gas sector.

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Please come and say hello at #BlockchainHouston22 and we can discuss the exciting future of the oil and gas industry. 

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‍Register here to join us with 20% Discount:

https://blockchain-oilandgas.energyconferencenetwork.com/bcog2022/register?code=FINSP 

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We’re excited to announce that Thomas Iseler has joined the Finboot family as our new North America Partnerships & Business Advisor for the United States and Canada.

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Thomas brings 30 years of experience leading marketing, product management and business development organisations for multimillion-dollar, global organisations across diverse customer communities and industries. Thomas is an expert in developing new businesses, alliances and partner ecosystems utilising multi-channel programs across global geographies and varied product mixes.

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In his new role, he will be responsible for initiating and forming new partnerships, managing existing partnerships and maintaining relationships with local, regional, and national stakeholders. His responsibilities will also include planning and executing business strategies, advising on projects and marketing and performing risk analysis.

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He will be a key member of the international Finboot team as it continues its growth plans and targets other sectors and global geographies. Finboot recently added SABIC to its growing list of world class customers, which includes Amey, Iberia, Repsol and Stahl. 

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Thomas says: “I am delighted to be joining Finboot at this exciting time as it expands further, into new continents. I was attracted to the company’s ambition, mission and world class clients. I look forward to growing Finboot’s network, partners and customer base across the United States and Canada”.

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Paris Dufrayer, Finboot’s Chief Revenue Officer, commented: “We are excited to not only expand our team by welcoming Thomas, but also our international footprint. It has been a very positive year and we are pleased to be accelerating our growth plans to explore opportunities in new markets. Thomas brings fantastic experience and network to enable us to do this.”

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Please join us in welcoming Thomas Iseler to the Finboot family!

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CARDIFF, UK, Tuesday August 9th, 2022 – Amey Consulting has entered into a partnership with Finboot to develop a blockchain solution using its MARCO platform to cut conflict-associated costs in the rail industry. 

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Conflicts cost the rail industry billions of pounds each year. A successful blockchain solution could not only eliminate costs through improved operational efficiency but also improve safety and customer satisfaction. There are also likely environmental benefits with improved railway reliability leading to less emissions. 

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Juan Miguel Perez, CEO, Finboot says: "At Finboot we've been looking at how blockchain can act as the backbone of a digital solution for the complex requirements of Access Planning. To have the opportunity to explore and develop this with Amey, a leader in the railway industry, it's a great opportunity for us.

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“We are excited by the potential of how we can bring added transparency and real-time visibility to such an important process within the sector. We look forward to where this goes next, and we are convinced that the potential is huge."

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Tom Kinnear, Partner at Amey Strategic Consulting, said: “Blockchain has the potential to unlock collaboration across our industry, something which is really needed in our sector. 

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“The work we have done with Finboot has enabled us to explore the benefits and also demonstrated the safety and efficiency case behind the technology. We’re excited about the value it can provide in the future.”

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Technology Connected, a Welsh Government funded organisation which unifies and promotes Welsh technology across the world, is supporting the project. The Finboot MARCO blockchain solution has been tested and verified with subject matter experts, with the next stage being the live test of a minimum viable product on Wales’ railways.

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With pressure from all stakeholders scrutinizing brands on sustainability and environmentalism a material revolution is required to combat the global waste crisis and climate change. 

The chemical industry has long been a contributor and responsible for carbon-neutral targets, in addition to circular society technologies due to chemical prevalence in almost all manufactured goods. 

Material procurement and traceability are becoming ever more important. Circular economies cannot be created without traceability. 

The Solution for the Chemical Industry?.... The ‘’Mass Balance’’ approach. 

The mass balance approach allows manufacturers to know what percentage of their product is sustainable. 

What are the drawbacks? 

Scepticism as to whether the mass balance approach promotes circularity due to a lack of standardization and overly complicated systems has made it complicated to ensure that renewables are being used. 

Can the blockchain help us prove sourced materials are really circular and certified sustainable? 

The mass balance approach alone promotes recycled/renewable material accountability. However, blockchain technology aids with the certification of sustainable material uses, mass balance principles and trust/visibility due to its decentralized nature and immutability. 

What is circularity and why is it so important in the chemical industry? 

Whilst climate change, waste and pollution are purely environmental issues; a circular economy aims to benefit business, society and the environment as a whole; splitting growth from the consumption of finite resources. 

How a circular economy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions: 

● Extending the lifespan of existing materials. 

● Reducing waste. 

● Boosting economic growth. 

Pressure from The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has resulted in companies exploring methods of waste and carbon reduction via loop-closing

environmentally friendly materials. Chemical companies are adopting circular economy business models in collaboration with universities and startups, accelerating circularity. 

What’s the catch? 

Many chemical businesses site expense as a primary concern. A result of challenges posed from such a dramatic shift. Already tight profit margins would be squeezed further, as every aspect of production would have to be altered. 

Other factors ‘out of the hands’ of any one chemical business include a dependency on appropriate recycling/emissions-capture facilities, as well as the nature of the product itself. 

How can we ease the transition to circularity? Mass Balance 

The mass balance approach is one of five common Chain of Custody Models (COCs), developed to incentivize the adoption of recycled feedstock, while easing the strain on profit margins. 

Essentially, the Mass Balance model mixes used materials with specified characteristics with other materials without the same characteristics, resulting in output proportional to the input. 

The purpose is to allow chemical manufacturers to gradually phase out fossil materials for more environmentally friendly alternatives. 

Independent audits throughout the transition check the origin and quantity of renewable feedstock, enabling certification. 

What are the benefits? 

An estimation must firstly be made as to the amount of waste generated by any one business. The quantity calculated is based on inputs, outputs and stock levels. A key benefit is how easily the calculations can be made, so long as the data is provided in common units. 

Other benefits include: 

● Ease of implementation and the negation of new factories/plants. ● The Mass balance approach benefits from genuine CO2 emission savings. ● An assurance that the new materials are of an equal quality. 

● The data required is available through national statistics and invoices, amongst others. 

Is this all just greenwashing? 

Although one of the key features of the mass balance approach is to allow traceability, it struggles to deal with the demand for proof, due to;

Lack of standardization: 

The fact that there is no requirement for segregation machinery allows organizations flexibility in the amount of renewable feedstock reported throughout the process. 

Lack of digitalization: 

As most of the processes used for mass balance have been developed in house, they are open to errors, and are cumbersome. 

Said systems were not designed to be scaled and implemented throughout the supply chain, leading to issues with confidentiality and security 

Traceability challenges: 

The mass balance approach doesn’t track chemicals themselves, rather volumes in and volumes out. 

Can new technologies be leveraged to ensure reliability, efficiency and transparency? BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY POWERING MASS BALANCE But what is blockchain? 

Blockchain is a digital database that records all transactions. 

Blockchain uniquely links (or chains) new transactions to the previous one, making tamper and falsification impossible. 

What are the benefits of a blockchain-based COC for chemical businesses? Increased traceability with tokens: 

Tokens are a way to digitalize a physical asset. As a physical product moves the token will move along with it. Each transaction or mineral is attached to the previous, making the process completely tamper-proof, visible and traceable. 

Transparency through decentralization and distribution type: 

The decentralized nature of blockchain means that all participants have the same control, and power over the data. 

The distribution of data is shared with all participants identically, synchronized in real-time. In the case of the chemical industry members have full transparency across the entire supply chain. 

Smart contracts eradicate greenwashing:

Smart contracts are digital contracts that self-execute under specific conditions, mutually agreed upon by participants. 

Smart contracts limit the risk of double accounting. Suppliers in the chemical industry would not be able to claim a specific amount of renewable feedstock different to records previously registered. 

Learn more about implementing the mass balance approach through blockchain here! 

Be sure to follow FinbootTech on Twitter and LinkedIn for updates on new technology promoting transparent circularity in the chemical industry.

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In the past year and a half, the global COVID-19 pandemic put a stress test on many industries like never before. Digital transformation has been underway for quite some time, particularly in the food industry, but certainly skyrocketed during a period of lockdowns and consumer shift. 

The impact of consumer behaviour 

In response to the growing consumer demand, suppliers and manufacturers are starting to follow ethical and sustainable practices. The demand for organic food has been increasing in recent years, mainly due to health benefits. Other factors such as an improved distribution chain and increased consumer income has led to this growth. Moreover, the onset of the pandemic has given the organic food industry a significant boost. A global health crisis not only puts a spotlight on consumer health, it has increased the accessibility to online delivery platforms.  

Much more than that, the food industry has long been plagued with issues such as wastage, unethical agricultural and labour practices and corruption. As national conversations shed light on these issues, consumers are now demanding more from their suppliers than just food. 

From here, we find a rise in regulations, with more on the horizon, for ensuring that the industry is held to a societal standard. Along with safety precautions being a key area of focus, a reduced workforce also poses challenges in production and management.  

New systems and business models have to be put in place to ensure continuity and survival of food suppliers under the watchful eyes of consumers and the law. Many key players in manufacturing have also established a set of sustainable goals to work towards a better future. This brings about the question: in this new environment, what’s keeping businesses accountable and close to their goals? 

Digital transformation in the food industry 

Across the globe, digitisation accelerated seven years faster than predicted before. B2B and B2C businesses were ramping up their digital operations and pivoting to online channels faster than ever. The food industry was not spared from this tremendous upheaval. From working on sustainable sourcing and farming, to implementing digital tools and ensuring that all stakeholders are better connected, this change of mind came as a result of a large paradigm shift in the food industry. 

The implementation of technology and digital tools for improving traceability and positively impacted efficiency in the food supply chain. Much of these operations, like safety control, are traditionally conducted manually and prone to human error. By digitising the manufacturing process, the food industry is able to leverage digital means such as machinery or ‘digital product passports’ to validate food safety and ESG compliance. For one, digital product passports include all the information about the components of a product and additional information, enabling long-term control and transparency in production.  

Leveraging on new concepts and digital tools, the food industry can lower instances of food fraud, boost operational efficiency and scalability, and stick to ESG objectives. 

Realising value and building trust through blockchain 

It is time that the burgeoning food industry takes the steps towards sustainable agriculture, reducing carbon footprint and its impact on the environment. The pressure on the industry, from regulators and society, highlights a need for initiative and building trust between supplier and consumer. As the demand for transparency increases, enterprises need to have tangible and reliable proof of an ethical supply chain. 

By using blockchain-powered solutions to back their operations, food manufacturers can map and trace data on their supply chain, and provide this data whenever they are required to. At its core, blockchain technology greatly improves supply chain management by centralizing the flow of data and enhancing traceability on a secure network.  

Otherwise known as the “trust platform”, it uses a shared ledger to provide a single source of truth that cannot be duplicated or edited elsewhere. Especially when it involves a large number of parties, blockchain essentially streamlines the food supply chain and uses data-backed evidence to build trust. 

Amidst a paradigm shift in the food industry, there are new opportunities to tap into to improve the industry and its macro-environment. With new technologies such as blockchain, agricultural suppliers now have a highly-scalable, cost-efficient solution to enhance their supply chain.   

Finboot is a world-class blockchain application for enterprises to boost transparency and traceability, bringing value to consumers and stakeholders. By providing corporations with a reliable source of data, Finboot can bring real-time results and evidence for companies to verify and be accountable to their sustainable goals and future-proof them against an increasingly digital world. 

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NOTE: this article was originally published on Aug 2nd by Global Banking & Finance Review

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To truly make the transition to a low carbon economy enterprises must change their operations, helped in part by setting and implementing goals around ESG to not only minimize risk but also create business value. There is a strong business case for investment in sustainability practices and it is now expected for investors, consumers, and employees.

However, ESG goals are only meaningful both to the individual company and to the global effort to move to net zero if they are backed by data from the outset and they can be reported on consistently over time. Not only by the leading companies, but the majority of companies. Not only in their immediate operations, but through their entire supply chain.

If a company wishes to implement ESG goals, it must consider its approach to data, tools and transparency as enablers that will work for them, that can extend through their supply chain, and that will work today and tomorrow.

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Data first

More often that we’d like, companies set goals before knowing the details of what can they deliver and what would be aligned with their business strategy. To determine what goals to set, the company can draw a Venn Diagram of Climate Impacts:  assess its operations broadly and decide what parts of its operations it can control change; where is it required to manage change; and which parts are important to change.  

We know the latter from the IPCC reports, what we need to do to move to a climate friendly world. Clean energy and energy efficiency in manufacturing, inputs production and transportation; methane reduction in food systems and in fossil fuel use; waste reduction and circular value chains are important priorities aimed at getting after the most egregious GHG, methane, and then going for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, embedded carbon, or carbon generation through habitat change.

When areas are decided, don’t jump into collecting data, create your own approach or strategy. Take a step back and think ten years out. How will ESG data support your business growth and what data will you need then. One of the biggest insights in recent years is that ESG isn’t just about removing risk, it is about an opportunity to create business value, whether through building a new business that thrives on demand for renewable energy, or developing regenerative agriculture processes that both yield crops at the same time as tourism benefits, or creating product offerings to meet consumer demand for sustainability.

Over time, this link is likely to get stronger. So, build a data system that allows you to integrate your ESG data. And develop a data strategy or approach to integrating your data in a system that allows simple management, insight development from, and reporting based on the data.

Then figure out your tools. Use tools that are going to help you today and tomorrow. Like capital investments, data systems are hard to switch out, becoming ingrained in company culture and therefore are durable investments. Separate, arcane systems of data management on environmental or social compliance, relying on excels or pdfs in disparate computers or even information filled in on paper, won’t allow you you benefit from the ESG business opportunities and will severly hamper your reporting requirements. For companies early in this transition, there is a huge opportunity to leapfrog by thinking through your data strategy and tools. Investing in data tools and tech to collect and store the data will enable companies to accurately record and report on progress towards achieving their goals.

Try to make those tools fit for the increased transparency and responsibility requirements coming our way. Companies need to give consideration to how they implement systems that can be used across supply chains. Many farmers, mill managers, or factory leaders don’t have the digital capability or the tools today to enable big brands to report meaningfully and accurately on their supply chain. Yet investors are requiring insights into operations and banks are including reporting requirements as part of the terms of their loans. With the European Supply Chain Due Diligence Directive proposal adopted in February this year and the requirement of compliance with human rights and environmental standards, so are regulators.

Investors don’t want to lose big money due to ESG risk, so if companies can’t show their operations comply, they may be divested off. Soon, when we figure out how to leverage the growing interest – not just in word but in action now – of consumers in sustainable products, those with data systems that can allow insight into key ESG criteria will be able to catch the attention of consumers.

At the same time, there is significant distrust in the data by regulators, banks and investors, according to PwC. But here, emergcing tech like Blockchain can be part of the solution. Don’t think this is too new or too complicated. It’s a data repository with excellent functions. Digital acceleration and Blockchain specifically will be key in enabling data collection at all levels in the supply chain and in doing so, driving accountability. Investing in technology not only helps reduce emissions at a company level, but it also offers a trusted, traceable and reliable way to record and monitor data.

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. While there are legitimate concerns over data now, if we can quickly amass data in tools that allow comparability quickly, over time we can see outliers and data collection can be improved across the entire supply chain. It will also allow us to standardize our data, so they can be comparable both over time and across a sector or sectors.

Eventually this information rolls up into the IPCCs accounting. Have we increased or decreased the amount of GHGs in the air. Governments are tracking this and they are relying upon corporates to track it, including in their supply chain. To minimize double counting, Article 6.2 of the IPCC report creates ITMOs. Many today are pushing for these transactions to be made on B lockchain (e.g., Blockchain for Climate Change).

Setting a precedent

At the same time, shining a light on supply chain practices and company operations leaves fewer places to hide for those companies doing more harm than good. Reliable data will not only offer a true and accurate reflection of a company’s practices, but it also sifts out those involved in greenwashing and jumping on the sustainability bandwagon as a marketing tool.

Over time, exposure, expectations and universally accepted standards will force high standards and qualities – which can only be a good thing.

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NOTE: this article was originally published on Aug 2nd by Global Banking & Finance Review

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We’re excited to announce that Flavia Sales has joined the Finboot family as a Marketing Specialist. 

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With more than a decade of experience working in marketing, sales and customer service roles in tech, retail and services companies including Panda Security, Teleperformance and Leadtech, Flavia will be a key part of growing our world class client base. 

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Flavia’s role will see her focused on digital and content marketing, branding and communications management. As part of the marketing team she will be responsible for leading and contributing to projects that increase brand awareness, client engagement and lead generation. 

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As a member of the marketing team, she will actively collaborate with the sales and product teams.

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Flavia Sales commented: “Finboot is a great company that I’m proud to now be part of. Its blockchain platform, MARCO, is helping our clients accelerate their digital transformation while improving the tracking and setting of ESG goals while gaining competitive advantage. There is a lot to learn but I am relishing the challenge and can’t wait to get fully integrated.”

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Paris Dufrayer, Finboot’s Chief Revenue Officer, commented: “Flavia is a well rounded marketing specialist with lots of experience in the discipline and beyond, and we are delighted to welcome her to our marketing team. Like the rest of the Finboot family, she has a real entrepreneurial spirit and is both strategic and hands on. It’s been an incredibly busy period for us as the business goes from strength to strength and continues to build its enviable client base.”

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Please join us in welcoming Flavia to the family and I’m sure you’ll see more from her soon!

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The explosion of the craze for digital artworks known as NFTs

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NFTs, or "non-fungible tokens," have recently taken the world by storm. The history of NFTs really begins with the history of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin in particular. It started with a picture posted on the internet and ended in an extravagant cryptocurrency bidding war. 

Let's go all the way back to the financial crisis of 2008. When the Federal Reserve was bailing out banks and printing all this money, trying to stabilize the economy, this mysterious document appeared on an email list: a proposal for this new form of digital money called Bitcoin. 

Fungible means you can exchange one for any other. Dollars are fungible because I can trade $1 and I have the same spending power with your dollar as I had with my dollar. Something like an artwork is non fungible because there is only one of them. If I have a Renaissance painting, I'm 

not going to exchange it for a poster of that painting because mine is the original. It is more valuable. And why would I give you my painting? 

Creating a certificate of authenticity in the Internet 

We now have the ability to create just one of something on the Internet. Before this, the things that were on the Internet were infinitely copyable. If you had a song or a photo, you could copy and paste that any number of times. And each copy would be exactly the same and totally indistinguishable from any other copy. What the Ethereum blockchain allows people to do is to stamp these digital objects with a certificate of authenticity that says that this is the original of this item. And you can’t copy or fake the digital signature attached to that item. 

The NFT is a token that represents one thing. When you have an NFT of an image or video clip, the NFT is not the image or video clip itself. It is the certificate of authenticity that is attached to that thing. We can also assign value to that original and see the full purchase and sale history of that original item. 

A real market of infinite possibilities 

In 2017, after years of people thinking about the theoretical possibility of NFTs, people started creating them: you have songs, music videos, even tweets of Lindsay Lohan's face or crypto punks, which is this set of characters from cartoons that people treated as digital action figures. Others would take memes, like popular graphics, turn them into NFTs and sell them. Later in 2020, they really exploded. 

A clip of a LeBron James became an NFT and was sold for more than $200,000. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, sold his first tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million. People are really willing to pay for these tokens, these digital certificates of authenticity. 

We can classify NFT use cases into two categories: 

1. Tokenization of intangible assets 

2. Representation of physical assets in the digital world. 

Tokenization of Intellectual Property rights 

Patents, licenses and intellectual property assets are among the most valuable illiquid transferable assets. Blockchain and NFT enable a smooth exchange of assets by creating efficient mechanisms for the open and secure property rights transfer. With NFTs, we can trade and leverage intellectual property assets on the blockchain. 

NFT for supply chain management 

There are many use cases of NFT in supply chain management. 

One of the biggest challenges in supply chain management is verifying product authenticity. A brand name is an asset with a specific value for consumers and businesses. Blockchain technology represents physical goods, such as branded accessories, clothing, and more. NFTs are used to determine ownership of products and who is responsible for this item at any given time. 

Use cases can include:

● Tracking heavy (+30kg) packages. With NFTs, a token for each package can be created. There will be an identified owner with a package at each stage, and no package will be lost. 

● In the automotive industry, NFTs are created to represent digital identity for any part of the vehicle such as engines, microchips, or batteries. This identity includes location, ownership, temperature, responsible party, etc. 

NFTs in finance 

The financial industry can take full advantage of this technology by implementing fast, cost-effective and error-free ways to verify bond insurance, prevent fraud and manage debt. Finance is an industry that needs better tools to verify the provenance of business contracts, so NFTs are perfect for asset ownership proving and confirming the existence of an insurance policy or title record. 

Live Events 

The $15.9 Billion second market for event tickets has become a paradise for event promoters and fans around the world. Second-hand ticket sites are mired in unreasonable prices, scams, and bad actors of all kinds. Meanwhile, promoters rarely see a penny of profit from ticket sales that follow their hard work and investment. Some players like TicketSwap and Tixel have tried to fix the problem with AI fraud detection algorithms and strict price controls. But the bad actors seem to find a way around every barrier. 

NFT tickets can be validated and tracked back to the original creator to ensure authenticity. Additionally, NFT tickets can be used for virtual and metaverse events, along with proof of attendance. Event promoters are watching closely as ticketing platforms seek to solve the problems that come along with this new paradigm. 

Art, luxury brands and sports 

Applications for NFTs that have taken off are primarily in the collectibles, art, gaming and virtual worlds. Early use cases include Cryptopunks, which are 24×24 pixel art images that are algorithmically generated, and Crypto Kitties, a virtual game. Other examples include: 

● An NFT collage by digital artist Beeple that sold for $69 million in March 2021 ● A digital image of a New York Times column, which sold at a charity auction for $560,000 in cryptocurrency

● Ditto Music's placement of NFTs on its blockchain platform Bluebox to allow purchasing shares in songs 

Bottom Line 

With the popularity of NFTs growing, we will see more development in this field and not only will this provide ease of use for many services, but it will also increase transparency on many transactions, especially when it comes to ownership of tangible properties such as real estate, artworks, or even an idea. 

The growing use of blockchain will also fuel the adoption of NFTs in the future as a secondary measure for storing personal data on blockchain or selecting a crypto address. So, NFTs can definitely spell a future where people can use blockchain in daily tasks without realizing their involvement. 

For more blockchain insights, make sure to follow FinbootTech on Twitter and Linkedin!

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Using blockchain to achieve a sustainable battery supply chain 

The electric vehicle (EV) has arrived. With it comes a vast opportunity, but also a major challenge: how to build an ethical and sustainable supply chain. With the number of used electric vehicle batteries set to grow exponentially, we must take action now to ensure circular life cycle management. Monitoring and tracing workflows tools on the blockchain are emerging as a sustainable solution. 

Car manufacturers – and governments – have set their sights on the end of fossil fuel mobility and are working towards better battery life cycle management. Electric vehicle manufacturers have acknowledged the need to map lithium-ion batteries, so they can be reused for energy storage or recycled for metals recovery. 

The global stockpile of used lithium-ion (Li-Ion) electric vehicle batteries is expected to grow exponentially, from around 14 GWh, or 102,000 tonnes in 2020 to more than 7.8 million tonnes per year globally by 2040. 

Blockchain technology could enable the transport and power sectors to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030, on track to meet the 2°C goal of the Paris Agreement. According to the World Economic Forum, the battery revolution could create 10 million jobs, add $150 billion to the global economy and provide electricity to 600 million people for the first time. 

Some market forecasts expect that by 2040, more than half of all auto sales will be electric: an incredible level of penetration from just 1 per cent in 2017. 

By 2040, 33 percent of the global car fleet will be electric (Source: Bloomberg)

Securing a sustainable supply through blockchain 

In the face of climate change and rising consumer expectations around sustainable resource management, the pressure is growing to show meaningful change. 

When batteries are sourced, manufactured and recycled responsibly, they will fuel sustainable development. Finboot helps clients and partners to achieve traceability through Track & Trace and maximize the life cycle value of products such as portable electronics and EV batteries. Our tracking solution drives transparency along clients’ supply chains to enable traceability in a secure platform. 

The battery value chain provides a fascinating test case for the supportive environment needed in a circular economy. Rapidly falling technology costs are creating major opportunities to reduce waste. 

Tracking cobalt presents many challenges, as scores of informal mine sites would have to be monitored, every player in the supply chain would need to buy into the scheme, and accurate, electronic data would need to be transmitted from remote areas. 

With lithium it has been a different story. Here miners are looking for development capital and are therefore more open to deals. In attracting potential investment, proactive use of blockchain has the potential to benefit these miners through demonstrating compliance with best practice from a sustainability and environmental perspective. Blockchain allows for the permanent and immutable transparent recording of data, enabling a precise audit process. The raw materials are given a digital fingerprint that is then tracked, enabling mapping in terms of sustainability, environmental and ethical compliance. 

Use of blockchain for an improved ethical and sustainable supply chain - an example 

Back in 2020, Diamond giant De Beers successfully launched a pilot to train and equip artisanal diamond miners in Sierra Leone before authenticating and buying their production. The test allowed for artisanal miners to have a route to market that will offer them better prices, while De Beers gained additional supply and consumers can have the confidence that the product they are buying is free from many of the negative connotations of small-scale mining. 

Last May, De Beers announced it had successfully tracked its first diamonds from mine to store using blockchain technology. Providing consumers with confidence that registered diamonds are natural and conflict free, improve visibility and trust within the industry and enhance efficiencies across the entire diamond value chain.

How blockchain works in the diamond industry (Source: Tech Guru) 

1. Keep a record of high-resolution photos of each diamond at every touchpoint along its journey. 

2. Track real-time records of every payment transaction. 

3. Maintain product details like cut, clarity, color, carat, and diamond serial numbers. 4. Hold certificates of authenticity. 

To combat the growing need, Finboot has developed this battery traceability platform, or ‘battery passport’, for the industry. 

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Secured by blockchain technology, Track & Trace allows EV manufacturers to track and report the lifetime journey of each battery, demonstrating its sustainable management from first use to repurposing and, eventually, responsible recycling. 

Future or present problem? 

The danger of end-of-life batteries being downcycled and then disposed of in landfill, is not only unsustainable but also highly unsafe. 

The long-term ambition is to create a regulated market whereby raw materials are recycled or whole units repurposed into energy storage batteries. 

Government support and regulation will prove crucial in creating a new circular economy for large batteries. In Europe, the European Commission has taken future-focused measures to regulate the expected 14-fold growth in EV and portable batteries over the next decade, as part of its European Green Deal to achieve climate neutrality and zero pollution targets by 2050. Their Circular Economy Action Plan will standardize the battery industry to ensure that all products placed on the EU market become sustainable along their entire life cycle. 

Finboot’s Track & Trace 

The Track & Trace tool provides reliable information and data on every life stage of the battery. The digital tool is expected to track the management of social and environmental risks in an EV battery’s life and producers should prepare for it now. Track & Trace is a solution for companies to prepare for the future requirements of legislators and consumers.

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• SABIC’s consortium blockchain pilot project is a collaboration with technology company Finboot, advanced recycling pioneer Plastic Energy, and packaging specialist Intraplás
• The project intends to create additional transparency and digital traceability for certified circular feedstock used in SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE^™solutions

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SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has launched a pilot project with technology company Finboot, advanced recycling pioneer Plastic Energy, and packaging specialist Intraplás to investigate the possibilities of blockchain technology in supporting end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock in customer products.

Tracing the journey of feedstock through the complex petrochemical value chain is currently a difficult undertaking. To improve this process and support the delivery of its circular feedstock to customers – part of SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio and services –, SABIC has launched this pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of using a blockchain-based, value-chain IT application. SABIC’s is the first project of its kind in the industry to trace the product from feedstock production to converter, going further than previous industry applications of blockchain in end-to-end tracing. The platform offers reduced costs, time and improved data integration for all value chain partners.

Another of the key benefits of blockchain technology in the delivery of more sustainable solutions lies in its ability to validate sustainability proof points and organizations’ ESG credentials. This is of significant benefit to all members of the value chain, including external parties, as it reduces the administrative efforts associated with the certification process of materials. It is also a more reliable process, due to the reduced risk of human error.

Waleed Al-Shalfan, Vice President Polymers Technology & Innovation at SABIC, said: “At SABIC, we have a deep commitment to innovation and technology that can help us to deliver more sustainable solutions to our customers. Our vision to create a circular economy for plastics requires a total transformation of the value chain, and pioneering partnerships with partners both upstream and downstream. Blockchain technology holds exciting potential for the provision of our TRUCIRCLE™ products to customers, and therefore for our commitment to supporting customers in their sustainability ambitions.”

Finboot’s MARCO software solution acts as middleware layer and will track the TACOIL produced by Plastic Energy from their recycling process, the delivery of this oil to SABIC for conversion into its TRUCIRCLE™

circular polymers, and finally the delivery of the polymers to Intraplás for conversion into their packaging solutions. The technology also ensures that all data gathered remains immutable while shared across suppliers, customers and regulators - providing transparency, auditability and accountability in a complex industrial ecosystem.

Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO of Finboot, commented: “We are excited to embark on this pilot as it will significantly contribute to the development and progression of a circular economy, while setting the example for best practice for the global manufacturing sector. SABIC is at the forefront of its industry, always looking to the future and investing in technology and innovation to accelerate its digital transformation that supports the circular economy.”

Marisa Alves, Chief Procurement Officer at Intraplás, added: As a global provider of packaging solutions, Intraplás has the clear ambition to make sustainable packaging broadly available to the market, without compromising the environment and food safety, something that boosted the participation on this important project with our supplier and long-term partner SABIC. The blockchain technology project will reinforce our objectives even more, as it will help us to improve performance, create additional transparency to the supply chain and promote digital traceability for our certified circular packaging. This is an Intraplás contribution, through more concretely sustainable solutions, to a real circular economy.”

Carlos Monreal, Founder and CEO of Plastic Energy commented, “As a company who has developed our own innovative technology, we at Plastic Energy are excited to explore the opportunities that new technologies like blockchain can offer. This pilot has the potential to make a big impact in the value-chain, providing a new level of traceability and transparency for recycled plastics, and demonstrating how advanced recycling can play a valuable role in the circular economy of plastics.”

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The world of technology is ever-changing and being proactive will help you stay on top of the latest trends.

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Low-code/no-code technologies have changed software development and accelerated the pace of digital transformation, addressing and resolving one of the most common problems in the information technology sector: the availability of experienced developers and engineers.

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These platforms are increasing in popularity because they allow anyone to build an application, not just programmers or developers with technical expertise, streamlining the lengthy process formerly connected with traditional coding. As those platforms and tools are readily available, low code/no-code platforms are helping companies to improve their business processes and become more agile and efficient in their digital transformation journey.

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What Is a Low Code/No-Code Platform

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You may be asking, "What is low-code/no-code?"

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Source: giphy

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Low code/no code is a programming style and software development process that requires minimal or no coding skills to create application logic; allowing users to create, manage, and deploy software applications by dragging and dropping program components instead of writing new lines of code.

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Previously, many business users struggled to meet their needs with traditional software development, as this method can be expensive and time-consuming.

Low code/no-code technology provides a solution for business users who cannot write their programs but still need them to be written (like building apps or websites).

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No code/Low code on the rise

A recent Forrester report explains the low-code market is all set to reach an annual growth rate of 40%, with spending forecasted to hit $21.2 billion in 2022.

One of the most prominent reasons for the rise of the low-code model is faster deliverability and greater innovation. In a rapidly evolving world, where digital innovation plays a critical role in business growth, speed and innovation can be complete game-changers for businesses.

Businesses should stay on top of emerging trends to survive. It is also essential to prevent them from falling behind the competition in:

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·  Digital transformation

·  Automation

·  Data security

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Low-code/no-code development platforms help companies achieve all three goals. They make it easy for anyone—not just developers or programmers—to follow through with their business objectives and capitalise on new opportunities while avoiding unnecessary risks.

Another study made by Gartner forecasted that the worldwide low-code development technologies market would grow by 23% in this year alone. “Low-code application platforms (LCAP) are expected to remain the largest component of the low-code development technology market through 2022, increasing nearly 30% from 2020 to reach $5.8billion in 2021”.

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Enterprises shifting towards LowCode-No Code - what are the Benefits?

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Low code/no-code platforms (or LCNC)enable business users with limited coding skills to configure their applications, thereby creating value within the organisation. The core benefits are:

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·  Reduced time spent on application configuration

·  Faster time-to-market for new applications

·  Reduced staffing costs due to less need for developers

·  Improved user adoption due to greater accessibility of the application interface

·  Higher quality due to the use of standardised components

·  Increased flexibility in use due to changing technologies within the enterprise

·  Better performance compared to traditional systems

·  Helps bridge the gap between IT and business teams, allowing them to solve real issues that impact the company.

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It's easy for anyone to use low-code/no-code without a technical background. The technology allows non-technical staff like marketers or salespeople to create the custom tools they need more easily. It also allows developers to quickly prototype an idea before writing the whole thing in traditional lines of computer programming language.

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Some applications built on no-code platforms don't have as much flexibility in design as those built on low-code/proprietary platforms (e.g., an online store designed on Shopify will look different from Wix).

But if your business doesn't need any heavy customisation or complex integrations, using a no-code platform cannot be less effective than using a proprietary or open-source framework. It can save you time and money that you would otherwise spend on hiring developers or training employees on how to develop apps in the first place.

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Industries Using No-code Apps to Their Advantage

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No-code is impacting speed and efficiency in the processes throughout several industries. Here are some examples:

• Logistics: The transportation industry is going through a digital transformation thanks to the rapid adoption of no-code apps. The functionalities of the no-code apps that businesses are already using include inventory management, barcode scanning of goods,     and delivery notifications.
• Insurance and Finance: the sector is adopting no-code apps due to the low cost of app creation, deployment, and maintenance along with secure and bi-directional handling of data.
• Retail: inventory management is one of the main tasks that businesses need to take care of. No-code apps are improving the inventory management process by eliminating the time of sorting, counting, and reporting.
• Manufacturing: there are already multiple custom-made apps based on order management, quality assurance, ERP or Excel data, and invoice creation to help manufacturing businesses handle multiple business operations.
• HR Administration: There are multiple processes, including employee onboarding and performance reviews, that can be optimised with user-friendly and easily created apps.

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Blockchain Technology

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What is Blockchain and What are the Barriers of Entry

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Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology (DLT), is a decentralised database that stores transactions in blocks, with each one of those blocks having a unique identifier.

Data on the blockchain platform can only be updated when there is a consensus between participants in the system; once recorded, you cannot alter the data in any block retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks, which needs an agreement by the network majority.

Blockchain technology provides several benefits over traditional transactional systems:

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·  Blockchain is decentralised and requires no central authority for transaction verification, removing the need for a middleman.

·  Blockchain is immutable, i.e., once you input data into the blockchain, it cannot be tampered with or changed

·  Transactions can be traced and are transparent across peers participating in the network.

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Blockchain is the backbone of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin; but with increased interest and development, the technology has seen wider adoption beyond the financial world, with numerous applications such as voting, and supply-chain management (e.g., tracking goods from production to sale), and authentication of digital assets. It can also help streamline multiple parties' processes, such as buying insurance policies or transferring deeds. The technology has been proving to be a key tool for organisations looking to increase traceability and transparency in complex supply and value chains; as well as promote trust and collaboration.

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However, blockchain isn't without its challenges. Several barriers to entry have led to limited adoption: cost (both time and money), technical expertise, and integration with other systems.

The main challenge comes from its complexity: designing new applications that leverage this technology requires deep domain knowledge in multiple disciplines such as cryptography, game theory, computer science, and distributed computing.

In addition, today's blockchain projects are not only challenging to design from a technical perspective; they also require careful planning of business processes to ensure they will convey that information accurately and effectively. It means that even simple changes can need significant efforts from multiple teams over a long period.

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But how do you mitigate these problems? Here is where Low Code/No Code Technology comes into play.

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Blockchain and Low-Code: The Perfect Marriage

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Blockchain and low-code are natural allies with an almost symbiotic relationship: no-code technology can be used to create new tools in just about every industry, and blockchain is no exception.

Low-code development platforms redefine how applications are built and deployed, offering speed and agility that is impossible with traditional approaches. On the other hand, blockchain has emerged as a key technology for creating transparency and trust in digital interactions.

While blockchain technology and low-code platforms are beneficial in their own rights, the combination of the two creates a powerful tool for businesses of all kinds.

By harnessing the power of blockchain and implementing the technology throughout their processes, enterprises can reduce the cost, time, effort, and risk by building blockchain applications using a low-code platform.

A low-code blockchain platform is an excellent solution for any company looking to adopt blockchain technology. These no-code blockchain platforms allow companies to build and manage their blockchain-based applications without any coding knowledge. They bridge the gap between companies looking to dive into the blockchain world and those who are not sure they have the resources or skills to do so.

Some of the benefits Low-code platforms offer to blockchain applications include:

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Flexibility

Low code platforms allow users to modify an application once built with ease. It can be beneficial in blockchain for enterprises since the technology is continuously being developed and explored.

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Scalability

Low-code platforms enable developers to add new nodes as needed. It is crucial because blockchain technology allows users to operate "nodes" on a blockchain network. A node is just another computer that acts as a verifier for blockchain transactions and records. By allowing users to add new nodes as needed, low-code platforms allow for increased scalability.

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Security

Low-code platforms offer additional security by protecting sensitive data from being corrupted or propagated without authorisation. Many of these low-code platforms have built-in security features that make them an ideal solution for building blockchain applications.

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Speed to market

Low code enables to expedite the development of blockchain applications – with less burden of heavy investments in capital, time, and talent. As with any application development initiative, earlier business value realisation is always better than later.

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Finboot’s MARCO platform: Easy to Use Blockchain

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Blockchain technology changes how we do business and manage transactions. However, many people are hesitant to use it because they feel like it's too difficult to understand and implement.

But that should not be the case! By using a low code/no-code blockchain platform, companies can design websites and applications so that users won't have to know as much about working with the technology. That is why we believe LCNC platforms are the future of blockchain, as lowering barriers to entry for new users is essential to utilising this revolutionary technology to its full potential.

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Finboot's Marco Solution is the perfect example of what a low-code, blockchain platform can bring to the table. It brings all kinds of ledgers together from different sources and platforms; and allows for the development of no-code applications to enhance transparency, traceability, and compliance, among others.

With MARCO, you can access the benefits of the technology without having to deal with its complexities: simplifying your organisation’s digital transformation by enabling the development and deployment of digital products with minimum effort and resources

This is just one of many ways low-code/no-code technology can help make blockchain easier to use.

‍Contact us today to learn how Marco can bring value to you and your company!

For more blockchain insights, make sure to follow FinbootTech on Twitter and Linkedin!

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In today’s fast-paced and increasingly digital world, there is more incentive than ever for organisations to modernise and optimise their current systems.

And it’s easy to understand why: fluctuating economic conditions and changing consumer’s expectations caused by the pandemic, as well as new market realities resulting from continuous technological developments and regulatory standards, have accelerated the digital agenda for many organisations.

Simultaneously, blockchain technology and other DLT applications in the enterprise ecosystem have also been making waves, with new and creative use cases in multiple industries, highlighting their potential and benefits at an increasing rate.

As we move towards a new “post-pandemic normality” and with an increased focus on rebuilding, company leaders and organisations are increasingly looking for new platforms and technologies to boost efficiencies, achieve a greater degree of flexibility and gain a competitive advantage.

Integrating blockchain technology into enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) could be key to helping pave the way toward a more efficient, transparent and resilient future.

WHY DO ERPs need to be modernised?

An Enterprise Resource Planning, or ERP, is a software or solution that helps organisations manage their business activities by integrating all information and processes across departments into one single system or database. In the past few years, these systems have considerably improved the efficiency of business operations, enhancing visibility across an organisation’s different departments and optimising processes.

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This leads us to the question: If it’s not broken, why change it?

-       The rate of change and technological advancement means it is essential for organisations to ensure the adaptability of their current systems. However, legacy ERP systems aren’t modular enough and come with predefined functionalities that lack the necessary flexibility to adapt to change, rendering them obsolete. Moreover, upgrading or changing those systems can be tremendously costly and time-consuming, causing unwanted disruptions.

-      Access to data (both internal and external) has become a source of valuable insight for organisations looking to increase efficiencies and stay ahead of the curve. But because ERPs are designed in a centralised way, their capabilities are limited, and they lack the necessary levels of security to allow for interoperability. For example, in a supply chain, different shareholders will have their own custom ERP systems, which are not able to connect or communicate with one another; creating siloed data that is difficult to share, as well as visibility problems that limit trust among members.

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As a result, the processes of gathering and aligning information are made incredibly burdensome, resulting in increased costs or wasted time on controlling and reconciliation.

Many organisations are realising that they can no longer rely on ERP systems alone: as a result, they are increasingly looking for new solutions that, combined with ERP, could provide the necessary levels of security, agility and visibility.

Blockchain and ERP: An ideal integration

Blockchain could be the perfect complement to ERP systems, as it delivers unique advantages in today’s context, where increasingly globalised and connected ecosystems have created complex networks of trading partners that are difficult to manage.

By integrating blockchain technology and ERP systems, organisations can boost and optimise the benefits of those centralised systems to another level, making them accessible across multiple networks. The centralised nature of the technology can facilitate features such as automation, transparency, reliability and compliance, outside of the enterprise’s boundaries, which are not easily available with stand-alone, traditional solutions.

Blockchain technology has a lot to offer to the digital environment of an organisation, and could significantly enhance ERP’s capabilities in the following ways:

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1. Potential to automate business processes:

By integrating blockchain’s smart contract capabilities into current ERP systems, companies can automate business transactions and other similar activities, saving time and lowering costs by removing the need for any third-party intermediary.

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2. Identity authentication and verification:

‍One of the most important implementations of blockchain in ERP is its ability to verify and authenticate identities, which are an integral part of many business transactions. With digital certificates made available by the blockchain platform, organisations can identify, verify and authenticate all member's identities. This is particularly beneficial for auditing purposes: as every identity and transaction is immutably recorded in the blockchain, it allows to keep track of who did what, when, and at all times.

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3. Increased data quality and reliability:

‍Due to the centralised nature of ERP systems, organisations are constantly facing risks of data tampering, data loss, time-stamping and authoring errors. However, by integrating ERP with blockchain, the decentralised and distributed nature of the technology would enable them to store information in such a way that it cannot be altered without recording the changes made.

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4. Enable secure data-sharing to foster trust and collaboration:

With the decentralised nature of blockchain, its integration with ERP systems could enable organisations to eliminate those “trust gaps” between siloed data, allowing them to securely interact and exchange data across company and industry boundaries. Facilitating interoperability will help promote trust and, more specifically, collaboration among members, which - as we have seen during this pandemic - can have huge benefits.

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5. Facilitate transparency and traceability:

‍As a distributed or shared ledger, blockchain technology allows organisations to digitise transactions and information, creating an immutable record that is shared with all permissioned members. This enables them to track assets throughout their entire lifecycle, providing complete visibility into business operations and improving process integrity and transparency.

6. Ensure privacy and security:

With decentralisation, peer-to-peer consensus and cryptographic encryptions that protect every transaction, integrating ERP with blockchain technology can create a secure ecosystem where privacy issues can be addressed, and sensitive information can be protected.

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7. Creates a Robust System Model with flexibility:

Integrating Blockchain and ERP can create flexible, configurable and robust, as some blockchain technologies, such as Hyperledger, can be delivered as customisable platforms that are shaped based on enterprises' requirements, and that can adapt to ever-changing business scenarios.

Conclusion

With the increased adoption of Blockchain and other DLTs in the enterprise ecosystem, many industry professionals are realising the enormous potential of these technologies to deliver real value across an organisation’s supply and value chains. Identified as a “disruptive” technology, blockchain should not be considered a replacement for current ERPs and other existing systems, but instead a means of enhancing them. Combining blockchain technologies with existing ERPs could revolutionise the way businesses access, manage and share data, allowing them to gain valuable insights from both inside and outside of their organisation - and create a more stable, collaborative and trustworthy future.

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Ricardo joins Finboot

Finboot is announcing today that it is expanding its customer-facing team with the appointment of Ricardo de Alfonso, a former SEAT Executive.  

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Ricardo joins Finboot to help further accelerate Finboot’s MARCO platform’s 'time to value' for our enterprise customers. MARCO is the company’s digital platform and ecosystem that brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously.

Ricardo brings more than 20 years of experience in managing complex IT projects across several sectors, including the automotive (SEAT), space (GTD), and industrial component supplier (DÜRR) sectors.  Across these roles, Ricardo was pivotal in accelerating digital transformation.  He joins Finboot as the company’s new implementation and delivery manager, the latest in a number of senior hires.  

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Juan Miguel Perez declarations.

Juan Miguel Perez, CEO and Co-founder of Finboot: “Ricardo brings a wealth of high-level experience and we are delighted to have been able to attract an implementation and delivery manager of Ricardo’s calibre and experience in such a tight post-COVID recruitment market.  It’s a testament to our positive vision, values, culture and our leading-edge digital platform, MARCO, that he has chosen to join us.  Blockchain is the next generation of enterprise supply chain solutions and Ricardo recognises that and wants to be part of that future”.  

Ricardo de Alfonso adds: “Stepping into Finboot feels like stepping into the future.  Finboot helps companies grow and become more efficient through its world-class blockchain-powered technology.  Working at Finboot is a huge opportunity to be part of a successful team.  Finboot has created a strong platform and ecosystem in MARCO.  MARCO brings traceability, transparency and compliance to supply chains; with operational efficiency and cost-savings by automating and streamlining processes.  I look forward to applying this approach to Finboot’s existing and future customers.” 

The announcement comes after several high-profile appointments including Paris Dufrayer as Chief Revenue Officer, Padman Ramankutty to its Board of Directors, and Avanish Sahai and Lea Borkenhagen who joined Geoffrey Cann as advisors. 

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Sustainability and ESG credentials are under the spotlight now more than ever. While many companies are making commitments and claims around how green they are, there is a disparity in proving it.

Companies need to measure progress efficiently, accurately and securely, as this will help them in the pursuit of their achievements while holding them accountable in meeting their sustainability goals.

From the corporate perspective, we have seen a shift in how ESG is viewed and measured: some see it as a legitimate business strategy, others as a self-regulatory initiative, and some believe it to be the latest marketing spin. Irrespective of their motivations, most companies are taking action and it’s evident that positive ESG outcomes will have a huge impact on our society, resources and the planet.

Is blockchain sustainable?

Transparency, immutability, and auditability are three of the main characteristics of blockchain technology. So, it is no surprise that this technology has a key role to play as an enabler of sustainability.

There are countless areas where blockchain will help measure the environmental and social impact of value chains. However, there are a few misconceptions about whether blockchain is a true enabler of sustainability. In this article, we will try to shine a light on a few of these misconceptions and reiterate the importance of blockchain and digital solutions in creating sustainable value chains.

At its core, blockchain is a secure database of transactions that enforces rules and processes. One of the biggest misconceptions is that it has been linked to cryptocurrencies, which is one of its earliest applications.

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When it comes to understanding blockchain, one of the main things to understand is that there are many types of blockchain implementations, depending on their build, configuration, and the desired business purpose. These can be categorised in three main types: private, public and consortium Blockchains.

From a technical perspective, there are many differences between them: privacy, ease of adoption, barriers of entry, etc. Without getting into the technical detail, let’s take a look at how sustainable they are.

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Public implementations, usually linked to cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, have an extensive energy consumption. The reason for this is also what has made them so popular. They are completely decentralised; they are run and maintained by the people who use them. The term for this is “mining” meaning that users are incentivised to maintain the network with an economic reward.

As you can imagine, this did not pose such an issue when they were not so popular, as the network of computers that were maintaining the system were not as big as they are today. Take a look below at the energy consumption of bitcoin: as the technology gained adoption, energy consumption grew.

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On the other side, private and consortium implementations consume less energy. They usually run on cloud environments provided by Google and Amazon among others, meaning they consume the same as other cloud applications used by businesses.

The reason for the difference in energy consumption is a result of how each blockchain implementation verifies and validates information and transactions.

- On many public blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, in order to verify, validate and authorise transactions, dedicated and specialised computing equipment is used to solve highly complex mathematical equations, or “mine”, which results in another block of information being added and linked to the chain. This mining process is already highly energy intensive, as it requires hardware with considerable calculating power to run the necessary algorithms and resolve those equations.But as the number of transactions increases, this energy consumption becomes more of a critical issue.

- For private and consortium implementations however, the processing power and, subsequently, the energy required are much lower, as it no longer relies on those highly dedicated mining computers; instead, permissioned members, with their own devices or cloud services, validate and verify data. When a transaction needs to be verified and/or authorised, information is sent and cross-checked among all the other peers in the network, without the need to perform complex calculations, making it more energy efficient.

The benefits of Blockchain in ESG

Over the past few years, Finboot has been helping companies like Repsol, Stahl and Iberia implement blockchain into their operations to help them achieve their ESG objectives, and many of our customers are actively using the technology to drive their sustainability and ESG agendas.

One element that is key in understanding how we can benefit from the technology is how connectivity and availability of trusted and reliable data can minimise the environmental footprint of your industrial process. For example, a blockchain-powered solution will reduce the need for on-site inspections or audits, which provides both economic and environmental benefits.

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In addition, by using blockchain technology to verify transparency in a way that no other digital technology can, businesses can dramatically improve the way they measure and report their sustainability credentials.

The bottom line is that when it comes to blockchain there is increasing value and evidence of its applications around sustainability; and the technology is versatile enough to find ways to configure it appropriately, according to requirements.

There are numerous other opportunities when it comes to blockchain and ESG; in areas like sustainable fashion, renewable energy, and food provenance, to name just a few. Blockchain is becoming the standout technology to introduce traceability within industrial processes.

How this will evolve

We are seeing an increase in the number of blockchain use cases and applications relating to environmental sustainability reporting and commitments. Brands such as Louis Vuitton, Mercedes Benz and Porsche, among others, are using the technology to track assets within their supply chain, validate sustainable information and record reliable data.

We expect a growing trend of companies to join and create consortiums in many sectors during the following years, as demand and pressure intensifies from customers, regulators and government when it comes to ESG requirements.

We believe that with public organisations becoming more preeminent in the blockchain sphere, we will see many more opportunities and use cases being explored in this area, and a greater adoption of the technology to serve ESG goals.

At Finboot, we are excited to pioneer the technology and improve ESG performance for world-class enterprise customers around the globe.

Contact us if you want to know more about digitally-enabled sustainability initiatives or more about the work we do to accelerate digital transformation, realise value, and build trust through blockchain technology.

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Paris Dufrayer joins with extensive experience in sales and marketing for cutting edge tech solutions including UCC, Cybersecurity, BI, and has led worldwide enterprise projects and sales teams for companies including Avaya, Cisco, Qlik, Akamai, among other Blue Chips and Start-ups. She was previously Head of Channel Sales across Latin America for Akamai Technologies – global leader for CDN and Cybersecurity through Cloud Services solutions, and after moving to Europe she has led Sales for start-up Rocket.Chat in the EMEA region.

In 2021, Finboot opened its headquarters in Cardiff, UK, but retains a core base in Barcelona, Spain, where Ms Dufrayer will be based.  

Commenting on her appointment, Paris Dufrayer said: ¨When I looked at Finboot solutions, customers and its mission, which in a few words is to make a positive impact on the world by enabling companies to use blockchain technology to progress sustainability, transparency and efficiency, it really called me out to be part of it!¨

“I bring my experience and expertise in deploying innovative solutions to companies worldwide; and I am backed up with a talented team and a strong business value. As Finboot continues its global expansion, I look forward to working with the team to drive revenue and expand our client base.”

Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO of Finboot, said: “I am delighted to be able to welcome Paris Dufrayer to our team.  Paris will be key to us increasing sales and revenues in the coming months to meet our ambitious goals, and to help us grow our partner ecosystem around our platform. Paris’ track record in our sector speaks for itself.”

Dufrayer will be a key part of the international Finboot team as it continues its growth plans and targets other sectors, including education. Her appointment follows several other high profile appointments including serial entrepreneur Padman Ramankutty to its Board of Directors, and Avanish Sahai and Lea Borkenhagen who joined Geoffrey Cann as advisors.

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Avanish Sahai, a technology industry veteran who has held senior platform and ecosystem, product, and marketing leadership roles, is to join the advisory board of tech company Finboot, it is announced today.

Mr Sahai has more than thirty years’ experience in Silicon Valley including as a platform ecosystem leader at Google, Salesforce and ServiceNow. He is on the board of CRM leader Hubspot and is also a Fellow of Tidemark, the growth equity firm which helps companies succeed and scale.

Finboot is a tech company that gives its world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value, and building trust through blockchain. These include companies such as Repsol, Stahl and Thales.

Last year the company closed a successful c.$3.6 million fundraise, which was led by the Development Bank of Wales, energy company Repsol and New Look Founder, Tom Singh. It subsequently secured the strategic backing and investment from US-based Supply Chain Ventures.

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Finboot has developed MARCO, a middleware platform which brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously. It enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, bring traceability, transparency, and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.  

Avanish Sahai said: “Finboot is at a fascinating juncture of its development. It has developed MARCO, a middleware platform and ecosystem which accelerates the digital transformation of its world class customers through blockchain. Crucially it is also looking to expand its ecosystem of partners to leverage its platform. I’ve been privileged to work with some of the most successful technology companies in the world, such as Salesforce, ServiceNow and Hubspot, which have leveraged their platform and ecosystem strategy to accelerate their customer impact. I am confident Finboot will experience similar outcomes.”

Nish Kotecha, Co-Founder and Chairman of Finboot, said: “Avanish’s expertise with some of the world’s leading tech companies is going to be crucial for us, as we continue our own platform and ecosystem approach and look to supercharge our growth. We are delighted to have Avanish on board.”

The company has recently also appointed former Accenture supply chain executive and serial entrepreneur, Padman Ramankutty to its Board of Directors and Lea Borkenhagen, former Nike sustainability executive as an advisor, joining energy industry leader Geoffrey Cann.

It is headquartered in Cardiff, UK, with a base in Barcelona, Spain.

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Finboot is a tech company which gives its world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value, and building trust through blockchain. These include companies such as Repsol, Stahl and Thales.

Mr Ramankutty was previously Managing Director of Accenture, advising portfolio companies on channel and technology strategy. Prior to this, he was the founder and CEO of Intrigo Systems - a world-class supply chain consultancy - which was acquired by Accenture in 2018. Previously he co-founded Bristlecone Inc., a supply chain advisory consultancy which was acquired by Mahindra & Mahindra. He also spent 17 years as a strategic advisor to Nike on strategic IT and supply chain initiatives.

Mr. Ramankutty, who is based in California, joins Finboot as a non-executive director. He is also engaged with Supply Chain Ventures, which announced an investment in Finboot in 2021. The strategic backing from Supply Chain Ventures follows Finboot’s successful $3.6 million fundraise also announced last year, which was led by the Development Bank of Wales, energy company Repsol and New Look Founder, Tom Singh.

“Finboot offers innovative middleware for companies grappling with how to manage increasingly complex supply chains.  As Finboot continues its global expansion, I look forward to driving customers toward the go-to standard of enterprise solutions powered by blockchain,” said Padman Ramankutty.

Finboot has developed MARCO, an ecosystem which brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously. It enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, bring traceability, transparency, and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.  

Nish Kotecha, Founder and Chairman of Finboot, said: “It is excellent to have a senior leader of Padman’s calibre on the Board of Finboot. He brings a wealth of supply chain expertise combined with an excellent network and an entrepreneurial mindset, which is great fit for us as we look to scale in 2022 and beyond.”

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Lea has held a number of senior positions in the sustainable business sector, including a decade at Nike where she led the establishment and delivery of a brand-led collaboration of Chief Operating and Sustainability Officers from leading global fashion, retail, and sportswear brands. The goal was to accelerate the adoption of sustainability across the industry through collaboration. She was also a Sustainable Agriculture Board Member at Unilever.

Founder of Borkenhagen Advisory, Lea provides strategic advice on innovative approaches to help companies and organisations better value people and the environment.

This includes being Global Strategy and Innovation Advisor to The Earthshot Prize, the environmental prize, under the auspices of The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, that discovers and scales innovations to repair our planet at speed over the next 10 years.

Finboot has developed MARCO, an ecosystem which brings together Blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously. It enables companies to incorporate Blockchain within their value and supply chains, bring traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.  

Dr Lea Borkenhagen, Senior Advisor to Finboot, said: “I am really interested in the role that technology can play in alleviating some of businesses’ ESG and sustainability challenges and overcoming them. Finboot’s approach using Blockchain technologies is key because it sits at the heart of improving a company’s operations. In my experience, it is at the operational level where significant change can be engineered. I look forward to advising Finboot at the intersection of sustainability, supply chains and operations. This is a global challenge, but it is also a global opportunity.”

Nish Kotecha, Founder and Chairman of Finboot, said: “It is testament to the progress that Finboot is making that we have been able to attract a strategic advisor of Lea’s calibre. She has driven and accelerated the sustainability agenda wherever she has been, from Nike to Unilever. She is a force of nature and we are delighted to have her on board.”

For fellow startups out there, perhaps 2022 is the year you'd like to scale your operations and consider working with a corporate.

During my 30+ year career, I have worked on both sides of the fence, initially as an investment banker (with the likes of BZW, JP Morgan and Lehman) and more recently as a tech entrepreneur with Finboot amongst others.
Gaining an understanding of both sides of the fence proved invaluable when the time came to engage with bigger companies. While it remains a challenge and one should always prepare for the unexpected, my advice for startups planning to approach potential corporate customers would be to look carefully at these five areas:

1. Who is your corporate sponsor?
2. Prepare for an extended timeframe
3. Research how the corporate makes decisions
4. Make sure your product or service works or fix it fast if it doesn’t
5. Test your hypothesis

This article first appeared in Sifted, which you can read in full here.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today.

Globally, the construction industry is responsible for 39% of energy and process related CO2 emissions, according to the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction in their 2021 Status Report. In the UK, greenhouse gas emissions produced by the construction industry have increased roughly 45% compared to 1990 levels, amounting to 13.8 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2019.

Therefore, the decarbonisation of this industry is critical to achieve global climate goals.

However, there is evidence that the industry has started its transition to a low carbon economy. Investment in building and construction energy efficiency has increased by 40% over the past five years, emission and energy intensity has come down, and governments have started to expand the use of building energy codes as well as including the sector in their Nationally Determined Contributions.

Whilst it’s not all doom and gloom… these actions are not enough to drive the transformational change the industry needs. So how do we accelerate action?

A Circular Economy

Focused on designing out waste and minimising environmental impact, the circular economy has come into focus to a growing number of the world’s industry leaders. From water and electricity to steel and concrete, the construction industry takes a vast number of resources; and today, when buildings reach the end of their lifetime, typically only 40% of their related waste is recycled or reused. Logically, evolving to a circular model can have a huge impact in the decarbonisation of the sector.  

The transition to a circular economy begins by designing products and materials that are meant to be recycled and reused, orchestrating the logistical operation for waste management, and guaranteeing the supply of materials at a value that can still operate within economic boundaries.

The design of new materials is an area well on its way. Yet, the same cannot be said of the introduction of these materials to the marketplace and how data will flow along the value chain to guarantee that these materials are effectively being recycled or reused. This transition will only be successful if we guarantee accurate and reliable material data is available to value chain players, so they can take the right decisions on waste and circularity.

Organisations are making great progress on developing and understanding the processes which will support the transition to a sustainable circular economy. However, these modelled processes must be accompanied by the right implementation systems which will simplify data collection and guarantee data accuracy, both of which are critical to substantiate the sustainability credentials and the potential for circularity of any industrial process.

How Blockchain can help

Our aim is to provide a fully digital ecosystem for the traceability of mineral-based construction materials. By providing access to material data, provenance, and chain of custody; this ecosystem will support companies in their transition to a circular economy model for the infrastructure industry; helping an otherwise analogue industrial sector like infrastructure, to accelerate its digital transformation.

This ecosystem will provide near real time access to supply chain data, and it will enable the traceability of circular construction materials from waste collection to their reinsertion into new infrastructure projects.

The entire solution is built on top of a secured, immutable, and trusted data architecture model which will deliver accountability, reliability, and auditability to the digital ecosystem.

More specifically, our traceability ecosystem aims to support sustainable production processes (by providing reliable data for manufacturers), optimise resource recovery (by enabling digital product passports with critical information to achieve circularity), and improve measuring and monitoring (by providing an innovative solution for the digital recording and sharing of circular supply chain data).

The potential for this digital ecosystem is to map the UK’s metabolism of mineral-based construction materials (MCMs). In turn, the resulting digital ecosystem will help enable the transition to a circular economy by providing a data repository with a clear characterisation of MCMs. This data repository has the potential to play a critical role to support the circularity of MCMs by helping industry stakeholders to make decisions on material and waste backed by reliable data.

Furthermore, there is the potential to test the capabilities of this digital ecosystem in the traceability of concrete in two specific value chains:

• Tracing the circularity of demolished concrete as it is reinserted in the value chain in blended cements, as feedstock in cement kilns, or as an aggregate.
• Tracing the manufacturing of concretes based on sustainable resources and designed for circularity.

Over the past 5 years, Finboot has been working to develop technology to accelerate, de-risk, and facilitate the adoption of blockchain in industrial ecosystems. We have a proven track record in sectors such as Oil & Gas and Chemicals (Repsol and Stahl), Aviation and Aerospace (Iberia and Thales), and Fashion and Retail (Under Armour and Desigual). With no time to lose in the fight against climate change, we look forward to playing a part in helping more of the world’s most progressive companies transition to a low carbon economy.

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The Consumers and the new reality report by KPMG revealed that across all sectors, net trust fell from pre-COVID-19 levels. Non-grocery retail sees an 8% drop in consumer confidence as we approach the new normal. This new wave of consumerism calls for brands to work harder if they are to address the concerns of the market.

Transparency in the global fashion industry

Fashion brands are looking to operate more sustainably in response to rising demand from consumers and stakeholders. Despite this, fashion supply chains are typically diverse and complex, often spanning areas with very little governance or regulation. Thus, it is challenging for brands to confidently prove the materials they use are sustainable or ethically sourced. 

This issue is especially prevalent across some of the biggest fashion leaders in the world, including fast fashion and the luxury goods market. Given the size and scale of their operations, they often have little to no visibility past their tier 1 suppliers. The issue here is: how are these companies giving their consumers the confidence and assurance that their products are sustainable? As it stands, many can’t.

According to the Fashion Transparency Index 2021, which looked into 250 fashion brands,  over half of the world’s largest fashion brands fail to disclose their suppliers. Additionally, 14% of major brands failed to report the overall quantity of products manufactured each year, making it difficult to understand the scale of overproduction.

The issue of transparency is not one companies can resolve on their own by changing their practices; there are many stakeholders that must gather and share data throughout the entire value chain.

The power of honesty

From a corporate perspective, we are seeing a shift to transparent fashion supply chains, since the interest in this topic, powered by consumers, has aligned governments, investors, and regulatory agents. However, there is much work to be done in this field to reach the goal of a truly transparent fashion industry.

The Synthetics Anonymous report studies 46 brands on their actions and conversations regarding their reliance on synthetic fibres. Synthetic fibres represent 69% of all materials used in textiles today, a number that is expected to increase over the next 10 years. 

In 2019, the global fashion industry accounted for around 10% of the world’s global carbon emissions. One of the largest contributors to this is the use of low-cost materials like synthetic fibres, which pollute landfill sites dumped after a few uses. Synthetic fibres are the main contributors to fashion pollution globally. In the world of fast fashion, products are produced and sold cheaply, deemed to be low-quality and often discarded quickly despite the climate emergency. That is the reason some of the major brands are looking into other types of materials and also circularity to reuse materials. 

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Investigation findings from the Synthetics Anonymous report

The meaning of making claims

Other instances that were discovered in the investigation included brands intentionally flouting guidelines or providing claims about their offerings that sometimes they were not able to substantiate. Out of 4,000 products produced by 12 brands’ Spring/Summer 2021 collections, 39% of them had somewhat of a sustainability claim. However, of those, significantly less than half (38%) had a third-party certification to support their claims. 

This issue is further desecrated by the ambiguity of certifications and disparate sustainability criteria. One of the instances highlighted in the report showed that certifications used on product pages point to the wide use of standards such as Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) – a scheme that fails to disclose how and whether the cotton is indeed better sourced. This points to the fact that brands are aware of a need to address climate, quality and sourcing sustainability issues; but face difficult challenges when trying to take action and implement sustainability strategies. 

What can fashion brands do now?

The fashion industry has to do more to build a rapport with their customers through trust, which is imperative to brand success. Beyond sustainability labels, the foundation of good brand-building stems from ethical practices and culture. There are a wide array of issues to address here, beginning from the way raw materials are sourced as well as from a labour and workforce perspective. 

Using blockchain to bring transparency to fashion supply chains

A sustainable fashion supply chain will require multidirectional sharing of information between brands and their consumers, with transparency throughout the whole manufacturing process. This includes end-to-end oversight on processes such as sourcing materials and ethics associated throughout to the packing and delivery of finished goods.

The increased demand for sustainability from consumers needs to be addressed from a digital perspective, leveraging all the efforts from the sourcing, manufacturing and operations. As such, brands are now relying on new technologies like Blockchain to address the gaps in the fashion supply chain. Blockchain essentially enables brands to verify the materials and practices used in the production process, offering transparency in a bid to build consumer trust.

Blockchain as a driver for transparency

Given the complexities of the fashion supply chain, fashion brands often find themselves managing a vast network of global suppliers, freight forwarders, customers and more. This increases the risk of misinformation as each stakeholder passes information to the subsequent point in the supply chain.

Blockchain creates a digital record for every transaction and forms an immutable chain that is visible to relevant parties. This enables a fully transparent and traceable supply chain, so consumers or brands can verify the raw materials and practices that go into making the finished products.  Furthermore, thanks to its ability to digitally trace the assets of the supply chain, such as garments, secondary materials or packaging, it creates a single source of truth that sets all the boundaries for sustainable production, enabling the transition towards a circular economy. 

To support these changes, there must be a level of transparency to showcase brands actions and demonstrate the paradigm shift in the retail industry. Digital provenance will essentially incentivise responsible behaviour, such as sustainable production, ensuring that recycling and repurposing take place in future production.

Blockchain enables the protection of data against manipulation. It goes a long way in preventing issues such as fraud, as it will be visible to all participants of the network. Blockchain allows brands that uphold their responsibility to ethical production to gain a competitive advantage - while dishonest brands are weaved out.

Why Only The Lowest Cost Oil & Gas Producers Will Survive; Managing product quality in a time of uncertainty.

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How disruptive technology will transform the agri-food industry. The panel will explore: How has the Covid-19 crisis impacted the agri-food industry, what are the greatest risks to food security post-Covid, what changes should you make to your organization to adapt, how can technology be used as a competitive advantage, and what are the opportunities/limits to automation.

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Finboot Chairman Nish Kotecha has been appointed to the Leadership Council of Blockchain Connected - a dedicated network representing the growing blockchain community in Wales.

Part of Technology Connected, the leading network for technology in Wales, Blockchain Connected aims to build and promote the profile and adoption of Blockchain technologies and organisations in Wales and beyond.

Finboot, which is headquartered in Cardiff and backed by the Development Bank of Wales, gives its world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value and building trust through blockchain. Its customers include Iberia, Stahl and Thales.

Kotecha joins Blockchain Connected’s 12 existing Council members on their mission to bring together the best minds in academia and industry to enable industries to adopt blockchain while influencing stakeholders on its significance and potential for the local and global economy as well as developing the next generation of talent.    

Tapping into Wales’ burgeoning tech scene, Blockchain Connected is a collaborative community that aims to ensure blockchain is a key part of the future of the economy - within Wales and beyond.

As the latest member of Blockchain Connected’s Leadership Council and Chairman of Finboot, Nish Kotecha, commented: “It’s an honour to be able to join the talented team behind Blockchain Connected and help further its mission to harness the growing pool of exceptional talent here in Wales and connect it with opportunities in industry. Through forging more collaboration and partnerships, we can strive to make Wales the Centre of Excellence for Blockchain.”

Blockchain Connected Chair, Dr Cerian Jones commented: “With a strong background in tech entrepreneurship and blockchain, Nish brings a wealth of experience to the role, which will help bring new ideas and forge new connections. Wales is a significant and growing hub for technology and innovation, and Blockchain Connected aims to harness and realise this potential on a larger scale.”

Finboot has developed MARCO, an ecosystem which brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously. It enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, bring traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.  

Earlier this year, Finboot successfully raised GBP2.6 million, thanks to investments led by the Development Bank of Wales, energy company Repsol and New Look Founder, Tom Singh.

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Supply Chain Ventures LLC, the venture capital firm investing in supply chain and data analytics innovators, has given its strategic and financial backing to technology company Finboot.

Finboot, which is headquartered in the UK, gives its world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value and building trust through blockchain. Its customers include Iberia, Stahl and Thales.

Supply Chain Ventures was founded by David Anderson, who was previously managing partner of supply chain consulting at Accenture, where he was instrumental in building its $2 billion supply chain management practice.

Mark Doiron, General Partner at Supply Chain Ventures, is also personally investing in Finboot. He has extensive experience in the US retail grocery environment.

The strategic backing of Supply Chain Ventures and Mr Doiron follows Finboot’s successful $3.6 million fundraise announced earlier this year, which was led by the Development Bank of Wales, energy company Repsol and New Look Founder, Tom Singh. The Supply Chain Ventures’ stake is undisclosed.

Finboot has developed MARCO, an ecosystem which brings together blockchain technologies in one place, connecting multiple ledgers simultaneously. It enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, bring traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.  

Nish Kotecha, Founder and Chairman of Finboot, said: “This is a really important strategic play for Finboot. The leadership of Supply Chain Ventures has unparalleled expertise and knowledge within supply chains globally, while we bring the next generation technology which enables companies to manage their supply chains through blockchain. This really is the present for those companies – many of which are our customers – which are the early adopters in this space. For others it is very much the future and we look forward to unlocking this potential together with Supply Chain Ventures.”

Supply Chain Ventures, which is based on Boston, Massachusetts, has an extensive portfolio of investments in the supply chain sector.

David Anderson, the Managing General Partner of Supply Chain Ventures, said: “The Finboot team has developed a world class ecosystem in terms of MARCO and is setting the benchmark in terms of supply chain management utilising blockchain. Supply Chain Ventures is investing in Finboot, but it also reflects our vision for a deep strategic partnership.”

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Blockchain technology provider Finboot today announces the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Charlotte Mancuso as head of finance, based at its headquarters in Cardiff.

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The tech firm, which secures a competitive edge for world-class companies through world-class blockchain-powered technology, makes the announcement following a series of recent hires at its offices in both Cardiff and Barcelona as it expands its operations across the UK, the EU and beyond.

In July, Finboot announced the appointments of Oscar Gómez as a Tech Lead and Alfredo Galiana, Raul Guitierrez and Rhodri Ellis as Enterprise Software Engineers. Oscar, Alfredo and Raul joined the Barcelona office and Rhodri and Charlotte join Finboot’s headquarters in Cardiff.

A qualified accountant with 10 years’ experience, Charlotte joins from Lexington Corporate Finance. Charlotte commented: “I’m delighted to join Finboot’s leadership team at such an exciting stage in the company’s growth and development. I look forward to leveraging my experience to support the team as they continue to look to new opportunities and areas of expansion and progression.”

Founded in 2016, Finboot is one of the first tech startups to deliver value in the enterprise blockchain arena and overall distributed ledger ecosystem. With offices in Cardiff, Barcelona and London, Finboot benefits from a diverse and international team made up of a broad spread of nationalities who draw on a wealth of perspectives to make Finboot and a truly global, diverse technology company.

Finboot, whose product MARCO acts as an ecosystem bringing together blockchain technology for companies to incorporate within their value and supply chains - helping to improve operational efficiencies and giving them a competitive edge. The technology accurately and securely stores information - ensuring tamper-proof traceability of products. It can also help valid ESG and sustainability credentials. MARCO can be applied to multiple business sectors - its international client base currently includes Repsol, Stahl and Desigual.

Finboot Chairman and Co-Founder Nish Kotecha commented: “Charlotte will be a fantastic addition to the Finboot family. Her experience will be invaluable as we focus on expanding both internationally and across sectors as more companies realise the value of enterprise solutions powered by blockchain.

“We are incredibly proud to buck the trend within tech companies by having such a talented and diverse team - it helps shape how we think and operate as a company. We’re internationally minded and our client base is sector agnostic, so our team needs to reflect that.”

Earlier this year the enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) company secured a £2.5m equity investment from investors including the Development Bank of Wales, energy giant Repsol and Tom Singh, founder of New Look.

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The 2017 Grenfell disaster that tragically killed 72 people when its facade burst into flames highlighted the fact that there was a lack of information around the safety standards and the safety of the material used in its construction. Simply put, had full information regarding the cladding used in the construction of the building been available, contractors would have known that it had failed many safety tests in previous years.

Or should the question be whether the contractors should have known?

Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Government's review of building regulations undertaken in response to the disaster certainly thinks so, stating that “There needs to be a golden thread for all complex and high-risk building projects so that the original design intent is preserved and recorded, and any changes go through a formal review process involving people who are competent and who understand the key features of the design."

But herein lies the problem. Getting access to the much-needed quality assurance documentation to ensure that materials used in construction are safe and comply with the latest regulatory standards is, at the best of times, a cumbersome and challenging process.

It often involves many hours searching through documents and filing cabinets to find the required information - exacerbated by the fact that there has been a severe lack of digitisation in this area. Obtaining documentation manually has become almost impossible.

Fortunately, there is a solution. And a good one. Blockchain technology can provide an effective means of digitising quality assurance documentation, whilst providing the necessary transparency contractors and regulators need to ensure that the materials used in the construction of modern buildings are safe.

The Case for Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is one of the most disruptive technologies we’ve experienced in recent years. Although it is often associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it is its ability to store vast amounts of data and provide full transparency while being completely immutable that shows the most promise, especially when used for financial transactions.  

But now, the question is, can this distributed ledger technology provide the same benefits in the construction industry? In other words, can it improve the execution of construction projects that often involve large teams of contractors and subcontractors and a multitude of building codes, standards, and safety regulations?

The simple answer is yes.

For one, it can introduce transparency and accountability - and therefore trust - to the construction process. For example, firms can use blockchain-enabled software to track materials and testing and check results against a database of building codes, standards, and safety regulations.

Not only will this eliminate manual labour in respect of sourcing these documents, and, by implication, streamline the process, but it will also ensure the safety of buildings and prevent future disatsers.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell disaster, there was a significant increase in insurance policies for the construction industry. Understandably, these policies come at a great expense for construction firms - but blockchain technology has the potential to decrease costs through its ability to allow construction firms to prove the quality of their materials along with their safety certifications.

In fact, blockchain’s benefits could extend to the period prior to installation. It can, for instance, provide full supply chain transparency which, in turn, allows construction firms to establish exactly where specific materials are sourced from, who they are produced by, and whether they are safe for use in the construction of a project.  

Final Thoughts

Digital transformation has been on the road map for many companies in recent years. It’s easy to see why, considering it can improve their efficiency, productivity, and performance. Although the construction industry has been slow to adopt new technologies, many construction firms believe that it is now a priority.

So, as part of the race to digital transformation, construction firms that implement blockchain technologies will not only benefit from an improved capability in quality assurance, certificate management, and an increase in safety performance - they will also benefit from having a competitive advantage.

This is where Finboot and our product MARCO comes in. Building on top of the blockchain infrastructure of various frameworks like Ethereum or Hyper Ledger Fabric, MARCO allows companies to implement blockchain technologies in their value, logistics, and supply chains.

To introduce sector specific expertise, Finboot is collaborating with Invennt, the leading management consultancy for construction and the built environment to develop a solution that ensures that materials used in construction are safe and comply with the latest regulatory standards . The concept, known as BuildBlox, will be the first rules-based construction management middleware built specifically for contractors, engineers, quantity surveyors, architects and clients.

To find out more about MARCO and its benefits for construction firms, visit Finboot for more details.

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Finboot is announcing today that it is expanding its technology team in both Cardiff and Barcelona.

The company, which is headquartered in the Welsh capital, secures a competitive edge for world class companies through world class blockchain powered technology.

It announced that it was opening its Cardiff office in May with three new senior hires. Now it is adding four new hires as it bolsters its technology team across both of its bases to capitalise on the market opportunity in securing supply chains for companies in the UK, the EU and beyond.

Finboot’s technology can be applied to multiple business sectors, enabling companies to simplify and speed up interactions within their supply chains - saving them time and money. The technology securely stores information - ensuring tamperproof traceability of products and the verification of sustainability credentials. Its international client base includes Repsol, Stahl and Desigual.

Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO of Finboot, said: “We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues to our team. We are benefiting from the tech ecosystem in both Cardiff and Barcelona – it really is the best of both worlds. We are developing an international team focused on targeting the significant market opportunity. And we are also on the lookout for more talent as we expand our operations.”

Oscar Gómez joins as a Tech Lead, and Alfredo Galiana, Raul Guitierrez, and Rhodri Ellis join as Enterprise Software Engineers.Oscar, Alfredo and Raul are joining the Barcelona office and Rhodri joins Finboot’s new headquarters in Cardiff.

Earlier this year the enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) company secured a £2.5m equity investment from investors including the Development Bank of Wales and energy company Repsol.

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 Finboot has appointed Impact & Influence to advise the company on its strategic positioning, communications and content strategy.

Finboot is a technology company that gives world class customers a competitive edge through accelerating their digital transformation, realising value and building trust through blockchain.

The company has developed MARCO, an ecosystem which enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, bringing traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.  

Earlier this year the company secured investment from the Development Bank of Wales and global energy company Repsol in a £2.4 million fundraise.

Nish Kotecha, Co-Founder and Chairman of Finboot, said: “Following our successful fundraise, how we position ourselves for this next phase of growth is going to be crucial. Our world class blockchain powered technology has tremendous application for forward-looking businesses across sectors and geographies. We are delighted to have Impact & Influence on board with us for this journey.”

Finboot’s customers include Repsol, Stahl, the global chemistry supplier, as well as Minexx which secures the mineral supply chain.

It was announced that earlier this month that Minexx had also appointed Impact & Influence to advise it on a communications brief.

Rishi Bhattacharya, CEO and founder of Impact & Influence, said: “Finboot is having a tremendous impact on its customer companies, including leveraging blockchain to drive sustainability and improve ESG standards. We look forward to accelerating the uptake of the company’s solution through communications.”

Enterprise resource planning, more commonly known as ERP, is meant to be the glue that brings business processes together - a unified system that facilitates communication and collaboration among stakeholders. “Facilitate”, however, might not be the best word, as anyone who has ever used an ERP tool will almost certainly have painful stories about the user experience or lack thereof.    

As painful as their usage might be, ERP systems’ penetration in enterprise ecosystems dates back a few decades. Gartner first used the term ERP in the 1990s but it dates back to the 1960s, when the manufacturing industry realised it needed better solutions to manage operations. 

Since then, ERP systems have evolved considerably, with some of them encompassing several departments, including sales, finance, human resources and marketing. Many enterprises now rely heavily on ERP software for their operations and, should any of these systems fail, it would lead to millions of dollars in losses. History is full of infamous examples. 

An ambitious ERP project at the beginning of the century cost Nike US$ 100million in lost sales and a 20% share price dip. Another example of ERP failure comes from Hershey’s: the chocolate company missed out on a $100 million delivery over the Halloween period of 1999. The reason? Problems with its supply chain ERP system. And the list goes on. 

To this day, ERP tools still present several limitations. Enterprises are likely to have multiple systems for different departments and at different points in their value chains. These systems often do not communicate with each other, creating siloed information, which can cause the company to miss out on synergies and obscure supply chain visibility. 

Another challenge of ERPs is that they are not designed to allow businesses to easily share data with external stakeholders without having to share sensitive information, selectively disclosing data is complex with such systems. This creates a lot of inefficiencies and manual work when external parties request specific data, which is bound to happen more and more as stakeholders and customers alike are demanding more transparency from companies’ operations. 

Furthermore, cybersecurity is also a major threat to ERPs which store sensitive data that is essential for day-to-day operations. This is why hackers are often incentivised to target such systems. Companies need to adopt measures to make their legacy systems more resilient or “hacker-proof”. 

To solve these challenges, ERPs can be combined with emerging technologies, which, if implemented properly, can create comprehensive and powerful tools to drive competitive advantage for businesses. One of the technologies that has the potential to take ERPs to the next level is blockchain. 

Integrating blockchain-powered solutions within existing ERPs allows companies to bring together all relevant data across their operations in a trusted, secure and transparent environment. Blockchain also has the potential to solve cybersecurity concerns and bring transparency to value chains. However, companies are still struggling to fully understand this promising technology and often lack the skills to adopt it efficiently. Additionally, the fact that blockchain is very much a horizontal technology, which implies connectivity to not one but multiple legacy systems along the supply chain, introduces further challenges for deployment. 

This is where middleware solutions come in. Without getting too technical, some of the most successful approaches to enterprise blockchain come from the use of “middle layers” that remove the complexities of this emerging technology and help companies overcome the barriers for adoption.  

These middle layers act as a bridge between blockchain technology and supply chains. This means that companies don’t have to choose one blockchain technology over another. This platform compatibility de-risks the adoption of the technology and, for the early adopters, it gives a competitive edge. Simply put, they act as plug adapters, simplifying connectivity regardless of the plug socket (blockchain technology).

A successful example of this is Repsol, the Spanish energy giant, which has used a middleware solution to implement blockchain in over half a dozen industrial complexes as part of the digitalisation of its downstream supply chain (tracing its refined products for compliance and quality). Its solution is fully integrated with its ERP, laboratory management system and network of IoT devices in order to strengthen the link between physical and digital ecosystems. Other examples of companies leveraging middleware to simplify their adoption of blockchain include leading chemicals company Stahl, which is digitising its sustainability credentials with blockchain, and the international fashion brand Desigual, which is using it to transform its import and export process. 

As companies continue to adopt cutting-edge technologies, we are bound to see fewer incidents like those experienced by Nike and Hershey’s, and more success stories like Repsol, Stahl and Desigual.

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• Blockchain technology company Finboot appoints a team to lead its UK HQ in Cardiff after securing a £2.4 million equity investment from investors including the Development Bank of Wales and global energy company Repsol
• Finboot appoints first three Business Development Managers as it expands its Cardiff office
• Finboot enables companies to bring together blockchain technologies for the advancement of the green economy and ESG requirements

13 May 2021: Blockchain technology provider Finboot is announcing the appointment of three senior hires who will play an instrumental role in setting up its new UK headquarters based in Cardiff.

Gethin Davies, Joel Wray and Michael Falarczyk join as Business Development Managers.

Finboot, whose product MARCO acts as an ecosystem bringing together blockchain technology for companies to incorporate within their value and supply chains, expects to grow the team further in the coming months aligned with their commercial growth in the region.

The Cardiff-based office is the company’s first outside of its Barcelona base and marks a significant point in the company’s ambitious growth plans. The Enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) company identified Cardiff as a base for its new office after securing a £2.4 million equity investment from investors including the Development Bank of Wales and energy company Repsol. The company is currently looking to top up funding as it continues its growth plans.

Davies joins from Solid Solutions Management, Wray joins from Hays and Falarczyk joins from DueDil.

The move will enable Finboot to become part of Wales’ growing blockchain community and its dedicated network, Blockchain Connected, which aims to promote the technology and the organisations behind it, across Wales and beyond.

Finboot’s world-class blockchain powered technology can be applied to multiple business sectors, enabling companies to simplify and speed up interactions within their supply chains - saving them time and money. The technology securely stores information - ensuring tamperproof traceability of products and the verification of sustainability credentials.

Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO of Finboot, said: “We are delighted to welcome Gethin, Joel and Michael to the Finboot family. Their collective experience will be instrumental in establishing our presence in Wales and the UK, US more broadly. They share our ethos, and enthusiasm for bringing the benefits of our technology to new markets.

“Blockchain technology has the potential to solve some of today's most pressing challenges for businesses - from digitalisation to verifying sustainability credentials and supply chain transparency. As a new team, we look forward to immersing ourselves in Wales’ growing blockchain scene and making the most of the new opportunities it brings.”

David Blake, Investment Executive with the Development Bank of Wales, commented: “The opening of Finboot’s UK headquarters in Cardiff marks a significant step in the company’s journey and we’re delighted to be part of it. We wish Gethin, Joel and Michael a very warm welcome and look forward to realising their contribution to the thriving blockchain scene here in Wales.”

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• Llobet will play a key role in shaping Finboot’s future as it executes its international growth plan
• Finboot secures a competitive edge for world class companies through its world class blockchain powered technology

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Blockchain technology provider Finboot announces the promotion of Alvaro Llobet to General Manager, based in the company’s office in Barcelona. 

Llobet assumes the role from his previous position as Business and Commercial Strategy Manager, a role he has held since joining Finboot in 2018. 

Finboot’s hero product, MARCO, acts as an ecosystem bringing together blockchain technology for companies to incorporate within their value and supply chains - helping them meet sustainability and ESG requirements while increasing operational efficiency.

Under the new role, Llobet will take responsibility for shaping the company’s business and financial strategy - as well as product design and integration and sales and marketing - as the company advances its international growth plans.  

Llobet began his career in consultancy services where he gained experience developing and implementing bespoke software solutions for large organisations and startups before turning his focus to blockchain technologies in 2016. 

Commenting on his promotion, Llobet said: “Becoming Finboot’s general manager marks a significant point in my professional development. I joined the company with the clear goals of building digital technologies powered by blockchain for big corporations, and to share trustworthy and validated data. The new role will enable me to do this on an international scale - bringing the benefits of blockchain to more enterprises while furthering the global transition to a low carbon economy.”

Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO of Finboot, said: “We are delighted to appoint Alvaro as general manager. He has been instrumental in Finboot’s success to date and we look forward to his contributions in shaping the future and direction of the company as we grow our mission to make blockchain technology accessible to enterprises across the world.”

Llobet’s promotion follows the opening of Finboot’s new UK headquarters in Cardiff. The Enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) company recently secured a £2.4 million equity investment from investors including the Development Bank of Wales and energy company Repsol.

Finboot’s world-class blockchain powered technology can be applied to multiple business sectors, enabling companies to simplify and speed up interactions within their supply chains - saving them time and money. The technology securely stores information - ensuring tamperproof traceability of products and the verification of sustainability credentials. 

Gillian Tett’s recent article “Blockchain may change equities trading for good” in the Financial Times reminds us that traditional operating practices pose risks.

The crisis surrounding Archegos, a family office disguised as a hedge fund, which took advantage of its ‘family office’ set up to aggregate credit from investment banks to take huge bets on the market, really is a scandal – and an avoidable one to boot.

Archegos didn’t manage external funds, so did not fall into the reporting net but, as events have demonstrated, it was an important cog in the wheel of the markets. Its outsized investments using derivatives and other highly leveraged instruments meant that it posed a ‘systemic’ risk to the overall market – despite each bank’s Risk and Compliance team deeming their individual exposure to be acceptable. The lack of transparency and connectivity between the investment banks serving Archegos, has already cost more than £5 billion in losses.

Yet it could have been avoided through the use of a private, permissioned blockchain connecting all counterparties – and therefore all of the cogs.

Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory – a single source of truth. That means data cannot be freely copied and edited to create an alternative version of the truth, which is why blockchain technologists refer to it as the “trust platform”.

Casting the transparency net needs to be wide reaching to ensure that it covers the systemic risk to the financial system. Since the 2008 financial crisis, reporting by systemically important institutions such as banks has been stepped up with regular stress test results being made public. This has provided a benchmark measure of a single bank’s risk but what if a smaller actor connected across the banking industry fails?

Here are four benefits of blockchain for financial services:

One - as the FT article discussed, it reduces the trade settlement period from days to hours, using blockchain will substantially reduce the risk of a counterparty failing to pay.

Two - know Your Customer/Anti-money laundering checks are designed to update the eligibility of the client and its source of funds for the bank and in this case the prime brokerage unit. Currently, many evaluations are carried out by the Risk & Compliance teams but prepared and presented by the client managers whose focus is revenue rather than risk. Blockchain creates a transparent and tamper-proof database of the operations of a client. It can be used internally to record the KYC/AML details of the client every time the checks are carried out providing a valuable graph of the journey from before the initial approval to the risk management during the life of the client. But periodic KYC/AML checks cannot be considered by looking internally and need to be expanded to consider the risk that a client has large market exposures of which an institution may not be aware. This interconnected risk can transform a small fish into a big whale.

Three - blockchain can map the interconnected risk by using a private ledger through which banks disclose their client instruments and risk profiles without needing to disclose commercially sensitive information. The reticence to share client lists may be overcome for the greater good, to ensure that clients are not ‘gaming’ the system and being able to take on significant exposure to markets without the required capital by spreading the exposure across different banks which don’t talk to each other.

Four - it can adopt relevant technology that addresses the gaps in the current client onboarding, compliance and risk management processes, whether such gaps are caused by the subjective concept of materiality, human motivations or error - or worse, negligence or criminal intent.

However, the bad news is that Archegos will not be the last such incident. The financial services sector seems to be particularly prone to such events. On one hand there have been improvements in the resilience of financial systems, particularly in the wake of the financial crash in 2008 - but on the other hand, there are increasing levels of interconnectedness which means that weak links in the financial sector’s value chain are causing sleepless nights for chief executives, chief finance officers and many more.

The good news is that Enterprise Blockchain technology is available today and can be implemented across the sector enabling a coordinated sale of assets to manage margin calls because there is a living map of who holds what positions.

With blockchain, there is a smart solution for financial institutions that provides interconnected mapping to manage interconnected risk - strengthening weak links and providing fewer sleepless nights.

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Leading enterprise blockchain technology group Finboot is setting up operations in Cardiff, Wales, having secured a £2.4 million equity investment from investors including the Development Bank of Wales, the multi-energy company Repsol, through its private equity investment fund Repsol Corporate Venturing, and New Look founder Tom Singh, who was the company’s original lead investor in 2018.

Finboot is the SaaS company behind MARCO, a unique production-ready suite of blockchain applications and middleware solutions that unlock blockchain capabilities for enterprises. The fast-growing company has recently announced engagements with Repsol, global chemistry supplier Stahl, leading international fashion brand Desigual, Spanish agritech business Fidesterra, the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation, and Minexx, which traces and secures the mineral supply chain in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Finboot has a longstanding relationship with Repsol dating back to October 2017, when it was chosen to take part in Fundación Repsol’s start-up acceleration programme, Entrepreneurs Fund. Repsol announced in January 2019 that it would be implementing BlockLabs (a blockchain solution powered by MARCO) to improve the certification process of petrochemical products, thereby driving supply chain efficiencies and supporting ESG standards. Repsol affirmed its confidence in MARCO by making its first investment in Finboot through Repsol Corporate Venturing in July 2019. BlockLabs has since been rolled out and implemented in the majority of Repsol’s energy complexes.

With demand for enterprise blockchain solutions increasing globally, Finboot identified Wales as being the most attractive place from which to capitalise on the growing number of business opportunities, including those in the fintech space. Finboot will become part of Wales’ growing blockchain community, which is supported by the country’s newly-formed, dedicated blockchain network Blockchain Connected. With the support of the Development Bank of Wales, Finboot’s diverse and talented management team expects to create a number of highly-skilled technical jobs in Cardiff.

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Nish Kotecha, Chairman and Co-Founder of Finboot, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the Development Bank of Wales to the Finboot family as we establish our presence in Wales to capitalise on the many opportunities here, and to continue our relationship with Repsol as both an investor and customer. Securing this equity investment means that we can further build on the accelerating momentum of the past four years by investing in hiring new talent, sales & marketing, research & development, and our world-class technology. We are ambitious and these funds will support us on our journey to becoming a world-leading provider of enterprise blockchain software globally.

“The need for blockchain technology solutions such as MARCO has never been greater. The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the fragility of supply chains around the world, leading to a sharp acceleration of digitalisation. Simultaneously, ESG has become a key business imperative as corporates are under ever-increasing scrutiny from regulators, consumers and shareholders to build back better. This has driven the need for transparency and visibility throughout processes, supply chains and value chains. MARCO creates efficiencies and optimises processes, while also improving companies’ sustainability credentials and reporting procedures. We look forward to helping many more enterprises unlock the potential of blockchain in the years to come.”

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David Blake, Investment Executive with the Development Bank of Wales, said: “Finboot is an exciting and dynamic business that is at the forefront of blockchain software technology. It’s exactly the type of high-value company that we want to attract to Wales with our tech venture investments; supporting innovative technology businesses as they develop and create highly skilled jobs. Finboot’s MARCO middleware can be adopted across a variety of sectors on account of its ’out-of-the-box’ usability and blockchain agnostic credentials, meaning the company is able to explore opportunities across all industries and geographies. We’re delighted to be welcoming Finboot’s culturally diverse leadership team as they maximise opportunities to grow the business from their new base in Cardiff and existing operations in Barcelona.”

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Jose Salinero, Sr. Investment Manager at Repsol Corporate Venturing, commented: “Repsol and Finboot’s relationship started back in 2017 when the team just had an idea to apply blockchain within enterprises. This innovative idea has become a reality, and the application of BlockLabs, which we jointly developed and tested with Finboot, now helps us to make Repsol's processes safer and more efficient in Repsol Technology Lab and in our refineries. At Repsol, we boost open innovation to turn start-ups´ ideas and technologies into viable businesses and we are proud and happy to be part of this new investment round.”

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Derek Goodwin, Head of Entrepreneurship and Tech FDI at the Department for International Trade, added: “We have worked with Finboot since their nascent stages as part of our Global Entrepreneur Programme, welcoming them to set up their HQ in the UK, and we are very pleased to see the business continue to go from strength to strength. We are delighted that customers and investors alike recognise the significant value that MARCO brings to supply chain processes, and we expect to see great things from Finboot in the future.”

The momentum behind enterprise blockchain continues to build, with business leaders seeing it as “integral to organizational innovation”, according to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Blockchain Survey. The technology has come a long way since its origins as the foundation of cryptocurrency, which itself goes from strength to strength as bitcoin wins mainstream institutional acceptance as an alternative asset class: today, over 75% of CIOs consider blockchain a strategic priority or mission critical technology (Wipro).

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Palm oil has risen in infamy as an enemy of sustainable agriculture over the past few years. It has long been a key raw material in many consumer goods products, but its production has come to be very negatively associated with climate change and human rights, making it a highly controversial commodity.

Around 90% of palm oil plantations are found in a few islands in Malaysia and Indonesia, which are home to a diverse range of flora and fauna that are key contributors to earth’s biodiversity. As the demand for palm oil increases, so does the need for space in which to plant the trees, which often leads to illegal deforestation. Fires are generally used to clear the existing vegetation, which not only damage the ecosystem but also release high levels of carbon dioxide and black carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. In addition, the smoke resulting from deforestation is often cited as a main air polluter in Southeast Asia, and the processing of palm oil has also led to freshwater pollution.

The impact doesn’t stop there. In addition to the environmental impact, the palm oil industry has often been criticised for violating human rights within its supply chains, with some corporations accused of taking advantage of the underdeveloped countries from which the oil originates.

Due to these environmental and social concerns, consumers and regulators have shifted their view on the palm oil industry and are now applying pressure on enterprises to provide more data on provenance and supply chain mapping.

In December 2020, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a withhold release order on imports of palm oil from Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation, the world’s largest palm oil company by land size, over allegations of forced labour in its production process. The withhold release order issued will remain in effect until Sime Darby can prove that this is not the case.

This is just one example of what we can expect to become the norm in the coming years, as regulators, investors and consumers continue to demand more when it comes to supply chain transparency and sustainability. The question is, how can producers, processors and retailers verify and prove their environmental and sustainability practices throughout their entire supply chains?

Blockchain could play a key role in helping enterprises to provide such evidence. Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory – a single source of truth. That means data cannot be freely copied and edited to create an alternative version of the truth, which is why blockchain technologists refer to it as the “trust platform”.

Using blockchain-powered solutions to map and trace their supply chains, palm oil producers could provide reliable, transparent, and data-backed sustainability credentials. This data can be readily available in near real-time, guaranteeing that products would not be held under suspicion.

Finboot’s MARCO, a blockchain solution that delivers out-of-the-box applications to enterprises, could be the innovation that the palm oil industry needs. MARCO has a track record of being used by large enterprises, including global energy giant Repsol and global chemistry supplier Stahl, to digitise their supply chains and bring transparency and trust to these industrial sectors.

Against a backdrop of ever-increasing scrutiny, building a blockchain-based library of data that is gathered from the length of the supply chain will ensure that companies are able to verify their sustainability credentials and boost their brand value among all stakeholders.

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Stahl, the world leader in the specialty chemistry of coatings, processing and treatments, has engaged leading blockchain group Finboot to supply its blockchain middleware solution MARCO to improve the way it shares and verifies its products’ sustainability credentials with brands that use materials treated with Stahl chemicals.  

Stahl specialises in the production of surface treatment and coating solutions for flexible surfaces, such as leather, synthetics and fabrics. Its direct customers are tanneries and other small manufacturers that supply their materials to brands predominantly in the fashion and automotive industries. Leading brands require that their suppliers only use chemicals from approved providers and so Stahl works closely with them to share relevant data about its products’ sustainability properties.

In the first blockchain implementation of its kind for the flexible surface chemical industry, MARCO creates immutable digital assets of Stahl’s products to deliver transparency and traceability within Stahl’s supply chain in a way that no other digital technology can. This means that the end-brands have direct and easy access to accurate and verified information about the overall properties of Stahl’s products so that they too can verify the sustainability credentials of their own supply chains. These properties include documentation such as bill of materials, bill of substances and the provenance of the raw materials.

Stahl’s adoption of MARCO is part of the company’s ongoing strategy to focus on improving the environmental sustainability of its products in order to further solidify its position as the global leader in its sector. As part of this, the company has sought to increase the amount of renewable raw materials used in its manufacturing processes. The revolutionary transparency provided by blockchain will play a key role in substantiating Stahl’s move away from petrochemicals to new, more sustainable raw materials.

Following successful implementation and scaling of the solution, Stahl could potentially connect with brands’ existing blockchain ecosystems in the future, or alternatively the brands could plug into this new ecosystem developed by Stahl and Finboot. Further down the line, there is also scope to provide end-to-end traceability along the entire supply chain for the full manufacturing process of the flexible surfaces that use Stahl products. This means that brands will eventually be able to provide end-to-end visibility on the entire manufacturing process and supply chain behind the creation of their goods (for example, a leather handbag), down to the raw materials that make up the chemicals used during production.

John Fletcher, Chief Innovation Officer at Stahl, said: “Providing customers with transparency of our sustainability and supply chain due diligence efforts is extremely important to us as we further cement Stahl’s position as an ESG leader in our sector. By integrating Finboot’s MARCO middleware & application suite into our digital ecosystem, we are able to demonstrate that we are actively seeking to drive positive change in our industrial processes. This is not just for the benefit of the brands which use materials that have been treated by our chemicals but their customers too, who are becoming increasingly conscious about the provenance and sustainability credentials of the products they are buying”.

Nish Kotecha, Chairman and Co-founder of Finboot, added: “Industrial businesses are facing increasing pressure from regulators, investors and consumers to adopt more sustainable practices. Empty claims are no longer tolerated, which means companies are now obliged to provide reliable and transparent data that verifies the changes they are making to their supply chains. Brands are even backlisting suppliers that are not providing sufficient data, and this requirement is only expected to become more rigorous. We are delighted to be partnering with Stahl to help the company deliver on its strategy of improving the sustainability of the chemicals it uses. MARCO’s ability to securely record and verify data along the entirety of manufacturing supply chains brings further trust and transparency to the work that Stahl is doing and we look forward to working closely with the team to help the business remain the preferred choice for many of the world’s leading luxury brands”.

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Desigual, a leading international fashion brand headquartered in Barcelona, has partnered with enterprise blockchain group Finboot to integrate its MARCO Track & Trace application within its import and export process to improve transparency and build resiliency in its supply chain.  

The challenge

Once an initial purchase order is made by Desigual to a supplier, there are numerous logistical milestones to meet ahead of the goods arriving at the retailer’s distribution centre. These include the negotiation of a lead time for each product line in the purchase order with tier one suppliers and the organisation of transport for the finished goods via freight forwarders.

One of the biggest challenges Desigual faces when managing this process is the lack of visibility from start to finish. If delays arise, which they often do, the company has previously been unable to determine where the issue originated within the supply chain. It is even more difficult for Desigual to take preventive measures before an issue or delay occurs, since there isn’t an effective mechanism in place that can flag these in advance.

The solution

With Finboot’s unique MARCO Track & Trace solution, Desigual is able to trace the entire process, from purchase order to arrival at the distribution centre, on a near real-time basis as the blockchain technology enables all stakeholder interactions to be registered in a secure, shared environment. Gathering this data in a visible and transparent way is not only key to accountability but, more importantly, it also gives Desigual far greater insight into its import and export process, thereby building a more resilient, verifiable supply chain.

The first phase of the partnership will introduce significant operational efficiencies to Desigual and is the first step towards the company’s broader digitalisation objective. In the future, there is scope to extend this traceability across the entire supply chain, from purchase order to end consumer, enabling complete visibility of all production processes and distribution channels. This is an important step for Desigual as the fashion industry continues to evolve its relationship with the consumer to become more transparent, accountable and data-driven.

Javier Fernández, Technology Innovation Leader at Desigual, said: “Having transparent, resilient supply chains is of paramount importance to us as we look to both increase our operational efficiency and gain greater insight into our production processes. By using Finboot’s blockchain solution MARCO, we are ensuring that we remain at the forefront of digitalisation, which gives us a competitive edge over brands that continue to rely on analogue, inefficient systems. This supply chain transparency will enhance our brand value and benefit all of Desigual’s stakeholders.”

Juan Miguel Pérez Rosas, CEO and Co-founder at Finboot, added: “Blockchain can bring much needed transparency and visibility to complex logistics and help build the supply chains of the future. Finboot has extensive experience in the ready-made garments industry, having worked with other leading brands in both Europe and the USA,  and we are delighted to now also be supplying Desigual with our proprietary middleware solution MARCO to embed resiliency within its operations. In an era of accelerated globalisation, the need for secure, digitalised supply chains has never been greater. The adoption of technology that gives partners, suppliers and consumers access to more accountable and traceable information will bring much needed trust to brands in an increasingly data-driven world.”

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Enterprise transformation refers to any complex or fundamental change that impacts the way an organisation operates. In the past few years, virtually all large enterprises, particularly industrial ones, have embarked on deep, comprehensive, strategic transformations. There is a particular focus on two main areas: digitalisation and sustainability. Both of these have become priorities for any enterprise that expects to stay relevant over the next 5 to 10 years. In order to compete with market insurgents and adapt to the new expectations of customers and consumers, companies have been forced to design a clear strategy for their digital and sustainability transformations.

However, strategy is not nearly enough. As Peter Drucker, the Austrian-American management consultant and educator, once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Whether it is regarding digitalisation, sustainability, or any other corporate initiative, an enterprise’s transformation strategy is decided at a Board or C-level. Culture, however, it is not so much a decision as it is the set of beliefs and behaviours that determines how the company is run and how employees handle business transactions. No matter what the strategic decisions are, company culture will always prevail. This is why any strategic enterprise transformation needs to go hand in hand with an evolution of the company’s culture.

The big question is, how do we enact cultural change in a large organisation? Traditionally, culture fell under the responsibilities of the HR department; however, with time, it has increasingly become a CEO concern. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, wrote “the CEO is the curator of an organization’s culture”. CEOs must be able to both understand the current culture and cultivate the desired one by establishing the right environment. Upon doing so, it will also be the CEO’s job to guarantee that their vision of company culture is in sync with their employees. Company culture must also be aligned with the marketplace and the perception of the company brand by customers and consumers. Only by understanding and aligning all three of these elements (CEO’s vision, employee behaviour and market perception) will an organisation succeed in enacting cultural change.  

As a CEO of a technology startup myself, I must admit that this is not a challenge reserved just for large organisations. Aligning our strategy with our culture is one of my top priorities and I believe that the cohesion we have achieved in this regard at Finboot is one of our best attributes. However, our work does not end there. By providing deeply transformational solutions to our customers as we help them to digitise their value chains and build more sustainable and resilient business processes, we must make sure that we can act as a driver in their enterprise transformation. More than technology or services providers, we see ourselves as enablers of change and progress. Part of our job is to guarantee that we deliver value for our customers across the entire company, from the strategic advantages our technology can deliver at a corporate level, to the operational advantages that we bring to the day-to-day work.

As more companies embark on enterprise transformation, I hope that they do so with the understanding that aligning strategy and culture is a fundamental key to success.

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New Look, a fashion retailer in the UK, last week completed its second Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) and, by doing so, sparked a ground-breaking change to the retail rental model. New Look persuaded some 400+ landlords (c. 90% of its estate) to agree to rents based on shop turnover in order to better align store costs with trading conditions: a radical demand in a sector where the rental model is traditionally built on fixed rents that only go up year on year.

I have personal experience in this and can clearly see the value and benefits: 18 years ago, I invested in a novel juice bar concept called Lovejuice, which opened its first store in Stansted airport, where the rent was linked to sales. This proved to be very profitable for both landlord and tenant but, unfortunately, it proved impossible to replicate the arrangement at other sites. However, with New Look now setting a new precedent, this model looks set to become far more common practice.

However, one question that arises from this revolutionary new model is how we can be certain that companies are truthful in determining how much rent should be paid. A distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, could prove essential in ensuring turnover is reconciled regularly to ensure that amounts paid are based on a single source of truth.

Many retail outlets were struggling even before the hammer blow of Covid-19 and now, more than ever, new operating models are desperately required if we are to hang onto any semblance of a high street. Commercial rents are heading in the same direction. IWG plc (formerly Regus), the workspace provider, recently announced a restructuring of its commercial rent agreements with tenants which may link their rental fee to business performance. IWG takes long leaseholds on office space and rents this out to short term tenants. As our use of the office has fundamentally changed, so does the need to update the business model.

Turnover or performance linked rents depend on the quality and timeliness of data but, currently, a trusted data ecosystem between landlord and tenant does not exist. One of the challenges to this data capture is that retail sales are multichannel. As operations often span brick-and-mortar shops, mobile browsing, online marketplaces, social media and online retargeting ads, it’s virtually impossible to get an accurate overview of sales from physical shops alone at any one time.  

Similarly, a daily sales number would fail to take account of returns and refunds. Sales in any particular period are not final until any returns have been netted out. However, the period for returns extends well beyond any sale period and so returns can severely impact headline sales. As online sales have dramatically increased during the pandemic, so has the level of returns. However, landlords can’t wait for months after a company’s year-end accounts to receive an audited confirmation of turnover. They need liquidity to support their own operations.

Blockchain technology can play a critical role in the digital transformation of retail and commercial rents. The simple fact is blockchain can effectively capture data from numerous stakeholder workflows, including proprietary systems or platforms used by landlords, tenants and other parties, through its distributed ledger approach. Blockchain is then able to guarantee that this data is transparent and immutable, creating an ecosystem capable of providing trusted information on a near-real time basis. This has the potential to create daily rent models which are reconciled regularly to ensure that amounts paid are based on true and verifiable data.

The opportunity here is to adopt relevant technology that enables migration to a business model that is a win-win for both parties. Historical fixed-price commercial rental agreements are outdated. Technology can modernise this system to ensure that data, from which the cost of rent can be determined and communicated to other parties, is real, correct, trusted and not prone to human error, negligence or worse.

Ultimately, trust requires transparency to validate integrity. Landlords and tenants need to find a new way of building trust, which was previously based on fixed-price rental contracts. Blockchain technology can underpin this trust in a new, fairer and more flexible landlord-tenant relationship for the future.

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Not only does blockchain play well with other oil and gas technologies, it helps others deliver more value. One plus one really does equal three, but it depends on who is doing the maths, and how.

Blockchain innovators are already highlighting the merits of working closely with other technologies (such as the Internet of Things). Convergence in this sense (close collaboration or even mutual co-dependence with other technologies) raises a number of questions for oil and gas companies interested in blockchain possibilities:

• What exactly is “convergence” and is it a material consideration?
• How does blockchain actually interact with other technologies?
• Where is the evidence of this convergence in oil and gas?
• What possibilities could be unleashed because of convergence?
• What are some of the challenges that need to be overcome because of convergence?

Defining Convergence

Convergence is a good term to describe the reality of blockchain in oil and gas. Blockchain solutions are meeting with legacy or innovative technologies at a point (such as an application or business solution) and creating something new.

At the same time, these various solutions (blockchain, machine learning, robotics, additive manufacturing) continue to develop along their own advancement pathways, assuring that they will be, for the time being, independent of each other.

To be open to convergence becomes a key feature of both blockchain technology and the other relevant technologies. Put another way, the technology architecture for a suite of digital technologies, and the legacy technologies, places priority on integration, interoperability, openness, and transparency. We find that newer and modern technologies take for granted that they will need to play well with others, but many legacy technologies never anticipated this need.

Convergence in Practice

The mechanical question of how blockchain converges with other technologies provides insight into the plausible use cases and futures for blockchain. How does blockchain integrate or interact with other technologies, exponential or legacy?

In part, this is a mechanical question. The challenges of data alone are daunting. Data is almost impossibly non-standardised in oil and gas. Very frequently, the sheer volume of measurements taken by gauges and other devices can be overwhelming. The variety of data, from neat tabular numerics to messy charts to hand-annotated PDFs, is like a candy store for the data designer.

But there are many other challenges that can impede or outright block convergence, because rarely are there just two technologies converging. Take, for example, a blockchain solution that records some bit of useful data captured from the field. Many things have to go right in this scenario:

• The data source itself, its technical innards, and its reliability in the field
• The power supply to the data capture device and its reliability
• The behaviour of data capture in response to variability in power quality
• The integrity of the data captured and its resistance to compromise
• The integrity of the telecoms network that moves the data from point of capture to cloud
• The reliability of the cloud environment where the blockchain solution resides
• The technical competence of the blockchain designer
• The reliability of a computation based on the captured data

It turns out that blockchain is already converging with a huge range of other technologies, both exponential and legacy, including:

• Newer Internet of Things sensors
• Legacy SCADA data
• Algorithms, recipes or formulas, and designs
• Robots and autonomous technologies
• Classic enterprise data, such as purchases and sales

Some enterprise systems, such as SAP and Oracle, may have the upper hand relative to other legacy systems because they were designed from the start to be easy to integrate with.

Sensor quality has repeatedly surfaced as a concern, and so there may need to be a step change in the manufacture and design of sensors to improve data quality.

Use Cases for Convergence

There are objectively too many immediate opportunities to apply blockchain solutions in oil and gas—tracking products and feedstock, managing royalty payments, water and waste water handling, offshore vessel contracting, service contracting, usage cycles for field equipment. Blockchain is now being used to track precisely how many times a downloaded instruction set for a 3D printer is actually executed so that the customer doesn’t print an unlimited number of copies of a valuable part.

As oil and gas gains more experience with these early use cases, the industry is likely to open up dramatically bigger and more transformative possibilities. For example, the industry today dismisses the possibility of tracking molecules of hydrocarbons because of the blending issue. Coupled with sensors and other technologies, blockchain solves this problem, creating the potential for branding oil as, say, terror free or environmentally sustainable.

Similarly, electricity providers cannot state that a specific electron is from a renewable source, only that a proportion of the total power in their feedstock is from renewable sources. That’s like selling tomatoes as organic when actually just 10% of the fruit is truly green. Consumers are slowly being taught not to buy such claims.

Blockchain creates the potential to track an electron from source to disposition, from a hydrocarbon source to a power generator and into a car battery, to be eventually wheeled back to a customer in the form of a dishwasher run. The building blocks are falling into place.

The immediate draw is more prosaic. A trusted business process enabled by blockchain requires much less human supervision, far less problem resolution, and limited inspection. Cost reduction is the unromantic prize, even though technology heavy processes require more human handlers.

Conclusion

One plus one can equal three. Blockchain plus Internet of Things can be bigger and better together than separately. To do this maths, oil and gas companies need to make industrial collaboration on blockchain a priority. When they do, it opens up whole new possibilities.

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Today’s food supply chains are global, connected and generally efficient, but the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on areas of weakness. The urgent need for robust and resilient systems and processes has been brought sharply into focus, and the combined food industry, like so many other sectors, has an opportunity to “build back better” through the adoption of revolutionary technologies such as blockchain.

The problem

The food industry has long been beset by health and safety issues, given the complexity of its supply chains, and, unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 outbreak led to calls for urgent reforms. The food supply chains are complicated and generally characterised by long shipment distances and lengthy processing times, resulting in there being little trust in the process.

There are numerous participants involved in each step of the chain, including farmers, processors, manufacturers, quality control agencies, government agencies, logistics companies, distributors, retailers and so on and so forth. Each participant keeps information about the product and their part in the process inside their organisation, typically only passing on the most basic details. Furthermore, this information is usually stored on their own in-house server, which increases the chance of fraud or misinformation. Everyone in the supply chain relies on what they have been told by the party behind them in the chain and, despite current tracking systems, mistakes are still made.

As a result, traceability is critical for ensuring long-term trust in our critical food supply chains. But what if one link is out of action? How can the adjacent links build the bridge and keep the information and the supply chain moving?

The role of blockchain

The focus on cost efficiency throughout supply chains demands evidence-based delivery: every ingredient and process needs to be tracked to ensure that the final product can be verified and traced back to its core ingredients and processes. This not only ensures cost efficiency, but also that the final product is safe to consume.

Blockchain has the unique capability of being able to provide a secure environment where each of the participants in the network can add and submit their records related to their part of the process, which, once entered and verified, cannot be modified. The technology delivers full traceability and transparency by keeping track of who recorded what data and when, thereby providing a robust audit trail and enabling a food item’s journey to be monitored from farm to table in real-time.

This benefits both the farmers, who can prove the quality of their products and therefore increase their value in the marketplace, and the consumers, who are increasingly conscious about the provenance of their food. The hope is that this will eventually lead to sustainable farming practices and responsible consumption.

Blockchain in action in food supply chains

Around the world, there are already some good examples of blockchain implementation in the food industry. In the US, Cargill’s traceable turkeys programme allowed consumers to text a code to find out where their turkey had come from, see photos of the farm and read messages from the farmer. There has also been positive feedback from Walmart’s proof-of-concept projects with IBM’s Food Trust platform.

Companies like Finboot, which deliver sophisticated middleware solutions, offer enterprises the optimal way to engage with the technology. We have already seen success in the agricultural industry with Spain-based AgriTech start-up Fidesterra, which has recently integrated our middleware product MARCO into its platform in order to securely record all of its clients’ agricultural data.

Fidesterra’s CTO and Co-Founder Jesús Pavón has been extremely impressed by the technology, saying: “By using blockchain, we are able to empower farmers by securely recording all available data about their crops, from sources such as remote sensing tools, satellite and drone imagery, and IoT devices, so that they can verify their good practices. We are also looking to build an agricultural insurance system on blockchain technology, whereby key weather incidents and related payouts are drafted on smart contracts that are linked to mobile wallets. Then, in the case of a drought or flooding in the field, immediate pay-outs can be made to farmers.”

Looking forward

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for reliable and resilient digital infrastructure within businesses, and the agricultural and food processing industries are no exception. While there are admittedly some barriers to overcome with regards to blockchain adoption, such as integration with existing legacy systems and connectivity for suppliers with limited digital capability, these are by no means insurmountable. In fact, a recent survey by Deloitte saw increased positive thinking among enterprises around the usage of blockchain-based applications, and we expect this trend to continue as the abundant benefits become clear.

With sustainability now a top priority globally, consumers are demanding ever more accountability, and blockchain is the tool that will strengthen global food supply chains for the future, improve agricultural and food processing standards, and give us all true visibility over what we eat.

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Not too long ago, there was very little to link Wirecard, the disgraced payments platform in Aschheim, Germany, with Boohoo, the fast-fashion online retailer in Leicester, England, but both have recently been embroiled in high-profile scandals.

Wirecard’s recent collapse is a failure of audit to reflect a “true and fair” review of accounts, as defined by The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Curiously, there is no statutory definition of “true and fair”, even though this concept of acceptable accounting conduct has been a part of English law and central to accounting and auditing practice in the UK for many decades.

Now apply this principle to Boohoo, the fast-fashion online retailer based in the English Midlands. Should the audit of Boohoo's financial statements have highlighted risks associated with sourcing 40 percent of its supplies from Leicester, a city that is home to a number of textile factories that have often been associated with labour malpractice?

Boohoo had indeed highlighted in its Section 54 filing under the UK Modern Slavery Act that it expects all its suppliers to sign a statement acknowledging their own full compliance with the legislation. In other words, the company expected its sub-contractors, whose products end up in fashion stores across the world, to be partners in eradicating modern slavery.

Boohoo also explicitly states in its 2019 Modern Slavery Statement that "We continue to work with Leicester Council…highlighting the health and safety issues and risks to those vulnerable workers in buildings not considered fit for purpose and at risk of exploitation”.

Jaya Chakrabarti, CEO of tiscreport.org, a platform that campaigns for transparency in supply chains, says: "Modern slavery is difficult to detect in part because workers are forced to accept practices that are exploitative. Consequently, many companies indemnify themselves by shifting the legal responsibility for abuses onto suppliers, by making them sign declarations of compliance. However, this doesn't wash out the reputational stains on high profile brands. We know labour exploitation exists in every supply chain. Companies that have not found it will need to look much harder."

Why, then, did the market wipe away nearly half of Boohoo’s valuation following an expose by undercover reporters from The Sunday Times, if the retailer had flagged the risks in Leicester?

Is it because the risks associated with having Boohoo’s supply chain in Leicester were not included in the main financial statements and therefore beyond the usual diligence of auditors? Boohoo was certainly being transparent and compliant with the law in placing these risks in the public domain and noting “Labour or environmental abuse in the supply chain could result in closure of supply or reputational damage” in its 2020 annual report, but perhaps it was also being artful in hoping the true risk, sitting at a distance with third parties suppliers, would not be spotted.

In the era of accelerated digitalisation, how can these federated actions be connected to ensure genuine transparency, visibility and a true and fair audit?

This is where technology, and specifically blockchain, can help.

Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory – a single source of truth. That means data cannot be freely copied and edited to create an alternative version of the truth, which is why blockchain technologists refer to it as the “trust platform”.

How does a federated organism, such as a supply chain, comply with, say, listing rules to release material information? Surely a central depositary that is tamper-proof and tracked to ensure accountability is the right way to go? This would get to the heart of the Boohoo issue, whereby output information can be in the public domain, yet its composition remains invisible or redacted. As an open society, we should not have to depend on the discretionary activities of journalism - however noble - to uncover such truths.

More validated, immutable information will generate trust in what companies are telling us and, that must be the goal. If investors trust what they hear, they will reward its source with a higher valuation. Consider the trust in Apple versus the skepticism in Facebook.

Blockchain creates transparency and tamper-proof accountability in the steps preceding and during an audit process. Imagine, if blockchain had been used by the auditors at Wirecard, where some €1.9 billion has gone missing: the technology, connected to global banks, would have embedded the immutable verification of bank balances directly into the audit process, meaning that the balance sheet couldn’t have been inflated.

Instead, at Wirecard, auditors relied on the client for banking information and would then ask the same bank contact for verification.

This is ludicrously circuitous and hugely vulnerable to abuse - as it proved to be. The fraud at Wirecard cost shareholders €20 billion.

The lesson here is to adopt relevant technology that addresses the gaps in the current auditing process, whether such gaps are caused by the subjective concept of materiality, human error or, worse, negligence or criminal intent.

A blockchain-based depositary of information from audit to financial statements to market would minimise risk, reduce costs, and provide wholesale visibility of all the information in every corner of a financial statement. This would mean that what is finally presented to investors can be traced back to its verified source.

Ultimately, trust requires transparency to validate integrity. Adopting technologies such as blockchain into the audit and reporting framework of public companies could provide much needed transparency so that investors can avoid being caught up in another Wirecard or Boohoo scenario.

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It is important to say that, while blockchains are considered as a specific type of DLT, the sector has generally grown to use both terms interchangeably.

Choosing the right blockchain solution is a critical step of the blockchain integration process, as it could prove to be a costly and inefficient mistake. To ensure that the organisation is unlocking the true benefits of the technology, the decision of opting for one blockchain technology or the other should be based on the enterprise’s need and the purpose behind its implementation. 

In this article of blockchain explained, we will discuss the four main blockchain technologies that have been adopted by organisations of all sizes across the globe, as well as their characteristics and their use cases to date, to help you better understand and identify the right blockchain solution for your organisation. 

Given the specificities of the enterprise environment, the players involved and the type of the information shared, this article will be focused on how these blockchain solutions can be built and implemented by organisations in private or hybrid cloud environments. While current distributed ledgers have been developed as public or private networks in nature, adopting a hybrid ledger can ensure adaptability and minimise complexities related to the technology, as well as support consortium and compliance between members of the network. 

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      1 - Ethereum

Ethereum is a blockchain-based, decentralised platform that was developed to facilitate the development of other decentralised applications. In a nutshell, the Ethereum protocol provides the “code base” on which those other decentralised applications are built.

This blockchain technology pioneered the development and deployment of smart contracts, which allow members in the network with the necessary authority to build custom protocols or set of rules around specific transactions. With the use of smart contracts, organisations are able to digitally regulate actions and execute tasks when the agreed conditions are met. Ethereum’s features makes it the ideal solution for decentralised process automation.

Ethereum was originally created as a permissionless and public blockchain solution: the applications developed on its platform, as well as the information available, are accessible by all, without the presence of a single entity having control over it. However, as an open source technology, Ethereum can be built in an organisation as a permissioned network if required, to ensure that data regarding transactions and other sensible information is undisclosed, while still providing organisations with the ability to ensure with security, reliability, and the many other benefits of blockchain.

Being a decentralised blockchain platform also implies that the network relies on peer-to-peer consensus: relations and transactions in the platform need to be verified and accepted by all members, regardless of the nature of their participation.

Ethereum’s capabilities and features make it particularly attractive for the financial and insurance sectors and have seen a more generalised adoption than other ledger technologies, most notably in the business to consumer sector.

The oil and gas giant, Repsol, is a successful example of Ethereum’s use case: With Finboot’s own middleware, MARCO, as well as one of our blockchain applications, Track & Trace, Repsol was able to implement an Ethereum based network in order to facilitate tracking of samples and complex assets throughout their supply chain. Implementing this technology allowed Repsol to digitalise and streamline their processes in a transparent and trusted environment, increasing productivity and reducing overall costs.

Click here if you want to see how Finboot’s has helped Repsol unlock tremendous value across their supply chain.

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     2 - Hyperledger Fabric

Hyperledger Fabric, often referred to as Fabric, is an open-source solution “built under the Linux Foundation’s model of technical governance and open collaboration” between industry leaders, such as IBM.

The aim of this collaborative effort is to advance and promote blockchain’s adoption across industries, as well as foster the development of blockchains platforms.

Fabric has been leveraged to grant companies more visibility in their processes, as well as more control over who has access to the data made available on the platform.

Unlike the previously mentioned application, Fabric was designed as a “permissioned”  platform; as such, not everyone is allowed visibility or participation in the blockchain platform. Instead, by using encryption keys, organisations can limit access to the network, as well as the amount of information they want to disclose to authorized members, concealing what is deemed “sensitive” data.

When it comes to its consensus mechanism, Fabric allows permissioned members in the network to build and personalise their smart contracts and allows consensus to be reached in a variety of ways, in a highly secure and private environment. For example, an organisation could decide that, for a particular transaction to be executed, a set of conditions need to be met and validated by specific members or “nodes” called validators. Fabric facilitates the necessary flexibility so that enterprises can decide upon the structure of the member’s permissions.

Due to the highly configurable design of the technology, Fabric can adapt its structure to adapt depending on the enterprise’s demands of the technology and resolving/mitigating potential risks associated with scalability issues.

Fabric has been successfully integrated into many supply chains to offer more visibility and facilitate tracking of assets, as well as record keeping and reconciliation of invoices. Given its characteristics and its “permissioned” nature, Fabric has been the blockchain technology of choice for Financial organisations.

One of the most notable use cases in this industry is the startup We.Trade, supported by IBM as well as 12 other major european banks such as UBS, CaixaBank and Deutsche Bank.

We.Trade objective is to develop a blockchain based platform, powered by Hyperledger,  to connect medium and small companies to banks. With this network, We.Trade aims at facilitating connectivity and communication between players, and, most importantly, grant organisations  with the same access to liquidity and other opportunities as other big players in the market, ultimately facilitating trade internationally. This project is particularly relevant in current times, due to the effects and consequences that COVID-19 has had on small and medium businesses.

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     3 - Corda

R3 Corda is another permissioned network, primarily designed and developed for financial systems, legal contracts and other shared data between mutually trusting organizations. When it comes to governance, Corda envisions itself as a permissioned blockchain that gives control of governance to R3.

In the same line as Fabric, while Corda is heavily based on blockchain technology and provides many of the benefits of a blockchain platform, it is not considered as a blockchain platform.

Corda’s main objective is to provide a secure platform with common services and allow particular networks to be built on top of it, ensuring compatibility for all permissioned members or participants.

One of the main benefits of using Corda is that it provides organisations with the ability to create smart contracts around complex transactions such as individual contracts and agreements. What differentiates Corda from other distributed ledger technologies is that it also allows those organisations to design and customise the structure of their consensus mechanisms, allowing them to adapt depending on the particularities of the use case.

For a consensus to be reached on Corda, it needs to meet two specific requirements:

• Transaction validity; by confirming that all contract’s conditions, signatures and associated codes are accurate and accepted by all stakeholders involved. This step also ensures that there are no inconsistencies with a member’s previous transactions, by providing a history or record of past transactions
• Transaction Uniqueness; to ensure that the necessary inputs are allocated to this specific transaction, and not being consumed by other possible activities in the network.

This technology aims at facilitating the recording, monitoring and synchronizing of financial agreements between regulated financial institutions. Consequently, and due to the highly sensitive nature of the information introduced in the platform, Corda supports the implementation of access restrictions. With the use of authentication nodes, the network is able to verify identities and validate contracts’ signatures, and information is made available only to nodes or permissioned participants of the transaction. The result is a highly secure environment where information and transactions can be exchanged without risk of being tampered with or hacked.

Corda ensures integration with a variety of existing operating programs, and its customisable nature has enabled its broader use in multiple industries, such as insurance and healthcare for record-keeping, as well as in supply chains to help with digital assets’ traceability. However, Corda being essentially developed for the financial institutions, the Finance sector can be considered as the strongest use case of the technology.  With this distributed ledger, the finance sector can create a safe and trusting environment where customer and other sensitive data can be managed and shared. Additionally, with no middle-man required or customs barriers to go through, this framework could streamline its operations and transactions, and increase processing time while still reducing operational costs.

One good example out of many is X-Defraud, which aims to mitigate and prevent risks of fraud  in Trade Finance. X-Defraud helps organisations create a digital record of all trade transactions, by providing a blockchain powered platform, based on Corda. Moreover, their system x-rays every invoice, certifications and other related documents on the platform, to ensure their reliability.

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     4 - Cardano

Cardano was created, similar to Ethereum, as an open-source, decentralised and permissionless blockchain platform. Developed by one of the original creators of Ethereum, it is based on scientific as well as peer-reviewed research and referred to as the “3rd generation blockchain”.

One of Cardano’s specificities is its coding protocol and emphasis on delivering the highest codebase quality. To do so, Cardano’s developers decided that, instead of working on an already existing blockchain code, they needed to start from the ground up. Based on an advanced programming language called “Haskell”, they then designed their own protocol and created their own code.

According to their website, their “protocol implementations and platform integrations are first researched, challenged, mathematically modelled and tested before they are specified”, ensuring that “the project remains adaptable and responsive to emerging requirements and new innovations” and “to support global applications, systems, and solutions.”

Cardano is at its essence a public blockchain application that essentially revolves around the deployment of smart contracts in a secure and reliable environment. Just like Ethereum, it can also be designed and implemented as a permissioned network. However, what differentiates this technology is its focus on three specific characteristics: Scalability, Interoperability and Sustainability.

It is important to state that while Cardano  is continuously being developed, current efforts have focused on facilitating the sharing of metadata to their transactions, which could be a particularly attractive feature for banks and governments.

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Discover how Finboot enables organisations to work with a variety of applications by clicking here.

Momentum is building for the development and commercialisation of agricultural technologies. One of the least digitised sectors globally, agriculture is now attracting new perspectives and capital. This digital transformation has become essential for multiple reasons, the principal one being the UN Food and

Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) estimate that farmers will have to produce 70% more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's enlarged population.

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Fidesterra is an AgriTech management platform that combines remote sensing tools with data analytics, satellite imagery, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and IoT devices to provide farmers with detailed and accurate data so they can monitor the quality of crops one month before harvest and develop more effective and sustainable practices. The company predominantly works with agri-food co-operatives and big agricultural corporations based in Spain, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.

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Fidesterra has recently integrated Finboot’s unique production-ready blockchain middleware MARCO into this platform in order to securely record all of the agricultural data that is gathered from these technologies, including the temperature of soil, water levels and use of fertilisers. This enables farmers to closely monitor growing conditions and therefore identify the most lucrative time to plant and harvest crops.

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By using blockchain infrastructure, Fidesterra is ensuring its clients’ data is stored in a safe environment where the information is reliable, trustworthy and immutable. With more data, companies could predict shortages or over-production more accurately: in the case of the latter, this could help to address the global

sustainability concern of food waste.

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In addition, blockchain has the unique capability of being able to record every step in the agricultural product’s supply chain to provide full traceability and transparency. For example, it can confirm the organic status of food, with the blockchain certifying that no pesticides or man-made fertilisers were used on the crop. This benefits both the farmers, who can prove the quality of their products and therefore increase their value in the marketplace, and the consumers, who are increasingly conscious about the provenance of their food.

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Noslen Suárez PhD, Business Development Manager at Finboot, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Fidesterra to help support its mission to make agriculture more effective and sustainable. Having access to accurate and verifiable data will help farmers to make more informed decisions about their agricultural methods, revolutionising the industry in the process. Advanced technology solutions, such as that offered by MARCO in AgriTech, will play a crucial role in meeting UN sustainability goals such as ‘end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030’. Blockchain technology has the potential to benefit several areas of agriculture operations by streamlining and enhancing processes, and we look forward to extending use cases within the sector.”

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Jesús Pavón, CTO and Co-Founder at Fidesterra, commented: “This collaboration with Finboot, one of the leading companies in the enterprise blockchain sector, is an exciting step for us and significantly differentiates us in the AgriTech market. It was very simple to integrate Finboot’s MARCO product into Fidesterra’s software architecture, so we were up and running within two weeks. Our clients will hugely benefit from this partnership, and I look forward to seeing the results."

Repsol and Saudi Aramco’s recent announcement that they have teamed up to build one of the largest zero emission synthetic fuel production plants in the world is a significant step towards Repsol’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.

The plant, which will produce a synthetic fuel from carbon dioxide and green hydrogen, will be located near Repsol’s refinery in Bilbao and is part of a broader technology collaboration between Repsol and Aramco, which has an initial investment of around €80 million. A second production plant will also be built that generates biofuels from urban waste.

The industrial process

The first plant will generate synthetic fuels that can power all kinds of transportation (lorries, vehicles and even airplanes), using only water and carbon dioxide as raw materials. This facility will use the carbon emissions from the Petronor refinery, a Repsol subsidiary located in the same region.

The second plant will, initially, be capable of processing 10,000 tonnes of urban waste per year, with the capacity to scale to up to 100,000 tonnes in the future. Through a process known as pyrolysis, urban waste is heated at high temperatures (without oxygen) to generate gas which, in turn, will be used as fuel in the same refinery. Emissions will be then be captured, thereby generating 100% clean energy for the market.

This is an innovative initiative, using cutting-edge technology to support and accelerate energy transition and the circular economy.

The role of digital

The transformation of current industrial processes to support more sustainable energy production is a strategic and necessary step in today’s world. The transformative agenda of Repsol and Aramco positions them as pioneers in this journey; there is, however, a second revolution in industrial sectors like Oil & Gas, and this is digital transformation.

Having risen to the top of the business agenda, sustainability and digital are now strategic priorities for the industrial companies of the future and there are many ways in which the two can be combined to maximise the value they add to a business.

The clean energy and circular economy plants, such as those being built by Respol and Aramco, should be digital-led. For instance, they could:

1. Use IoT devices and edge computing to gather data in order to monitor and analyse their production processes
2. Introduce machine learning and AI for predictive maintenance and production optimisation
3. Apply blockchain technology to trace the clean energy generated and the products or services in which this energy is then consumed

Success stories

These are just some of the many ways in which digital technologies can empower sustainability initiatives, and we are already seeing examples. For example, Repsol has been using Finboot’s MARCO product (white-labelled as BlockLabs), to integrate different parties, IoT devices and legacy systems to register, manage and track petrochemical products. This provides a transparent and immutable trace of physical assets throughout the oil and chemical supply chain.

Meanwhile, Belmont Technology is using AI to optimise exploration and production by enabling real-time and economically constrained geological model iterations. Schneider Electric has released EcoStruxure, an IoT enabled platform for the monitoring and automation of industrial processes.

Conclusion

In the mission to become more sustainable and accountable, the use of digital technologies like blockchain will be one of the most important things for the Oil & Gas industry to consider. As the sector sets increasingly ambitious emissions reduction targets, it will come under growing pressure to prove that it is doing what it says it is.

Digitalisation will have a starring role as we move towards more sustainable industrial processes. Fast movers and early adopters will have both the advantage of experience and the chance to establish themselves as the gold-standard. Those companies that fail to adopt transformational digital technology to complement and drive their sustainability initiatives will be at a severe disadvantage, falling behind their pioneering peers.

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Among the many terms that you might have seen associated with blockchain and distributed ledger technologies agnostic is perhaps one of the most common. While we often come across this term, it is difficult to find a clear definition and consensus, (blockchain pun intended), around agnosticism and how it relates to blockchain technology.

This article aims to clarify the meaning of the term within the scope of blockchain and DLTs, the motivation behind making  this feature so remarkably relevant, and the biggest challenges around achieving true blockchain agnosticism.

Being blockchain agnostic means that your different business solutions can be built or operated from different underlying blockchain technologies. Most current applications are designed to suit specific industries, use cases, and blockchain technologies; this makes them rigid and unable to adapt to changes that constantly occur in such a nascent ecosystem.

Interoperability is also a key concept here, which is when different blockchain technologies can seamlessly and directly communicate with each other. While interoperability between different blockchain frameworks is still unachievable, an agnostic blockchain solution will take an organisation one step forward in that direction, allowing flexibility of usage and interaction between the different ledger technologies among the applications. Being agnostic gives the company the freedom to choose the best blockchain technology that suits their needs while still ensuring that the specific needs of the business case are taken care of at the same time.

Many projects have sought to achieve interoperability to allow some form of interaction between different ledgers. However, these techniques are all based on the premise that this interaction can only happen if there is a shared and common language, or a corresponding framework able to decipher its language. Consequently, while you might have the professional capacity to work with different underlying ledger technologies, this is not achieved in a seamless capacity and can reduce or limit the use case, creating complexities and heightening the exposure to inefficiencies.

Finboot’s middleware and application suite MARCO is a good example of a solution that is agnostic by design: our business modules and plug-and-play enterprise software applications are agnostic to the underlying network. In other words, we do not limit the use case, allowing companies to opt for a specific ledger technology, and change it at the click of a button, with no coding or new technology developments needed.

Agnosticism in MARCO does not focus on making different ledger technologies inter-operate, although MARCO’s design could certainly help achieve interoperability more easily. Instead, MARCO enables interaction with different underlying ledger technologies at an application level.

Now, how does this all translate and bring value to a company? And why should the agnostic element be a factor to consider when implementing enterprise blockchain solutions? Well, it is likely that an enterprise will choose one underlying ledger technology to start implementing a business solution. Based on the state of the ecosystem today, it will probably choose between Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric, depending on the business and technology requirements.

However, enterprises must understand that blockchain is still an emerging technology and, if history serves us well, all digital technologies evolve, and they do so at a rapid pace. Consequently, it is highly probable that in the mid-term, enterprises will rely on different ledger technologies for different business cases. With time, we will see more ecosystems being created, and several networks moving to production, covering different regulatory sectors, industries or geographies. The winners will be those enterprises who take the correct decisions today, building over flexible platforms that help them efficiently manage and enhance all their blockchain solutions and services as the global ecosystem continues to evolve.

By using MARCO, organisations are able to work with different ledger and blockchain technologies seamlessly, by using the same enterprise software application. Our middleware facilitates, in a very unique capacity, interactions between those technologies without the need for further and extensive technical development, reducing (or even removing) the pain of having to migrate from one ledger technology to the other.

The core values of agnosticism in MARCO reside in the provided stack for blockchain development and, most importantly, what we call the generic ledger operation or GLO. We created the GLO as an intermediary representation and technological process in which we identified all of the most common ledger transactions and operations, which we abstracted to come up with a generic format. The GLO can then be configured with the required parameters and information to facilitate interactions between ledger technologies. When an enterprise software application needs to interact with any blockchain network, the GLO will adapt and process the generic operation to, in turn, execute the corresponding actions on the target ledger technology.

Future-proofing blockchain development is deeply enshrined in our mission: being an emerging technology, blockchain is continuously evolving and, as a result, shortsighted solutions are at risk of becoming obsolete in the near future. However, with MARCO, enterprises are provided with the necessary flexibility to avoid becoming outdated and ensure that their solutions are able to evolve, migrate and adapt to what is ahead.

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In the COVID-19 world, with the exception of a few well-positioned companies demand has fallen off a cliff and is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels, even when a vaccine arrives. And for those reaping a windfall it is hard to tell how long it will last. Sales channels will be forever transformed with far greater buying and fulfillment through digital channels. That will place significant pressure on supply chains to create and deliver products in new ways. With its cross-enterprise workflow strengths, Blockchain is likely to play a critical role bringing transparency and visibility to supply chains.

Globalization has bought dramatic changes to supply chains many of which have been focused on lowering costs that resulted in increased lead times and restricted flexibility. The recent debate between onshore and offshoring is more than just price versus speed (and quality) as the trade-off. The debate has proven to be about nationalism. In the post-COVID world, there will be a strong desire to bring the supply chain onshore or nearshore in the name of resiliency,reduced risk and to speed delivery and for many governments, national security.

We are in new territory. The supply chain, a vital, yet rarely publicly discussed business function, is now in the news on a daily basis. Source locally is a common refrain from business and government leaders. Overnight, digitalization has become a survival imperative as organizations rethink their supply chain design criteria to respond to both the pandemic shock and focus on manufacturing locally. The debate over offshore vs onshore/nearshore will be reframed as resilience and adaptability become paramount. This will drive a rearchitecting of supply chains in new ways that result in the widespread acceptance of blockchain as an technology that enables cross-enterprise transformation and digitalization.

Since the 1980’s, global supply chains have been designed as sequential links in a chain that passes data and goods as they move from supplier to supplier. We rely on each constituent in the supply chain to do their part and pass on information quickly and accurately. But the truth is, that data is rarely passed from the beginning to end accurately in the best of times, much less so when supply chains are in disarray as they are today. And as countries, and for that matter, states open at different times, the links in a supply chains are being stress tested as never before.

Blockchain technology will play a critical role in the digital transformation of supply chains emerging in a post-COVID-19 world. The simple fact is blockchain technology can effectively manage workflow across the entire supply chain and through its distributed ledger approach guarantee that data is accurate, transparent and immutable Critical capabilities in supply chain redesign.

This digitalization challenge is further compounded by the shift in globalization we are witnessing particularly away from goods sourced from China. Global supply chains work well in an open, global marketplace. Changing priorities and architecture overnight will likely lead to bottlenecks and breakages, disrupting economic recovery. But rapid digitalisation will enable the transition while minimizing breakage. This will require investment, which given the cash flow constraints due to the pandemic, will need to be funded through operating savings or government programs.  

We cannot wait for a vaccine to return to normal. Supply chains need to adapt to the new normal. This means rethinking your supply chain architecture to build-in resilience and digitize workflow so that you can react to dynamic changes in demand or breakages in your supply chain at speed. As companies require resiliency while remaing cost competitive, Blockchain has a clear--and critical--role to play.

Blockchain technology can provide transparency and create the supply chain agility required in the new normal. In the enterprise, blockchain can be used as a private permissioned framework for a group of stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers and regulators to manage sourcing, production and movement of goods dynamically throughout the supply chain.

We are already seeing examples. Bumble Bee Foods has united several fishing industry stakeholders, leading an effort to track-and trace yellowfin tuna from the Indonesian ocean to the dinner table. The QR code provided by Bumble Bee does not just enable provenance but also allows the retailers to access real-time trusted information on the flow of their physical goods. Repsol, the global oil & gas group are using Blocklabs powered by Finboots’ MARCO to integrate different parties, IoT devices and existing ERP systems to register, manage and track petrochemical products, providing a transparent and immutable trace of physical assets throughout the oils and chemical supply chain.

Building a dynamic supply chain with inherit resiliency requires visibility and data that includes evidence-based delivery. Every component and process should be visible to ensure that the final product can be verified and tracked, identifying where workflow can be optimized and whether organisations are operating in the most efficient way possible while complying with labor standards and regulatory requirements. This will enable rapid reaction to future supply chain shocks and provide resiliency during these unforeseen events.

Finding the optimal balance between onshore, nearshore and offshore will be a challenge.. Workflow digitalization using Blockchain technology will have a starring role. Start with a Proof of Value. DSCI’s five key questions and BFI can help you get started.

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Success in digital strategies is predominantly measured in three key verticals: reducing costs, increasing productivity, and streamlining supply chain processes. In order to achieve these goals in the Oil & Gas industry, a trusted ecosystem is needed that enables secure data sharing across business units and organisations, which can allow stakeholders access to certified and validated information. Only then, will transparency and accountability be introduced along the entire length of the value chain.

One digital technology that meets all these requirements is blockchain. The World Economic Forum recently published its blockchain toolkit  in which it referred to blockchain as the best thing to happen to supply chains since standardised containers. We were delighted that two of Finboot’s projects, one in Oil & Gas and another in Aviation, were featured as examples of successful blockchain adoption.

At Finboot, we understand the needs of the Oil & Gas industry and how the principles of blockchain technology can help to address them. We have created a unique production-ready suite of blockchain applications and middleware solutions for value and supply chains, called MARCO, with the purpose of simplifying and accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology in industrial ecosystems.

Key features of MARCO:

1. MARCO delivers plug and play enterprise software applications that strip away the complexity of blockchain adoption. Our solutions are fully configurable to adapt to your sector or language, etc., and are focused on delivering ease of use.
2. MARCO is all about customer ROI: we start small, test your business case and only scale those solutions that have proven to be profitable for your business.
3. MARCO is agnostic when it comes to the underlying technology and can build on top of any of the multiple blockchain frameworks: as a result, using MARCO allows your blockchain solution to evolve hand in hand with its emerging ecosystem.

To better understand how MARCO can be used in the Oil & Gas industry, let us present to you one of our most successful use cases with Spanish energy giant Repsol.

• ‍The problem: Products such as fuels, lubricants and chemical compounds which are made in refineries share a common feature: they are high-quality products with complex, heavily regulated supply chains. The lack of traceability in these supply chains can lead to a lack of transparency and information on the industrial processes and raw materials being used. This means that time-consuming and costly processes are required to guarantee the quality and compliance of the products. ‍
• The blockchain solution: By implementing MARCO TRACK & TRACE, we are able to digitalise Repsol’s petrochemical samples at their point of origin (the refinery), and follow those samples as they are processed throughout the supply chain into finished products. ‍
• The process: With MARCO TRACK & TRACE, Repsol users can request certification of a sample on the web application, which creates an equivalent digital asset and registers it in a blockchain. Digital identities are then used to validate the asset’s current custody and the user’s permissions over said asset. This technology is consistent because the process of registering the assets’ characteristics and transferring this information between members of the network follows protocols that ensure the integrity of the information. MARCO is also able to integrate with legacy systems; for example, Repsol successfully connected its ERP and laboratory management systems to the MARCO environment. ‍
• The result: This solution hits on all three verticals of success mentioned previously: cost reduction, increase in productivity and streamlining of the supply chain. MARCO is now being scaled across several Repsol’s different refineries, laboratories and chemical complexes in Spain, tracing samples in at least two business areas.  

In addition to expanding further into Repsol’s supply chain, we are also working  further move into the interconnected segments of this sector and adjacent industries, including Pharmaceuticals and Plastics. We believe that MARCO can add significant value in these areas by enabling cost savings and increasing productivity.

This development fits perfectly into our broader mission to advance the delivery of digital technologies and facilitate their adoption in industrial ecosystems, and we look forward to working with many more businesses in many more sectors to achieve this.

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Finboot, the company behind the enterprise-grade blockchain middleware MARCO, announces it has partnered with the newly launched London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (LCAM), an organisation offering arbitration, expedited arbitration and mediation services, delivered by a diverse expert panel of arbitrators and mediators with many years’ experience in dispute resolution. LCAM operates under the auspices of The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

LCAM is using MARCO’s plug and play BLOCKSTAMP application to administer arbitration and mediation cases. MARCO BLOCKSTAMP uses blockchain technology to optimise case management, ensuring documents are uploaded and stored securely, accurately timestamped and made immutable, thereby embedding confidentiality and trust within the process. In addition to increasing security and efficiency, blockchain can also reduce costs by decreasing the amount of administrative time required, which in turn will result in cost savings for clients.

LCAM is an early adopter of blockchain technology in the dispute resolution field, enabling it to provide rapid and secure case management delivery to help firms in the capital and beyond to settle disputes. The global legaltech industry is worth an estimated $16 billion and continues to grow as the legal industry seeks out innovative, cost-effective and efficient legal solutions that are resilient in the “new normal” environment.

Juan Miguel Pérez, CEO and Co-Founder at Finboot, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with LCAM and applying MARCO BLOCKSTAMP to the legal sector. We believe blockchain has the power to transform all legal processes by delivering trust in their management and the way data is handled and stored, while driving efficiency and cost savings in both normal and remote operational environments. Organisations around the world are accelerating their digital transformation programmes as a result of the impact of COVID-19 in order to enhance their operational efficiency, reliability and resiliency for the future. Early movers will have a distinct advantage and speed is of the essence: our conversations with LCAM started in late March and we have already configured and delivered MARCO BLOCKSTAMP for immediate use.”  

Farad Asghari, Manager at LCAM, commented: “LCAM has been launched to provide businesses with a path to resolve disputes in an efficient way, so we are delighted that we are able to offer an innovative, digitally enabled service. This is the first time blockchain technology has been used in this capacity, enabling LCAM to provide rapid and secure case management delivery to help firms in London and beyond to settle disputes.”

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Technology has transformed many of the industries around us and we are now seeing momentum build for the development and commercialisation of agricultural technologies. One of the least digitised sectors globally, agriculture is now attracting new perspectives and capital, as well as emerging technologies.

This digital transformation has become essential for multiple reasons, the principal one being the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) estimate that farmers will have to produce 70% more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's enlarged population.

We believe that blockchain technology, in particular, could benefit several areas of agriculture operations by streamlining and enhancing processes, leaving the sector better equipped to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.

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Agricultural supply chains

Similar to other industries, agricultural supply chains have become increasingly longer and more complex due to globalisation and competition, involving actors and stakeholders that are scattered across the globe.

Consumers find value in tracing their food’s provenance: as a result, there is increased demand for, and scrutiny on, information about foodstuffs’ origin and journey. It is in the retailers and suppliers’ best interests to supply that information; however, the industry still struggles to provide the necessary traceability across their supply chains.

Blockchain technology would provide the agriculture sector with a safe environment for data access and collection, creating a network where the information available is reliable, trustworthy, immutable and shared among all stakeholders. Blockchain enables the recording of every step in the agricultural product’s value chain, from seed to sale, thereby facilitating traceability and hopefully improving food quality and safety as a result of increased transparency.

The benefits of blockchain for supply chains have been recognised by The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), which in 2018 announced the launch of the Blockchain Supply Chain Traceability Project, an initiative aiming to eliminate illegal tuna fishing and facilitate traceability by enabling fishermen to register their catch on the blockchain network through RFID e-tagging and scanning of fish.  

Food management: Quality, waste reduction and food fraud

Another challenge faced by the agricultural industry is ensuring food safety. The lack of transparency across the supply chains can lead to costly mistakes that can have considerable consequences, which are potentially more harmful than in other industries due to the potential health risks associated with poor food quality.

Clouded visibility in the supply chain also exposes the industry to the risk of food fraud, which, according to the FAO “costs the agriculture industry $10bn+ a year, affecting up to 10% of the world’s food supply”.

Another considerable concern is how to avoid food waste. The FAO states that “on average, 33% of food produced is wasted, with an average of 75% of waste occurring during production, transport, and storage.”

The data presented in the blockchain network would be highly valuable in solving food waste and fraud concerns: traceability and transparency both enable quick identification of errors, fraud or malfunctions, linking them back to their specific sources across the supply chain to ultimately improve food quality and safety. Moreover, recording every step in the agricultural product’s value chain could facilitate the estimation of required levels of stock, which could help solve food waste concerns.  

Walmart and Kroger were among the first retailers to implement blockchain within their supply chains (CB Insights 2017), using it to efficiently track packages of mangoes throughout their supply network. Their study demonstrated that, while it took 6.5 days to identify the origin and path of the fruit using traditional methods, blockchain enabled this information in just a few seconds (Wass 2017).

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Food payments and trade

Cross-border payments involve fees and delays and rely on intermediaries. As a result, small interparty transactions are hampered by slow, expensive, and insecure payment systems, resulting in inefficient payment processing and increased difficulty in resolving possible invoices inconsistencies.

Smart contracts in the blockchain support peer-to-peer transactions in a transparent and secure environment: members of the blockchain can then, by mutual agreement, “set up” permissions and obligations around specific transactions, removing the need for middlemen or other type of intermediaries.

Moreover, blockchain features prove useful in monitoring and controlling costs and contracts, which in turn facilitates invoice reconciliation, ultimately improving payment processing, reducing transactional costs and fostering trust among stakeholders.

Agricultural insurance and subsidy management

Agriculture is among the sectors most susceptible to environmental threats, since the impact of climate change and weather extremes has considerable implications for food production, quality and security. As a result, governments have tried to support farmers and others in the industry through agricultural subsidies, but these are complex, opaque, and difficult to manage.

An agricultural insurance system could be built on blockchain where key weather incidents and related payouts are drafted on smart contracts that are linked to mobile wallets. The weather data could be provided regularly by sensors in the field and correlated by data from nearby weather stations, and in the case of a drought or flooding in the field, immediate pay-outs would be made to farmers.

One example is the start-up Arbol Inc., which developed a weather derivatives software platform based on blockchain technology, where customised agreements are created so farmers can receive payments for droughts, floods or other adverse weather conditions that negatively affect their crops (ArbolMarket 2019).

Smart farming and AgTech

The increasing development and implementation of new technologies has resulted in the emergence of “smart farming”, which requires systems that simplify and promote data management. Blockchain technology can provide a strong foundation for this: remote sensing tools, satellite imagery, radar sensors and IoT sensors could gather important data like the temperature of soil, water levels and use of fertilisers, and send it to the blockchain. Based on the data received, specific actions could be triggered and executed in time-sensitive situations using smart contracts. With more data, companies could predict shortages or over-production more accurately, thereby enhancing the overall quality of the farming process.

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Many people believe blockchain to be complicated but, put simply, it can help enterprises to reduce costs, streamline processes, enhance security and improve business efficiencies. It really is that straightforward.

If you are interested in blockchain and looking for insights into how the technology could help your company, take a look at Finboot’s new infographic "Enterprise Blockchain 101" to get a better understanding of what it is, how it works and its key benefits.

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Finboot, the company behind the production-ready blockchain middleware MARCO, is pleased to announce that it has been included in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) first ever Blockchain Deployment Toolkit as an example of a company that proves the value of the blockchain ecosystem within supply chains. Two of Finboot’s successful blockchain implementations are referenced, including a project with energy giant Repsol.

WEF’s Blockchain Deployment Toolkit, which was published on 28 April, aims to shape the development and deployment of blockchain solutions and to provide a space for global cooperation to create understanding and policies that accelerate these technologies’ positive impact. It shares tested-and-tried deployment best practices, insights and lessons from a community of over 100 organisations and addresses related issues that may arise in implementation projects.

Nish Kotecha, Chairman and Co-Founder of Finboot, commented: “We are delighted to have been one of just a handful of examples included in WEF’s Blockchain Deployment Toolkit. Finboot has gone from strength to strength in the past year, working with businesses in a range of sectors to integrate blockchain within their supply chain processes efficiently and effectively. We specifically designed MARCO so that it could be quickly configured for multiple use cases, and this has proven to be one of its biggest strengths.

As acknowledged by WEF, the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated that there is a pressing need for supply chains to be more resilient and agile, and blockchain holds the key to this. This technology will revolutionise the industry and we look forward to playing our role in embedding blockchain across the global supply chain network to create a new gold standard.”

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Two of the world’s largest tech giants, Apple and Google, recently announced that they are collaborating on a COVID-19 tracking system to enable contact tracing - a measure that could pave the way for an exit strategy for those countries enforcing stringent lockdown measures. This new feature will be added to all Apple and Android mobile operating systems, to later enable government run apps to track physical proximity between phones (although the NHS has said it will use a different model).

Contact tracing aims to identify and alert people who have come into contact with a person infected with coronavirus via a smartphone app, and other health authorities are working on similar initiatives of their own.

As stated by TechCrunch, “The opt-in system uses Bluetooth to transmit a randomized and anonymous identifier to nearby devices. A user can then choose to upload their anonymized data, which is then broadcast to other devices. If a match is found (…) a user will be told that they may have been exposed to a person — whose identity is not shared — with the virus.”                                                                                                                                                  

The concerns

Tracking technologies have huge potential in times like this and can become powerful tools to efficiently identify infection hotspots and understand virus spreading patterns. However, with mass data collection comes privacy and security concerns.

Apple and Google have both stated that this tracking technology will not collect location data from users, and will only collect data from people who have had a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. They have also asserted that the technology has an expiration date and it is only intended to be used when there is major threat to public health.

However, having this technology uploaded directly onto our phones’ operating systems when we carry out the next “software update” already means that both companies will be collecting our data. Not downloading the app doesn’t mean that the tracking system won’t be uploaded onto our phone or additional information about us collected: if not where we are, then who we have been in proximity with. Given how much personal information there already is in the world, how difficult is it to know everything (or almost) about a person?

The list of potential threats extends far beyond data exploitation concerns (by Google, Apple or any other parties involved): for instance, how can we ensure that the identity of users with COVID-19 will not be revealed? How do we know that advertisers will not get access to that information? How can we ensure that acting for the common good will not come at the cost of people’s individual rights? Making the system opt-in grants people control over their participation, but how do we make sure that only the relevant data is shared?

The blockchain solution

We believe blockchain technology could potentially address these privacy and transparency issues.  As a complementary tool to the tracking system, blockchain can further protect users’ rights and identities through the use of encryptions and anonymous identifiers.

Blockchain’s strongest benefit is arguably its transparency and immutability. When data is introduced into the blockchain platform, it is organised in blocks. Attached to each block of information is a hash value for that block and for the previous one, ensuring retroactive “linkage” between them. This is how data becomes stable and cannot be changed, deleted or tampered with.

Using a blockchain-based app, users can opt for data to be shared from the devices they specify. This process creates a digital identity which can join a digital distributed ledger (blockchain) that records who has downloaded the data sharing app. Each device would submit its unique Bluetooth identifier and the other participants on this ledger would be able to validate that a device has opted to share and receive anonymous information. This forms the basis of consent to be a participant in this data sharing and subsequent ‘tracking’ via the app.

The ledger, or blockchain, has the additional benefit of registering the time and date (a timestamp) of participation and a user has complete visibility of which devices have opted in to the network. Blockchain is immutable and cryptographically secure, creating a record that acts as ‘a single source of truth’ of who opted in, searchable in a matter of seconds.

Finally, this blockchain ledger will enable health authorities to keep a medical record of the owner of one specific device and facilitate the tracking of medical information associated with an anonymous device identifier. This way, everyone participating on the system could see if they have been near another person that owns a device that has been recorded on the network as infected (without that person being identified).

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Efficient data management has long been a cornerstone for any organisation and a way to generate valuable insights that can improve the corporate decision-making process. In the past few years, the focus on big data has resulted in an exponential increase in data volumes, sources and types. While having access to such quantities of data can be a considerable asset and drive innovation, it also poses several challenges, such as security, validation, analysis and interpretation.  

The integrity and reliability of the data are also of paramount importance, however, remote working and other social distancing measures have significantly hindered the visibility and transparency across the chain of custody. This makes it more difficult for some industries to ensure compliance between intermediaries, deepening the existing distrust among stakeholders. Coupled with the increase of cyber-attacks since countries have been in lockdown and the concerns around data protection that have arisen as a result of this, organisations have been left clouded with doubts: how can I know that the information I have is reliable and has not been tampered with? How can I share my information safely?

Blockchain as a “single point on truth”

One of blockchain’s core capabilities is that it stores and provides reliable and trusted data, enabling an organisation’s stakeholders to gain access to the same information in a safe and secure environment.  

The technology also facilitates the immutable record of all relevant information, protecting it through encryptions and providing verifiability and data lineage. In addition, moderators can define rules through smart contracts that regulate activities in the different applications within the blockchain. For example, this feature can enable users to establish permissions to modify the available data. With these features, information is rendered tamper-proof and can be followed from beginning to end, with any unauthorised alteration being immediately identified. Based on its research, Gartner predicts that “By 2023, organizations using blockchain smart contracts will increase overall data quality by 50%…creating positive data and analytics ROI”.

With the increase in regulations regarding data security and privacy practices, businesses might be compelled to reassess how they collect and use consumers’ data. The transparency and traceability provided by blockchain technology are great assets that can enable organisations to efficiently demonstrate compliance and ensure best practice in data management.

Blockchain for automation and interoperability

While big data enables us to extract of high volumes of information, the process of analysing this data and translating it into valuable insights that can be shared among members of the organisation is highly time-consuming. When real-time sharing of data is involved, the methods used can be rendered inefficient. According to IDC, “by 2025 nearly 30 percent of all generated data will be real time compared with 15 percent in 2017.”

Deploying blockchain technology could allow companies to create a suitable environment for distributed analytical content, incorporating it directly into their business systems, automating interoperability of relevant information, reducing time to action, and ultimately streamlining the whole decision-making process.

Combined with other technologies such as AI and/or machine learning, blockchain could help organisations leverage augmented analytics by enabling them to securely handle large volumes of validated, trusted and immutable data. This would not only enhance data quality but also boost data analysis  capabilities, leading to more meaningful and useful insight generation.

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Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

If you are interested in knowing more about how supply chains are improving transparency and efficiency, take a look at our more in-depth article.

https://www.finboot.com/post/supply-chain-resilience-in-the-wake-of-covid-19

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As we all know, change is inevitable, and we have certainly seen a significant amount of it in recent months following the outbreak and spread of COVID-19. As nations have declared states of emergency to safeguard the health and safety of their citizens, businesses and people around the globe have had to find new ways of working in order to minimise disruption to daily operations, and digital technologies are at the heart of it all.

Over the past few years, numerous companies have come up against internal and external resistance to digital transformation, as some stakeholders have been reluctant to see innovative digital processes replace more familiar and conventional methods.

However, in the last few weeks and months, COVID-19 has forced us all to re-organise our daily lives around the restrictions and social distancing measures that have been put in place. Companies around the world are focused on navigating their way through these unchartered waters, from retailers who are now relying on e-commerce after closing their physical stores, to manufacturers who have had to significantly reduce factory activity and introduce remote working.

This has proven to be much more difficult for organisations that do not have strong digital technologies and solutions in place. The outbreak has firmly brought digital transformation to the top of the business agenda, demonstrating that, in today’s world, it is an operational necessity, not just a “nice to have”. This is paving the way for significant changes in business models and structures and providing an opportunity for companies to shift to a new digital reality.

E-commerce is an obvious example of digital transformation, but digitalisation has a multitude of applications, depending on the industry it is being deployed in. For example, manufacturing companies could leverage digital tools to help them efficiently meet remote working and social distancing requirements. This could include providing employees with remote access to real-time factory data, such as the tracing of assets or products, which reduces the need for human interaction to the absolute minimum and enables contactless activity.

It has been reported that the European Commission has concluded on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future that fields such as “e-Health, digital education, e-Government, data sharing and broadband connectivity should receive particular attention following the current coronavirus crisis.” This is not surprising and perhaps the resulting development and implementation of digital solutions across the globe will encourage governments and other public entities to not only advocate more innovative, technological approaches, but also facilitate the creation of the infrastructure that is required to support them.

Beyond the health threat that it represents, the unexpected magnitude of COVID-19’s impact on businesses and economies worldwide has shone a light on how fragile some areas of our current digital ecosystem are. Digital transformation might not be the solution to all evils, but it could be a way for organisations to better face the challenges ahead, safeguard themselves against unforeseen circumstances, and to reinvent themselves in a new reality.

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The world is in the midst of the largest remote working experiment it has ever seen, reinforcing the value of reliable data. More than ever before, we need to know where our data comes from and whether or not it can be trusted. We are bombarded with information on a daily basis across the various different communication mediums we use in our professional and personal lives. This news is then passed onto each other sequentially, through emails, WhatsApp messages and other apps and social media platforms, and the velocity is only increasing, particularly in isolation.

Supply chains operate in the same way, linked sequentially in a chain that passes information from one user to the next. We rely on each constituent to do their part and pass on information quickly and accurately, but, like a a childhood game where kids pass a whispered message to each other, the data is never the same at the end as it is at the beginning. However, what if we could guarantee that this information is accurate, immutable and derived from one of the most trusted sources of data capture? How could supply chains be transformed through the adoption of blockchain technology in times of crisis and in times of normality?

Most organisations are active in two supply chains, one physical and one financial. The financial one has the distinct advantage of being born digital while the physical one remains analogue and therefore significantly slower. Both need to be measured, monitored and tracked, so that the data extracted can be analysed and used to drive the next level of industrial automation, Industry 4.0.

However, what if one link is out of action being furloughed or unwell? How can the adjacent links maintain the bridge and keep the information and the supply chain moving?

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Today’s supply chains are global, connected and generally efficient. Still, COVID-19 has placed a spotlight on our weaknesses. The focus on cost efficiency throughout supply chains demands evidence-based delivery: every component and process needs to be tracked to ensure that the final product can be verified and tracked back to its component parts, identifying where cost savings can be made and whether organisations are operating in the most efficient way possible.

Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory. That means data cannot be freely copied and edited to create an alternative version of the truth, which is why blockchain technologists refer to it as the “trust platform”. In the enterprise context, the blockchain would be used as a private permissioned framework for a group of stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers and regulators. A recent survey by HFS Research and Wipro found that of 318 senior executives polled, 75% consider blockchain to be a strategic priority. This will only continue to grow as accountability, auditability and cost efficiencies within supply chains are increasingly prioritised. After all, duplication, checking and re-checking data and its sources costs time and money, slowing down supply chain processes. Furthermore, nearly 60% of these C-level executives anticipate that consensus-driven trust allows them to plan entirely new business models that were not possible before blockchain.

The global impact of COVID-19 will force us to reconsider what we want from our supply chains, whether this be costs efficiencies, or increased speed and agility. Unlike a row of dominoes, we also need supply chains that can withstand the next pandemic by creating a circle of trust, and not a sequential line with points that can fail.

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Review our infographic linked to this post: Blockchain in supply chain

https://www.finboot.com/post/blockchain-in-supply-chain

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In the heat of the moment, the normal human response to a novel threat is to look back and to rely on proven tools and tactics readily at hand. And this is how many western societies and businesses have decided to respond to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Since COVID-19 is being transmitted through respiratory droplets and has been proven to linger on multiple surfaces, most OECD economies decided to adopt social distancing.

Multiple cities have enacted strict actions to contain the spread of the virus, implementing quarantine measures and shutting down most businesses, and many companies have put in place a series of social distancing measures, such as a work from home strategy.

While this strategy has the potential to work for those employees who are principally in commercial roles, including finance, procurement, trading, HR, legal, administration, IT and other similar service jobs; it might be more difficult for those working in the oil and gas sector. The constant need for human supervision of assets and equipment, remote locations of new builds and many others make it challenging for the industry to easily meet social distancing targets.

Hand to hand virus combat actions available for oil and gas businesses, such as spacing out employees or offering gloves and masks, might be a temporary solution but are a costly add-on and a drag on productivity on the existing business. In the long run, and without vaccination readily concocted, the degradation of business performance will become permanent.

There’s a critical need for tactics that fundamentally challenge the underlying business models and structures for the oil and gas business, and digital tools have the potential to prevent the spread of the pandemic in the workplace while keeping business moving.

• Digital weaponry - the oil and gas industry has access to a number of digital weapons for helping deal with the pandemic. The spare capacity made available because of COVID-19 is a great opportunity for the industry to reconfigure their business around these digital innovations.
• Collaboration tools – While video conferencing tools like Zoom and Hangouts are going to get a big lift from all the home-based, Other collaboration tools — joint document editing (Google Docs), shared work tasks (Trello), team communications (Slack) — might start to be deployed more enthusiastically in the supply chain, involving contractors and suppliers.
• Wearables –  The appeal of this technology lies in its capacity to ensure personal safety by alerting employees quickly to the potential exposure of COVID-19.
• Visual Analytics – Operators could deploy cameras equipped with visual analytics to keep eyes on assets from the comfort of their home. Used in this way, cameras could also reduce carbon and imply lower costs.
• Field Automation - Instead of having field workers clustered around system control panels in close quarters, operators could deploy artificial intelligence edge controllers to manage and optimise production. Letting a machine supervise the assets can potentially move employees out of the control room and create space for social distancing, ultimately optimising the entire producing fields and reducing the potential for virus transmission.
• Drones - There isn’t a more compelling case for drone technology than a virus outbreak. Using a drone in a supply chain, a warehouse, or a delivery role means fewer opportunities for person to person interaction.
• Process Overhaul - The lack of trust between parties involved in work processes in the industry has increased due to the virus. What if the field ticket, contract, certificate, paperwork, or license was holding the virus too? Blockchain has yet another compelling business reason for deployment by reducing virus transmission with the use of digital contracts.

The longer this pandemic drags on, the more costly these manual social distancing measures will become, and the more compelling it will be to reconfigure work to permanently solve the consequences of this measure. The global disruption caused by COVID-19 represents an opportunity for the oil and gas industry to leverage the technologies and digital tools that are available to them, ensuring the safety of their employees and efficiently pursuing their activity.

In the globalised world we live in, entities such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have been established to ensure cooperation between different governments on global health-related issues. In the face of pandemics such as the one we are currently experiencing, these organisations need to have correct and accurate information in order to judge the best course of action: as we have observed over the last three months, fast, reliable scientific data, and the sharing and reporting of this data, is key to understanding, and therefore limiting, global outbreaks.

As stated by Yuval Noah Harari in his article for TIME, “while short-term quarantine is essential to stop epidemics… The real antidote to epidemic is not segregation, but rather cooperation.” This applies not only to social co-operation but also to collaborative technology, which would enable countries, organisations and individuals to share large volumes of data so that they can work together efficiently in times of crisis. However, in time-pressured situations where there is an overflow of information, the technologies and infrastructures currently in place are not up to the job of what is required of them, with limitations in areas such as full interoperability, data reliability and security. Ultimately, we don’t have the proper tools to understand what is happening at a local level, which means that we can’t sufficiently advise at a global one.

If, as stated in the TIME article, “real protection comes from the sharing of reliable scientific information”, there is an urgent need for a trusted ecosystem where data can be managed and shared, as this in turn would foster cooperation and collaboration. And that is where the potential of blockchain comes in. Just last week, it was announced that WHO is among a number of organisations collaborating on an open-data hub that will use blockchain technology to verify data relating to COVID-19, and we expect this to yield great results.

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HEALTHCARE AND BLOCKCHAIN

There are numerous areas where we believe blockchain could benefit the industry, including the management of clinical data, interoperability, and supply chain and billing management, to name but a few. There are also significant cost-saving implications: according to a report by BIS Research, “the global healthcare market spend on blockchain is expected to hit $5.61 billion and could save the healthcare industry up to $100-150 billion per year by 2025.”

Given the sensitive nature of medical records, below we look at why blockchain is the ideal technology on which to build a global cooperative healthcare ecosystem:

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Data reliability and security

The healthcare industry necessarily has to handle and store a colossal amount of data and this presents a significant challenge, with risks ranging from mismanagement of health records to security breaches.

The implementation of blockchain technology could mitigate these risks in two ways:

1. First, by giving each patient a unique identifier, and creating a smart contract between patient and professionals. This would not only ensure that the data shared is reliable and accurate but would also increase efficiency, with faster diagnoses.
2. Second, due to the inherent transparency of the technology, hospitals could guarantee that all patients’ health records were “tamper-proof”, while still ensuring the data’s privacy.

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Interoperability

Obtaining access to a patient’s record can be a very time-consuming exercise, potentially setting back that patient’s treatment and care. It can also result in mismanagement of those records and, in worst case scenarios, misdiagnoses. The digitalisation of records through blockchain could reduce those inefficiencies by creating a network where reliable information is available instantly.

By nature, we refer to blockchain as a “decentralised” technology, which means that data is not stored in one server but is shared among several participants, storages and locations. As a result, health documents added to the blockchain can be accessed by all parties involved (who have the required permissions) in a transparent and trusted environment.

This application will facilitate the interoperability of record sharing between healthcare stakeholders with important information made available to them in a disintermediated and efficient way, while still ensuring patients’ privacy and security. Importantly, it could also promote cooperation among health professionals around the world.

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MAPPING THE WAY TO A GLOBAL HEALTHCARE NETWORK

By leveraging blockchain technology, not just locally but at a global level, we could create a comprehensive and universal network where health information can be gathered and shared instantly.

For medical professionals and hospitals, having a secure and reliable database of health records would reduce the risk of misdiagnosis, ultimately resulting in optimisation of the treatment process.

Real interoperability is made possible through the digitalisation of health and medical records, unlocking opportunities far beyond the mere sharing of information. What if there was an administered private permissioned network where key stakeholders such as R&D labs and universities could upload data? A shared blockchain infrastructure and app layer could be a huge advantage because it would allow hospitals, the public administration and private companies such as insurance providers to efficiently cooperate and share solutions and insights. This transfer of instant and up-to-date data between health professionals globally could, for example, benefit research and optimise clinical trials.

We appreciate that creating a global healthcare ecosystem through blockchain technology would take time and face its own challenges, but it could help us better respond to similar - or worse – health threats in the future.

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In a recently published article in Forbes, entitled “Five ways Blockchain Can Unblock The Coronavirus Medical Supply Chain”, the author, Nishan Degnarain, successfully highlights how blockchain technology could potentially help solve some of the supply chain problems we are currently facing at a global level.

As the crisis continues and the demand for critical supplies grows, cooperation between governments and the different stakeholders in the healthcare industry is crucial to allow procurement systems to respond to this demand. However, the current systems and tools in place are not able to adequately handle the crisis requirements in a timely manner. In addition, the lack of trust that already exists across the supply chain is made even more evident with the appearance of new vendors. There have been credibility issues regarding suppliers due to cases of forged financial records and the distribution of fake coronavirus treatments.

As stated in the article, “currently there’s no centralized procurement system governed by a central body”. What if there was a government administered ‘standard procurement system’ which could be opened in such situations?

Blockchain technology is arguably the best option for creating a procurement system that is able to address and resolve the issues currently experienced, combining transparency, accountability and auditability to ensure trust for all stakeholders.

At Finboot, we recognise the need to take a cross-sectional approach to the technology.

We have built MARCO, our unique blockchain agnostic enterprise grade SaaS product, to allow enterprises to easily access and use blockchain technologies within their organizations value and supply chains. In regards to the healthcare supply chain, the application of MARCO, our blockchain-powered flagship product, could:

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- Facilitate instant and immediate data collection about product requirements and transportation tracking.  

- Respond to credibility challenges by enabling the creation of a transparent ecosystem where every transaction is recorded and the provided information is reliable and cannot be tampered with.

- Allow the digitalisation and certification of financial records through the use of encryption.

- Ensure safe payments through smart contracts.

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The potential of blockchain can unlock an array of applications.

COVID-19 is a wakeup call: this virus, and the many others that will surely follow, can be overcome through cooperation and compliance, with Blockchain providing a trust platform to bring down the barriers to global connectivity.

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These past few weeks have been flooded with news of COVID-19 (“coronavirus”), with the consequences of this epidemic going far beyond health issues. Businesses in multiple sectors globally are suffering, but few have been as severely affected as the airline industry, where the predicted financial impact is substantial.

According to an IATA report from 6 March, the airline industry is expected to suffer financial losses between $63bn and $113bn. The study also noted that airline share prices have fallen nearly 25% since the onset of the outbreak, around 21% more than the decline that occurred at a similar point during the 2003 SARS episode. However, since this data was published, we have seen shares fall further still, which has only been exacerbated by extensive travel bans.

Drops in crude oil prices could provide some relief to the industry, but the estimated $28bn saving on their fuel bill, on top of that achieved as a result of reduced operations, is far from enough to soften the blow.

In these times of uncertainty, and amid the multiple travel restrictions, the aviation sector should consider investing in blockchain technology to help mitigate some of the financial impact of the virus, while improving their processes for the future.

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Supply chain management

The airline industry’s supply chain faces numerous challenges, relying on heavy volumes of data continuously being updated and shared among participants inside and outside the industry. Management of documents relating to logistics and the condition of goods is critical, and the fallouts of any input delay or inaccuracy are considerable, ranging between delays on luggage to security issues.

Blockchain increases efficiency by providing a platform that enables a fluid communication and the control of stocks of goods such as plane fuel, resulting in a high level of inventory accuracy. It also creates a real-time, valid and unalterable record of the services provided by the Into-plane company, reducing uncertainty and costs of MROs, while fostering collaboration and productivity.

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Financial reconciliation

Discrepancies can always arise between different accounts and checks. However, blockchain ensures that invoices procured are legitimate by offering a “virtual copy” of immutable record and creating a secure environment for payment reconciliation and settlement.

By digitising processes, blockchain supports the creation of smart contracts, considerably decreasing back-office workload, while facilitating adjustment of invoices among stakeholders, which results in time-saving and better cash flows.

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Building the path towards sustainability

Demands on companies to reduce the environmental impact of their operations have significantly increased over the last few years, as seen by the surge of new regulations and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.

Airlines are under particular pressure to adopt more sustainable practices and adopting blockchain technology as a core part of a digitisation strategy provides the tools necessary to achieve their operational and ESG objectives. Its implementation would allow them to build transparent ecosystems to ensure that ethical practices are enforced and followed along the whole supply chain; for example, blockchain can follow the path of the fuel from factory to airline and confirm its provenance and quality. By building trust and encouraging compliance, airlines can focus on creating a more mindful ecosystem and turning a business imperative into a competitive advantage.

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Conclusion

The different usages of blockchain in the aviation industry are multiple and still being developed and explored, so there are undoubtedly more benefits to come. At this challenging and uncertain time, it may be prudent for airlines to look at developing their blockchain ecosystems so that, once they have weathered the coronavirus storm, they can emerge with better processes and cost-saving measures in place to enable their business to soar.

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1- What is your academic background?

My background is in science, pure science. As a kid, I always preferred Maths and Science. My dad is a scientist, so he constantly inspired me through his work, and my mom always encouraged me to follow my dreams, so it was an easy decision to pursue science. I got a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a master’s in Laser Physics at Havana University, following which I came to Barcelona to do a PhD in Photonics. It was an international PhD program run by the European Union across four universities. My PhD project was in Quantum Mechanics and I split my research between the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) and the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS) in Florence. I studied the interactions of atoms and molecules with strong field lasers, which involved a lot of coding, programming and data visualisation.  

2 - When and why did you decide to work in the technology industry?

When I was about to finish my PhD, a critical juncture where I needed to decide whether to pursue a career in the academic or private sector. While doing fundamental science is rewarding in many ways, it’s very difficult to see the actual impact of your discoveries on society - at least in the short term.

At the end of my PhD, I started to get more involved with ‘Technology Transfer’, facilitating collaboration between academia and industry. My academic background meant I could understand the academic partners’ perspective, which, combined with my strong scientific knowledge, allowed me to look at bridging the gap between technology and business.

3 - What attracted you to blockchain in particular?

Blockchain is an emerging technology that is starting to gain real momentum now. There is so much to be discovered and understood within blockchain, making it a really interesting challenge. The technology is mostly known for cryptocurrency, but there are so many business cases where it can be applied. Unlike quantum mechanics, blockchain moves so fast that the landscape changes on a month-to-month basis. The potential of the technology is incredible: in a world where trust is so important, blockchain is the future.

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4 - What are the benefits of working for a tech start-up?

For me, the main benefit is that there are no fixed roles. Everyone does a bit of everything across every department, so you get involved at all stages of product development. This gives you the opportunity to know your product inside out, which is key when you are in the Business Development side of things. In a start-up, you have access to everyone in the business and you have freedom to learn and innovate. Working relationships are very close and there is a trusting and friendly environment where everyone is open to suggestions and collaborations.

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5 - What do you think has been your biggest career achievement to date?

That’s a difficult one but if I had to choose one, I would say finishing my PhD, because that was a personal challenge as well as an academic one. I had to leave behind my friends and family and start a whole new life completely out of my comfort zone.

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6 - Do you think women are underrepresented in the technology industry?

Yes, unfortunately, I believe they are. The difficulties for women in technology are well known. While it’s true that over the last decade universities and institutions have made amazing efforts towards positive girls’ inclusion, women continue to be underrepresented in the scientific community.

It is a fact that the number of women in technical positions is very low, women are rarely promoted to leading roles and – when they are – are often paid less. Stereotyping, unconscious biases and cultural influences have all contributed to this. We desperately need to address this issue, not just in science but in society at large.

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7 - Who are your women role models and (not necessarily in science)?

There are so many names that come to mind: the women in my family, my teachers at primary school, my colleagues and co-workers, and even fictitious characters from my favorites authors.

My women role models have evolved over time as I have evolved as a woman and as a professional. I have to thank all the women I have been surrounded by and who have impacted me. I would have to mention first my mom, Miriam, my science mentor Maru, and my confidant and guide Maria for all of their support and guidance, but there are also many others.

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8 - What advice would you give women thinking about/starting a career in technology?

Do not doubt yourself and go for it! It is a challenging path, but then life is not easy. Technology is a really rewarding world where amazing things can happen, and it will give you the tools and the strength to follow your dreams. Both society and the world are changing; by working in technology, you can be part of this change.

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I recently read a BBC article, the headline of which shocked me: “Blockchain: The revolution that hasn't quite happened.” Yet, just a few days later, I read that the Bank of England has teamed up with other major central banks to assess the case for launching their own digital currencies as the debate rages on over the future of money. As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Disruptive innovations take time to become mainstream but, when they do, we look back and wonder how we ever operated without the technology – obvious examples being email and smartphones. One of my favourite reads is Geoffrey Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm”, which describes the evolution of any given community’s acceptance of a disruptive innovation, organising it into four key stages that, according to a Forbes interview with the author, can be summarised as follows:

The Early Market, where buyers are early adopters seeking to get ahead of the herd by taking a chance with a promising but unproven technology.

Crossing the Chasm, where buyers are “pragmatists in pain,” stuck with a problem business process and willing to take a chance on something new, provided it is directly focused on solving their specific use case.

Inside the Tornado, where buyers are pragmatists going with the herd, the technology now being proven, its value substantially superior to the status quo, and the forcing function being fear of getting left behind.

On Main Street, where buyers are maintaining their investments in a now broadly adopted technology, looking for better value and lower total cost of ownership.1

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Using this framework, let’s now consider blockchain adoption:

The Early Market: Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin starts the digital currency revolution in 2009, demonstrating how a cryptocurrency could operate without a central bank or single administrator. This new digital ecosystem captures the imagination of tech enthusiasts, at a time when trust in our global institutions was declining;

Crossing the Chasm: As more is understood about how Bitcoin works, with the currency worth over $157bn in total, innovators are trying to apply blockchain technology to numerous sectors (with fintech being the most obvious, given it has the highest level of existing digitalisation);

Inside the Tornado: While we are not here yet, we are not far off. Industry leaders such as Walmart, Coca-Cola and Repsol, as well as governments like China, are leading the way by moving their pilot blockchain experiments to production and gradually replacing legacy operations with blockchain infrastructure. Between Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado, 90% of current blockchain platform implementations will have to be replaced or upgraded: Gartner believes this will need to happen by 2021 in order for them to remain competitive, secure and useful.

On Main Street: I can’t wait for this phase because blockchain’s promise of changing the way we live and work will have been realised. At this juncture, we will see blockchain core technology become ubiquitous and connectivity will be driven through middleware platforms that simplify adoption across enterprise ecosystems.

Blockchain is following the same traditional technology adoption life cycle that other disruptive technologies have undergone before, and at Finboot we firmly believe that we will see full mainstream adoption in the next decade. External factors such as the increasing focus on ESG measurement, sustainability tracking, and increased transparency and cooperation in supply chains may speed up the time taken significantly.

Gartner has estimated that by 2025 the business value added by blockchain will grow to slightly more than $176 billion, then surge to exceed $3.1 trillion by 2030. So, rather than a technology that hasn’t realised its potential, let’s step back and consider blockchain as a revolution that is picking up momentum!

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The growing role of ESG in business

Over the past few years, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibility has become a key business imperative and it’s clear that it’s here to stay. It is now being discussed at the highest levels, as we saw at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, where sustainability sat at the heart of the agenda, with themes including “How to save the planet” and “Better business”.

Corporates view ESG in a number of different ways: some see it as a legitimate business strategy, others as a self-regulatory initiative, and then there are those who believe it to be a new type of marketing spin. Whatever the motivations, it’s evident that positive ESG outcomes at a business level will have a hugely beneficial impact on our society. Central to this is ensuring companies can measure progress efficiently, accurately and securely, as this will help them prove that they have achieved what they set out to do, while holding them accountable for meeting their sustainability goals.

Validating ESG progress

When communicating ESG achievements, companies need quantitative metrics that verify their progress and authenticate what they are saying. Against a backdrop where corporate ESG activity is increasingly scrutinised by both regulators and ever more socially and environmentally conscious consumers, simply setting goals isn’t enough.

This means identifying key performance indicators (KPIs), measuring their position today, defining targets, and then developing and applying a plan to deliver these. As that plan is implemented, organisations must regularly report on their KPIs so that there is an auditable record of how they have come to achieve their goals.

Harnessing the power of blockchain

However, introducing traceability into ESG policies is easier said than done, as they often involve complicated supply chains spanning different geographies. In the face of this significant challenge, embracing technology is crucial if businesses are to prove they’ve delivered on their initiatives.

And which of the many digital technologies available should we look to when it comes to measuring sustainability goals? Blockchain.

Transparency and trust are the founding principles of blockchain, which, along with its immutability and ability to digitally represent assets moving along value and supply chains, makes it the standout technology to introduce traceability into industrial processes. By using blockchain to verify transparency in a way that no other digital technology can, businesses will dramatically improve their sustainability credentials and reporting procedures.

Blockchain in action

Global energy giant Repsol is leading the charge on this and is already using blockchain to digitise some of its downstream supply chain - which means any resource that starts at a refinery or industrial complex before being processed into a product in subsequent supply chains. Here, blockchain is used to create a digital asset that mirrors the physical resource that will move along a supply chain, with that asset registering all of the characteristics that define the quality and regulatory compliance of its physical counterpart.

For example, in the case of a product like polyethylene, we could potentially trace the asset all the way up to the plastic container that is ultimately manufactured. Having traced this, we could recover the container and, through mechanical recycling, use it to produce new raw materials for a new batch of plastics, which could then be traced as well. This would certify how much primary and secondary raw material was used in production.

There are numerous other opportunities when it comes to blockchain and sustainability in the broader petrochemicals sector, with sustainable fashion being one example. Chemical dyes and plastics (petrochemical products) play a large role in the fashion industry and, by deploying blockchain, we can track their carbon footprint or how much recycled material is used in the manufacturing process.

Looking ahead

There are countless other areas where traceability could help to measure the environmental and social impact of value chains as, ultimately, any asset that can be measured and traced can provide evidence of achieving ESG objectives. What we have covered here is only the beginning of how blockchain can support sustainability. The two are becoming ever more interlinked and, as ESG requirements mature, I expect we shall see many more Blockchain applications over the course of 2020 that further demonstrate the valuable relationship that can exist between the two.

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More energy, less carbon: this is the dilemma facing governments, businesses and consumers as they determine how to respond to climate change. This is the defining issue of our day.

On the one hand, global energy demand continues to rise, fuelled by rising prosperity and population growth in developing regions such as Asia and the Middle East. On the other, concerns about global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - which reached an all-time high in 2018 of 34bn tons of CO2e compared to 13bn 50 years ago - are driving calls to rapidly decarbonise.

The upshot for energy companies is an opportunity to respond to an increasingly global diversity of demand, at lower carbon intensity.

One of the most important themes to have emerged in business over the past decade is environmental, social and governance standards (ESG). ESG signifies commitment to sustainable capitalism with accountability. Business groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce now promote ESG as a key business objective and it is a priority for boards and shareholders across the world, since an effective ESG program impacts valuation, reputation and societal standing.

The energy sector is understandably under global pressure to embed ESG in operations and practices as part of taking a more responsible role in responding to climate change.

Repsol (our hosts today) recently announced an industry-leading, net-zero carbon dioxide emissions target for 2050. Repsol believes it can achieve two-thirds of the 2050 goal through initiatives such as moving away from carbon intensive projects, using cleaner forms of energy to power refineries, adding more biofuels into diesel and petrol, cutting flaring and methane leaks, and increasing renewable power in its energy mix. Repsol intends to link at least 40 per cent of its top managers’ long-term pay to achieving the 2050 target.

Obviously, actions to achieve these targeted outcomes need to be measured and monitored, but the technology and tools to enable this are, relative to the scale of the problem, shallow. Data must be stored in a manner that leaves an evidence trail — it must be tamper-proof, auditable and transparent. That means that the global energy industry, still heavily analogue, must lead with digitalisation if we are to tackle the impact of climate change in a meaningful way.

Politicians globally are listening and acting. The European Commission is committed to an EU Green Deal designed to achieve the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Commission can guide, but not force, member states to abandon established industries or change energy systems; however, the direction of change is clear.

The energy sector will need to change and fall in line with these political directions. Nowhere will the change be more fundamental than in the digitalisation of the energy supply chain. Many energy companies are advancing down this road, with some beginning to recognise the role of blockchain in creating a more transparent, trusted and sustainable reporting framework for the future.

Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory. That means data cannot be freely copied and edited to create an alternative version of the truth, which is why blockchain technologists refer to it as the “trust platform”. In the enterprise context, the blockchain would be used as a private permissioned framework for a group of stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers and regulators.

As energy companies seek to regain the trust of all their stakeholders, including, critically, “social trust” with consumers, they will have to demonstrate an even higher level of compliance with a green agenda because data-supported accountability will demand new and more onerous operational standards.

Let’s look into some of the potential blockchain applications in the industry:

Supply chain efficiency & transparency: Most trading organisations are active in two supply chains: financial and physical. The financial one has the distinct advantage of having been dramatically transformed through financial automation, while the physical one remains analogue and therefore significantly slower. Combining the two onto a blockchain structure will enable the creation of a digital twin of the two supply chains. Refining and petrochemical products are subject to multiple safety and quality certifications by regulators and this data can be stored in the digital twin to provide evidence of its provenance.

In 2019, Repsol implemented a supply chain track and trace solution called BlockLabs, developed by Finboot. This track and trace application improves the certification process of petrochemical goods, thereby driving efficiencies and introducing an auditable trail of provenance.

Track and trace has numerous applications for the energy industry. For example, knowing a product’s origin and its chemical composition are critical, as illustrated by a contaminated crude oil situation in Russia recently. The 1.5m barrels-a-day pipeline was suspended in late April 2019 after refiners in Poland and Belarus detected excess chlorine in the crude oil that could destroy refining equipment or, at high temperatures, create the poisonous chlorine gas.

Tomas Malango, experimentation and deep tech director at the Repsol Technology Lab, explains: “Currently, there is a lot of re-working involved in processes where we handle a large number of samples due to labelling errors, information losses or incorrect connections between information. Digitalisation allows Repsol to identify the samples correctly throughout their whole life cycle.”

As a customer of Finboot, Repsol was well placed to recognise the potential benefits of blockchain within its ecosystem; that led the company to invest in Finboot to further support its progress in delivering a circular economy.

BlockLabs is the white labelled version of MARCO, Finboot’s unique blockchain-agnostic, enterprise grade SaaS product. MARCO allows enterprises to easily access and use blockchain technologies within their value and supply chains.

Finboot, founded in 2016 with operations in London and Barcelona, has demonstrated how MARCO enables enterprises to rapidly experiment and validate their blockchain business cases and efficiently move them to production. From its ability to minimise complexities, to providing exceptional privacy and security to users, MARCO reduces cost and accelerates interactions to help businesses grow faster and more efficiently. Within corporate structures, there are many examples of how MARCO can be applied to significantly reduce frictions within physical and financial operations.

Trading & quality management: The complex oil and gas market, with customers and suppliers dealing at different junctions and products moving from upstream to downstream, creates ample opportunities for intermediaries such as traders, surveyors, and shipping agents to extract value. Blockchain removes intermediaries from the equation.

In this ecosystem, there is a huge amount of paperwork as permits, custody ownership and transfer documentation move along its chain via emails. The management and protection of this data remains analogue. Not only does this represent immense risk (loss of documents, fraud, counterfeiting, etc),but it is also inherently inefficient, which pushes up costs. Blockchain brings the required transparency and auditability to a fragmented supply chain, while driving higher operational standards throughout the chain.

Oil and energy project collaboration & management: Oil and gas installations involve multiple parties, including engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, services companies and multiple subcontractors, as well as the energy companies themselves. This project complexity typically leads to lack of documentation linking each step, resulting in audit fragmentation. In the event of an insurance claim, the lack of sufficient data can be an impediment.

A possible use of blockchain is leveraging the distributed platform for the storage of all the details about a project, including design documentation, as-built documentation, project plans and project resourcing information. All the parties involved in a project - EPC, oil and gas companies, operations parties, insurers and regulators (should the need arise) - would be able to access the platform, which would act as the sole repository throughout the project life cycle. Furthermore, creating a digital twin of the data opens up greater possibilities to finance the asset and change its ownership as it moves between parties.

Conclusion

Oil and gas companies will progress towards a decarbonised future at different speeds. Digitalisation will not only accelerate the passage, but also provide proof of the quality of their transition. Tomorrow’s winners will be those that are transparent and accountable to an increasingly impatient, demanding and critical stakeholder audience. The template for transition is unquestionably digital and, within that universe, we believe blockchain plays a pivotal role. Only through its adoption will the safe energy industry leaders of today transition into sustainable energy providers of tomorrow.

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The Finboot team is delighted to be co-hosting an exclusive event with Repsol Corporate Venturing at the Repsol Technology Lab in Madrid on the 14th January, exploring the topical subject of how digitalization and blockchain can help Oil & Gas companies manage their climate impact.

The event will be chaired by Geoffrey Cann, a highly regarded author, publisher, broadcaster and independent adviser for digital transformation in Oil & Gas with over 30 years’ experience in the sector. Geoffrey’s most recent book, “Bits, Bytes and Barrels: The Digital Transformation of Oil and Gas”, was published last year, and we were delighted to announce in December that he is now an adviser to Finboot.

We are lucky to also have a number of other esteemed speakers alongside Geoffrey, please see the full agenda below for more details:

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11.00: Registration & Coffee

11.30: Welcome Address by Repsol

11.45: Keynote speech by Geoffrey Cann

12.30: Discussion on Blockchain and Sustainability by Finboot

12.45: Round Table Discussion, featuring:

‍               •  Nish Kotecha, Co-founder and Chairman of Finboot.

‍               •  Geoffrey Cann, event Chair. Author, publisher, broadcaster and

‍                  independent adviser for digital transformation in Oil & Gas.

              •  David Smethurst, Chief Technology Officer for Energy at Hitachi Vantara,

‍                  a major supplier of engineering and control technology for Oil & Gas.

              •  Nuria Avalos Villamor, Director of Blockchain, RPA &

‍                  Digital Experimentation at Repsol.

              •  Antonio Lopez Rodriguez, Manager of Energy and

‍                  Climate Change at Repsol.

‍               •  Raquel Espada Martin, VP Energy and Sustainability Services at

‍                  Schneider Electric.

              •  Stefan Junestrand, CEO and co-founder of Grupo Tecma Red.

‍                  Co-author of the United Nations/ITU “Blockchain 4 Cities” report.

‍                  Highly regarded speaker, ‍lecturer and writer.

13:30: Q&A

13:45: Closing Remarks by Repsol

14:00 -15.30: Networking Lunch

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If you have any questions about this event, or the solutions we offer at Finboot, please contact us here.

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Finboot, the company behind the enterprise-grade blockchain solution MARCO, is pleased to announce that Geoffrey Cann has joined the company as an Advisor, as it continues to build upon its recent successes and cement its position as a leader in the enterprise blockchain arena.

Geoffrey is a highly regarded author, publisher, broadcaster and independent adviser for digital transformation in oil & gas. He has over 30 years’ experience advising oil & gas, energy and technology companies on how to create lasting value, with clients including large integrated oil companies, downstream petroleum refiners and marketers, pipeline companies, fracking services, drilling and completions services, logistics, LNG projects, and many more.

Geoffrey has in-depth experience helping oil & gas companies build roadmaps for digital transformation, with his work spanning virtually all segments of the value chain, including exploration, production, refining, wholesaling, retailing, services, finance and IT. He has worked around the world in countries such as Canada, the US, Australia, Japan, China and Korea.

The energy sector is a key focus for Finboot, and this appointment follows the company’s recent announcement that it secured an investment from global energy giant Repsol as part of its latest fundraise, in addition to commercial engagements.

Nish Kotecha, Chairman and Co-founder of Finboot, said: “We are delighted to have Geoffrey onboard as we continue to expand our reach in the energy sector. Like Finboot, Geoffrey’s work is centred on solving business problems with technology solutions, and his extensive expertise will be invaluable to us as we continue to enable energy companies’ adoption of blockchain into their supply chains.”

Geoffrey Cann added: “Digital technologies such as blockchain are playing an increasingly important role in the oil & gas industry, and companies need to make use of innovative solutions in order to thrive. I see a lot of potential for Finboot’s product in the sector and am looking forward to working with the team to capitalise on this.”

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Long before Satoshi came out with his white paper “Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system”, Neal Stephenson, the famous American fiction writer, had already introduced us to a world in which value could be digitally created, stored and traded in a cryptographic network. In 1999, in his book Cryptonomicon, Stephenson tells the story of friends Randy and Avi, two young and ambitious entrepreneurs obsessed with privacy and cybersecurity who set out to create a network in a data-haven country, where participants could register tokens to represent their assets within the network and freely transact with them in a cryptographically secured ecosystem. Short of the consensus algorithm, Randy and Avi’s network had nearly all of the characteristics of what nearly 10 years later became the bitcoin protocol. One can almost be certain that Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon served as inspiration for the mysterious Satoshi.

It is clear that in their own way they were both visionaries. They foresaw the need to move value into the digital world and improve the way we produce, trade and consume goods and services. Recent advances in blockchain technologies are taking their vision to new limits. We are seeing how blockchain is being used to digitize assets such as electricity, fuel, chemicals, food and garments. In all of those areas, companies like Repsol, Walmart and Coca Cola are using blockchain to store and trace the value created in their supply chains. Today they focus on the efficiencies this digitization can bring, but at the same time they are building towards the new digital business models that can be leveraged by their digital assets.

However, there is one challenge all blockchain early adopters share, and that is the accessibility of the technology. Allowing the non-technical user to easily, and yet securely, take advantage of this digital asset and blockchain technology is an essential barrier to overcome.

Take for instance the matter of identity. If we are storing value in the network, we need to make sure that ownership, custody and access to that value is maintained under a strict permissioned system. Blockchain technology uses asymmetric cryptographic standards to enable authentication and trade in the network. The basic tools used are very similar to what most secure communications systems use today. A user is authenticated by a pair of private and public keys. To send data to that user, we take the public key to encrypt the data and only by using the corresponding private key can one decipher the original data.

In blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies, the same tool is adapted to create the so-called wallets or certificates. The public keys are transformed into addresses with which users are publicly and possibly anonymously identified and private keys are used to sign transactions that enable trading. As you can imagine, the highest security risks of this system lie with management and custody of the private key. If the private key is compromised, all digital assets belonging to that identity are also compromised.

Moving beyond that, the types of identities we need to use for enterprise blockchain solutions are growing in complexity and features. In some use cases we require identities for natural persons, in others for legal persons, and in others we want to create a group of people that act as one entity (a business unit, an industrial facility or a regulator). Additionally, there is a lot of variety in blockchain frameworks and networks; enterprises will be managing activity in several networks, and they will require identities in all of them. This means that managing multiple digital identities is a basic requirement for the implementation of enterprise blockchain solutions.

So how do we simplify the usage of cryptographic features and distributed ledger operations, while simultaneously providing the advantages of managing multiple blockchain identities? It’s a difficult question to answer, considering the growing number of available blockchains that use their own cryptographic solutions.

Our approach at Finboot has been to create modular solutions for the management of blockchain identities, all of which are part of MARCO, our unique blockchain-agnostic middleware solution. This allows MARCO users to securely manage their blockchain identities, which can be, for example, cloud wallet solutions, where private keys are kept in an isolated cloud resource. They can be locally hosted wallets, on browsers or Edge devices, which can be very useful to identify hardware within the distributed ecosystem. The list of alternatives goes on: they can be e-card readers, hardware security modules or even biometric readers. What MARCO guarantees is the capacity to seamlessly use those identities for any enterprise blockchain applications. Furthermore, MARCO has opened the door to the aggregation of third-party identity solutions developed by consortia, such is the example of the Alastria ID by the Spanish blockchain consortium of the same name.

All this points to one conclusion. The enterprise blockchain ecosystem is still nascent with many developments yet to come. The winners in this race will be those who, like Stephenson and Satoshi, have the vision to go beyond the current state-of-the-art and provide flexible solutions capable of adapting to this fast-paced and ever-changing ecosystem.

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Tech IPOs have seen mixed fortunes this year on both sides of the pond.

The London float of Kazakh fintech group Kaspi.kz was recently postponed due to “unfavourable market conditions”, while WeWork finally pulled its New York IPO in September after months of hype.

Uber and Lyft both managed to eventually get their flotations off the ground after getting stuck in traffic. Uber tapped the public market for over $8 billion at a $82 billion IPO valuation, and Uber suggests that it will be back for more capital soon depending on the performance of new areas of growth, such as food and freight – despite losing over US$1 billion a quarter and its share price languishing 27% below its IPO price.

The tech companies floating today are more mature and more refined - yet still loss making - because they are being kept private for longer, funded by patient private capital, as they wait until they dominate their market before looking to list. Growth and market dominance are absolutely key for venture capitalists in the valley.

Not all stock exchanges can provide more than US$10 billion of cash (the combined amount raised by Uber, Lyft and Peloton, the spinning community platform) to loss-making start-ups with big dreams, yet NASDAQ and NYSE have demonstrated repeatedly that they have the investor appetite and depth to raise such staggering sums.

However, in the battle to attract technology companies, Europe is succeeding on one measure, with some 172 tech IPOs carried out since 2015, compared to c.100 in the US. But size matters: the recent tech IPOs of Lyft, Pinterest and Slack raised more than 100x the amount raised in a typical IPO during the internet bubble of the late 90s: billions today vs millions then.

So, where is the best home for tech companies looking to go public?

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Why list in the US?

It is a simple fact that the greater the number of active investors on a single exchange, the greater the chance for the company to achieve a fair valuation over time, since liquidity drives a more efficient valuation capability.

One significant challenge in Europe, not seen in the US, is market fragmentation. London’s stock exchanges have an approximate market cap of €4.44 trillion, while Euronext, the pan European exchange, has over €4.78 trillion. Even the combination of these totals only 73% of the market cap of NASDAQ. European consolidation may be an attractive, inorganic way of scaling up, but competition authorities are unlikely to agree to this – and that’s even before you get into the nationalist interests. Brexit further complicates this.

For tech companies, US investors in both public and private markets are attracting tech stars with their capital investment capability and record. This capital comes from returns generated by the FAANGs (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, aka Alphabet), dating from the internet boom of the late 90s. US investors are flush with cash and are keen to spin the wheels again. The extraordinary amount of wealth created has gone on to fuel the next wave of tech innovators in the private and then public markets at valuations unrecognisable in other geographies.

My visit to TiEcon 2019 in the heart of Silicon Valley reminded me of a glass elevator that surrounds the Bay area. Innovators like Alphabet’s X and the Hidary Foundation look out into the world to address problems that are seemingly unsolvable with an ease akin to troubleshooting your laptop with a call centre. The rest of us then consider how the solution seemed so obvious. Such conferences are magnets for VCs to provide the capital to these ideas.

Ultimately, the magnet for innovation in the US is talent and money.

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Why list in Europe?

Being heard in the US is challenging. Start-ups have to run quite far before they can attract investor interest as competition for airtime is huge. In Europe, the stage may be less congested. Exciting tech companies can attract disproportionate attention, potentially benefitting from being a big fish in a small pond. This appeals to entrepreneurs whose primary efforts need to be focussed on their business rather than their profile.

The US is a significantly more regulated and protected marketplace. Expensive lawyers are ready to file a class action lawsuit against companies and individuals on any whiff of inaccuracy. Managing investor communications while ensuring legal compliance is a big challenge - not to mention prohibitively expensive.

The European approach is much less litigious, even when considering its leadership in regulations such as GDPR. Interestingly, when Adyen – a Dutch fintech titan valued at over €18.5 billion - listed on Euronext Amsterdam, it still managed to attract significant US investor interest, even without the additional protections afforded by US stock exchanges.

Recommending the hooks for UK/Europe stock exchanges was the question debated by a High Level Advisory Group of “Tech Capital Markets” earlier this year (full disclosure, I am a member), which seeks to present its findings to the European Commission at the start of 2020.

Europe needs to play to its strengths and not be afraid to see migration as large, fast-growing global tech champions find themselves unable to trade efficiently without a US base. In fact, with its significant market size (around 747m population), leading research universities, supportive governments and a simpler, easy to navigate regulatory environment, Europe could well be the world’s leading tech incubator. The current trade wars instigated by the US against China and elsewhere may also give Europe a boost.

Assuming we are all focussed on supporting our most exciting tech entrepreneurs and companies to grow and create jobs, intellectual property and value for all stakeholders - wherever their origins - the drive for local ownership should be replaced with global partnership, where all countries share in the global success. If Europe can help incubate entrepreneurs and nascent companies while they refine their business models, then this could well be the natural first step towards global dominance.

Introduction: Nish Kotecha is a tech (serial) entrepreneur, investor, advisor and board member based in London. His is the co-founder of Finboot. Finboot is the dynamic SaaS company behind MARCO, a unique enterprise-grade suite of blockchain applications and middleware solutions for value and supply chains. Established in 2016 with operations in London and Barcelona, Finboot has established itself as a leader in the fast-growing enterprise blockchain industry. MARCO is blockchain-agnostic and can be deployed by a wide range of sectors, including Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Consumer goods, Automotive, Travel & Tourism and Healthcare.

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The price of blockchain and cryptocurrency-related stocks in China was driven up significantly after Chinese President Xi Jinping recently championed the technology in an address to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee – a somewhat surprising move given the country’s restrictions on cryptocurrency.

Personally, I remain sceptical about the merits of crypto investments, and would advise caution for fervent followers. In my opinion, the next blockchain winners will be those who use this technology for real world challenges – so-called front end services - and it is this potential that is captivating technologists in China, Silicon Valley, London and fast-growing technology enclaves such as Barcelona.

"We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies," Xi said. "[We must] clarify the main direction, increase investment, focus on a number of key core technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology and industrial innovation."

Xi’s public endorsement is an important moment in blockchain’s history. In particular, his reference to industrial innovation suggests a focus on industrial supply chains and Industry 4.0, the drive towards a fully automated manufacturing process combining IoT, cloud computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, underpinned by blockchain to ensure the validity and auditability of data.

Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory. That means data cannot be copied to sell the same asset again, which is why it has been referred to as the “trust platform”. The efficiencies will benefit the multitude of supply and value chains requiring validated data to prove their sustainability and legitimacy. Data is the new currency and its accuracy and security are pivotal to this new ecosystem, which is where blockchain and the need for immutable data comes in.

Finboot’s flagship product, MARCO, is an example of Xi’s call for industrial innovation, enabling enterprises to access and use blockchain infrastructure technologies within their organisations simply and easily through a blockchain-agnostic SaaS delivery model. Repsol recently invested in Finboot since, as a customer, it could see first-hand the opportunities that blockchain can unlock within its infrastructure. Its use case has been in the Oil & Gas industry, using blockchain to provide safety certification for petrochemical products.

President Xi is right to recognise that enterprise technology is at an inflexion point. No longer can we rely on the early adopters to encourage laggards to re-engineer their supply chains and manufacturing processes. Governments will play a pivotal role as they seek to reshape their economies into high tech, high growth hubs for the future, recognising that this requires advocacy of innovative technologies.

As China has now stated, its aim to is to be a pioneer in the blockchain arena and, indeed, over 500 blockchain projects have been registered with the Chinese government since March this year, including some of the country’s largest companies. It will be interesting to see which innovators will flourish.

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Not too long ago, Neil Woodford was still regularly being heralded as a “superstar” manager and the “Oracle of Oxford”. How different the story is today.

The reasons behind Woodford’s fall from grace have been extensively covered, but can largely be attributed to the fact that ultimately the Equity Income Fund did not do what it said it would, and Woodford ran it unchecked. If investors had been fully aware of the investments being made into unlisted and illiquid stocks, would they have kept their money in?

There can be no doubt that it’s in the best interest of investors that information is readily available to enable timely decisions to be taken. Dissemination of such information should not be left to the whim of the fund manager who relies on investor trust.

Ultimately, trust requires transparency to validate integrity. Adopting technologies such as blockchain into the reporting and audit framework of a public fund could provide a fresh approach so that investors can avoid being caught in a Woodford-like situation.

For instance, an investor-facing blockchain could be programmed to release updates on a fund’s portfolio at regular intervals without further approvals from the fund manager. The constant release of data in a predefined format would provide evidence of the fund’s status, forcing the fund manager to operate within the automated reporting schedules and ensure that the fund’s share price is a fair reflection of its valuation.

Similarly, adopting blockchain in audit and assurance reporting could potentially help to prevent accounting scandals, such as the Patisserie Valerie fraud case earlier this year. Had blockchain been used to underpin the accounting framework of the company, it’s likely the thousands of false entries that were discovered as fraudulent would never have been approved by the distributed ledger technology. The time-stamped links of blocks could reveal alterations or tampering to the recorded transactions, as well as providing an immediate insight into the performance of the company at any given time.

More validated, immutable information will generate trust in the fund management market and audit industry as a whole. The choice between investing in public market funds and private market funds should be left to the investor, and public fund managers should be prevented from changing their reporting framework because it suits them. Likewise, listed companies should adhere to a fully transparent corporate reporting process that is not susceptible to distortion. In both cases, there is a clear argument for an automated blockchain that can act as a “single source of truth” for the benefit of investors, on whose trust the share price of listed entities partially depends.

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Hello everyone, my name is Alvaro Llobet. My background is in business administration, but I have always worked in the tech industry. I started my career in consultancy services before entering the blockchain ecosystem around four years ago. I currently work at Finboot, where, among other things, I am responsible for business and commercial development.

At Finboot, we facilitate the adoption of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and blockchain technologies into daily business operations through MARCO, our enterprise-grade, blockchain-agnostic framework (although they have some differences, for the purposes of this blog I will use the terms DLT and blockchain interchangeably). Our focus is on providing solutions to real business problems that quickly generate a return on investment.

This blog is not going to be techy: I will not go into the nitty gritty of blockchain technology, since there are already many other materials that do an excellent job of explaining this, such as Mastering Bitcoin & Blockchain.

The objective of this blog is to give an overview of what blockchain is and explain where, why and how should you apply it.

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Where did it all start?

Let’s go back to the year 2008, which I’m sure most of you will remember well. Media focus was centred on banks, the economy and market uncertainty, after a booming financial era came to a sudden end, shocking the world in the process. We had deposited our money and trust in a flawed financial system, worsened by lax regulations, politics and audits.

In the middle of all this uncertainty and mistrust, someone came up with an incredible tool that will change the way people and companies collaborate for years to come; blockchain.

Satoshi Nakamoto created blockchain as a decentralised digital system with no central authority, meaning the sharing of information by different parties is between a trusted network. By using blockchain, Satoshi also created Bitcoin, which is intended as an alternative to the current financial system, where central banks and financial institutions have power over the supply of currencies. Through a programmed system, Bitcoin enables people to share and exchange digital currency with no need for a central entity.

To this date, we still don’t know who Satoshi Nakamoto is — only their pseudonym. Their real identity, location and age all remain a mystery, and this anonymity is arguably reflective of their ideals in technology. If Satoshi, instead of remaining anonymous, had created a startup or a foundation, this would have monopolised media attention, minimised innovation in the sector and given rise to numerous legal issues. This would have conflicted with what I believe was the creator’s real objective; to change the way we understand collaboration between public institutions, companies and people.

We need to understand that blockchain goes far above being mere technology; it is a collaborative tool that creates trust between participants.

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How does this work?

Imagine you are in a conference, full of people, listening to an excellent speaker with whom you are fully engaged. Then, the speaker writes the number 10 on a giant board. When the conference ends, all the participants agree that the number the speaker wrote on the board was 10 except for one person, who says it was 9. That participant loses the confidence of the rest of the group because he is trying to manipulate a generally accepted fact that everyone else has witnessed. That is a very quick and basic explanation of the concept of blockchain.

Blockchain is easy to understand because we have been dealing with its concept all our lives; by sharing a piece of knowledge between a significant amount of people, the consensus of knowledge gives the information fidelity.

When we talk about blockchain in a more “techy” way, we refer to a distributed network of connected servers located in different geographical locations and owned by various participants. The bigger the network, the more significant the power of trust and — thanks to its data structure — information proves immutable.

This technological description is generally accepted, although technology spreads and evolves quickly, so now there are numerous different blockchain technologies that work differently. I’m sure that in the future we will continue to see new technologies and variants of the traditional blockchain.

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So, how can we use blockchain?

If we look at the evolution of technology in business over the last 20–30 years, we can see that digitisation has been developed and implemented at an internal level. Many companies have moved from on-premise servers to cloud environments, while also adopting SaaS models and delegating the responsibility to qualified third party providers.

In my opinion, blockchain is not about internal processes: it is all about external collaboration between different stakeholders, whether these be business areas, departments, companies or public entities. Blockchain adds a layer of trust between these stakeholders, generating new features as, transparency and immutability. The implementation of these new features between companies creates win-win situations as; increased returns, efficiencies and the creation of new revenues streams.

This is all possible thanks to blockchain technology. Going beyond all the technical specs that make blockchain a great technology, it is the first time in the history of the business world that we have a trusted, unbiased third party that can act as an intermediary between different stakeholders.

If we dig deeper into how companies can use this technology, we see that the approach to blockchain is individual and depends on a company’s objective and size. The following definitions are based on the European Union’s company categorisation:

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Startups and small companies

Here, there must be a strategic decision. If you decide that blockchain is going to be essential to your product, this will require a huge amount of work, investment and conditioning to reach full functionality. These means that the end value provided by blockchain needs to be sufficiently significant and beneficial as to make it worthwhile. If, instead, you have the strategic value proposition established but blockchain doesn’t add a key advantage, the use of this technology should come via tech providers that offer blockchain-enabled business tools, saving you the burden of implementing the technology yourself.

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Medium companies

Blockchain adoption depends on how tech-savvy you want to be and how much control you want to have. If you are a deep-tech company, you may want to invest more significantly in blockchain and have ownership of the process. If not, you may want to work with providers that will develop and deliver applications that solve specific processes. These providers can then maintain the solution and develop new functionalities as time goes on.

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Large corporations

Large companies should take a more strategic approach when determining what kind of role they want blockchain to play: You should decide if you want to be a leader or a follower and look closely at the investment, benefits and risks associated with your decision. Of course, if you are planning to be a leader, there are numerous benefits that can be gained by developing this technology.

The objective is to then capture those benefits and turn them into a strategic advantage. However, you should consider mitigating the potential risks by working with trusted and expert providers, since this is critical to developing and maintaining this strategic advantage over time.

For those companies that are planning on taking a less proactive role in their adoption of blockchain technology and want to mitigate the initial risk of investing, the most crucial part is being able to identify when to start. Remember that technology is slow to implement in established processes and needs time to become a stable strategic advantage. In order to move faster, it is critical to partner with an expert technology provider, such as Finboot.

To finish, let me introduce the concepts of alliances and foundations in the blockchain ecosystem. We are starting to see companies working together to create organisations in specific geographical areas, such as Alastria in Spain, for example. These kinds of organisations are working to develop innovative tools around blockchain and are a crucial tool for adoption in the mid and long term. In our future blogs, we will go into more detail about blockchain networks, foundations and organisations, as this is a big topic that’s worth a closer look.

With the innovation and investment that we are seeing in the blockchain market, we can expect to see the implementation of great projects in the years to come that bring benefits in all sorts of areas, from supply chains to data protection, across a whole range of sectors. These include energy, education, healthcare and banking, to name just a few.

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The most important question here is: What role is your company going to have in the new era of collaboration?

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According to McKinsey Global Institute, only 20% of the total potential in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector has been unlocked by enterprises in the US, Europe and China. This indicates that more needs to be done to show businesses that digitising processes will save them time and money, while giving them a competitive advantage.

There are various reasons why businesses can be slow at adopting new technology.

Creation of a new technology application can be complex and slow, starting with the initial scope of the project through to a proof of concept (POC), testing and production. Time and costs can escalate rapidly while business needs change, leaving the new application a poor fit for the customer.

A fresh approach is needed, particularly in regards to blockchain, where ROIs need to be established quickly to ensure a good fit for this exciting technology.

Here, Finboot have created MARCO, a unique, blockchain-agnostic, enterprise-grade SaaS product. MARCO allows enterprises to easily access and use blockchain technologies within their organisations’ value and supply chains. It can be deployed by a wide range of business areas quickly and efficiently, and is highly configurable, meaning it can adapt to enterprises’ technology needs today and tomorrow.

Taking the novel approach of reconfiguration, rather than rebuilding, significantly reduces the time from scope to production, while slashing the cost of the project. MARCO boasts rapid ROI capability, which removes one of the key barriers to enterprise adoption of blockchain. Its simple dashboard ensures that MARCO is as user-friendly as email.

Energy giant Repsol’s integration of Finboot’s MARCO platform followed these steps. Firstly, into laboratories to track and trace the product through its lifecycle, changing characteristics to meet its customer requirements. Here, MARCO’s simplicity ensured fast and easy integration at all touch points, replacing complex legacy systems. Seeing the product in use ensures ROI can be easily identified. Repsol estimates that the solution will save approximately €400,000 per annum, even with a limited rollout. MARCO’s easily configurable dashboard significantly reduces the speed from scope of the problem to a POC, there by overcoming one of the core barriers to adoption: validating ROI cost effectively and quickly.

In blockchain it is important to take the lead. Blockchain’s long-term value proposition rests on wide-scale adoption by all stakeholders. We suggest starting internally to improve workflow communication and then expanding externally by onboarding all stakeholders onto a product that is easy to use.

Blockchain technology sets a new standard of trusted data communication across your value chains, delivering cost rationalisation and revenue growth opportunities. MARCO has established the gold standard for easy-to-use and adaptable blockchain applications for the enterprise client.

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In the 20th century, we saw how automated machines transformed supply chains in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, with the key objectives of increasing productivity and streamlining logistics. Today, we are seeing a new wave of transformation with the emergence of cutting-edge technologies that have the power to further revolutionise supply chain efficiency.

It is a well-established fact that industry is the backbone of the European economy. It accounts for 80% of exports and private innovations in the region, and provides high-skilled jobs for citizens[1]. In light of this new wave of transformation, innovation and competitiveness are at the heart of the European Commission’s agenda, as evidenced in the Commission’s Horizon Europe[2] proposal - the ambitious €100 billion innovation programme that will succeed Horizon2020.  The main objectives are to encourage competitiveness and productivity, but also support and enable collaboration in a globalised economy. The industrial community is gradually advancing towards wider adoption of emerging innovations in information and communications technology (ICT). Cutting edge technologies, such as Cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain, appropriately address these objectives.

This powerful combination of technologies faces several challenges. This blog focuses on one of those challenges in particular: the urgent need to create middleware that will enable the use of blockchain in enterprise environments and are designed to fully interact with other technologies, such as IoT devices and AI algorithms, in a secure and transparent capacity. In this context, a middleware is a platform or system that acts as a bridge between the blockchain networks and frameworks and the enterprise software applications that can make use of the technology.

The need for these systems becomes evident when we consider results of market studies such as the 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report, “Elevating Supply Chain Digital Consciousness”[3]. Despite the well documented and well-known advantages of blockchain, only 10% of the 1,000 respondents say they are using blockchain technology today. Yet 62% of them expect to do so over the next five years. This number clearly demonstrates the enormous potential of the technology to revolutionise the supply chains of the future. We believe these industry executives are waiting for key enabling middleware to take their next step in digitisation, since middleware solutions are more cost-efficient and simplify technology adoption.

Additionally, Deloitte’s global blockchain survey[4] shows that 68% of more than 1000 C-level respondents are investing over US$ 1min 2019 in the development and implementation of their blockchain strategies. All this hype around enterprise blockchain is partly driven by the future market potential, which certainly justifies significant investment and involvement today. In “Forecast: Blockchain business value, worldwide, 2017-2030”[5], Gartner estimates the business value created by blockchain products and services will reach US$ 176b by 2025 and US$ 3t by 2030.

This forecasted business value can only be achieved if we facilitate the smooth, accelerated and cost-efficient adoption of blockchain technology in enterprise operations.  Therefore, the middleware in question needs to address the four biggest challenges facing enterprise adoption today.

(i)             Enterprise security: structuring these products into enterprise approved identity and access management systems; by this we mean the set of policies and technologies that ensure users have the correct permissions to the digital resources they use. Identity management is a key concern of most CIOs today, not only to assure compliance to regulations but also to guarantee secured and efficient authentication mechanisms in all digital operations, which are increasingly entangled with their day to day activities.

(ii)           Providing true ecosystems of trust: digitisation is key to optimising cross-organisational operations. For instance, minimising human error by implementing more automated operations using software applications. However, the trusted digital environments in which the applications run is as important as the application itself.

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(iii)          Integration and interoperability: in the cases of both legacy systems and emerging technologies, industrial companies have suffered the consequences of adopting impractical solutions to solve short-term problems that are not equipped to adapt to future threats.

(iv)          Business applications and return on investment: blockchain is without a doubt a complex technology and comes with associated implementation costs. High onboarding costs are increasingly becoming a barrier to enterprise adoption. Therefore, lowering those high entry barriers by maximising business returns will drive market growth.

Technology agnostic and scalable middleware, such as Finboot’s powerful proprietary platform MARCO, is key to simplifying blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies for enterprise adoption. It can overcome the entry barriers by delivering fully working business solutions in the form of enterprise software applications powered by a combination of core services and additional plug-ins that together create an enterprise approved, interoperable, trusted ecosystem. The middleware should be configurable for multiple business cases, as this allows for rapid experimentation in a production ready environment, so that businesses can maximise their return on investment.

Over the past couple of years, the implementation of enterprise blockchain applications has certainly proved a challenge to many, and we have seen this in the number of proof of concepts that have yet to materialise into products. However, the introduction of middleware into the picture has caused an inflection point, as executives are won over by the lower implementation costs, greater flexibility and customisability to different business cases. We are now witnessing an increasing number of successful blockchain implementations within manufacturing and industrial supply chains, proving that we are in the presence of a new wave of transformation, comparable to that of the 20th century.

[1]https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry_fr

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe-next-research-and-innovation-framework-programme_en

[3]https://www.mhi.org/publications/report

[4] https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cz/Documents/financial-services/cz-2018-deloitte-global-blockchain-survey.pdf

[5] "https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3627117/forecast-blockchain-business-value-worldwide-2017-2030"

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Finboot, a leading software innovation group creating enterprise-level products, announces that it has secured an investment from global energy giant Repsol as part of its latest fundraise, in addition to securing a commercial contract with the company. Repsol has acquired a c.8% stake in the company through its strategic investment fund. The funds will be used to support the enhancement and extension of Finboot’s product offering in line with the company’s growth strategy.

Finboot facilitates and simplifies the adoption of blockchain technologies into daily business operations, focusing on industrial supply chains. It is one of the first tech startups to deliver value in the enterprise blockchain arena and overall distributed ledger ecosystem, with the capability to verify products’ sustainability credentials. Finboot predominantly focuses on the Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Consumer Goods/Retail and Automotive sectors, with plans to extend its industry reach.

Finboot will supply Repsol with its blockchain technology solution BlockLabs, which was developed by Finboot as a pilot during Fundación Repsol’s startup acceleration programme in collaboration with Repsol Technology Lab.

The solution uses blockchain technology to improve the certification process of petrochemical products, thereby driving supply chain efficiencies. It is powered by Finboot’s flagship product MARCO, a blockchain agnostic SaaS which effectively combines business workflows with blockchain core functions. MARCO accelerates ROI for enterprises due to the combination of governance, standards, interoperability and technology, with proof of concept being delivered in just weeks. Repsol estimates that the solution will save approximately €400,000 per annum, even with a limited rollout.

Blockchain technology has the potential to accelerate the complex mix of processes that comprise industrial supply chains, enabling secure data sharing and improving auditability. This, in turn, could result in dramatic time and costs savings, and potentially even drive revenue growth. Relatively few enterprises have unlocked the full potential of digital technologies, yet companies that digitise their supply chains can expect to boost annual earnings growth by 3.2% - the largest increase from digitising any business area .

Nish Kotecha, Chairman and Co-Founder of Finboot, said: “We are delighted to have received this double endorsement from Repsol, a global leader in the energy industry. The investment cornerstones our latest fundraising round, while the contract is testament to the capabilities of our technology and its ability to support and enhance efficiencies across enterprises. This partnership represents a significant milestone for Finboot and augurs well for our future growth ambitions.”

Derek Goodwin, Head of Entrepreneurship and Tech FDI at the Department for International Trade, added: “It is a feather in Finboot’s cap that it has attracted this investment from a company of Repsol’s calibre. Our Global Entrepreneur Programme is committed to supporting the development and growth of innovative companies, of which Finboot is a prime example, and we are proud to have worked with this exciting business since its nascent stages. We very much look forward to seeing what the future holds.”

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[1] Source: Thecase for digital reinvention, McKinsey (February, 2017).

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Notes

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About Repsol:

Repsol is a global energy company present throughout the whole energy value chain. The company employs more than 25,000 people and its products are sold in more than 90 countries, reaching 10 million customers. Repsol produces over 700,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and has one of the most efficient refining systems in Europe. The company operates low-emissions electricity generation assets, including photovoltaic and offshore wind power projects. Repsol is pioneering development of mobility initiatives to create new solutions and energy sources for transportation.

About Repsol's Corporate Venturing investment fund:

Repsol's Corporate Venturing investment fund is endowed with 85 million euros for the 2016-2020 period. It aims to capture technological innovation, already close to its commercial deployment, that can be tested quickly to assess its potential. The fund’s strategy is based on open innovation to complement the company’s internalR&D capabilities and accelerate the incorporation of technology and innovative models to the business units. It has participations in more than 10 companies and has analyzed more than 1,000 investment opportunities since its creation. The six technological areas that the fund focuses on are: operational reliability, circular economy, advanced mobility, energy diversification, new materials and digital technology applied to exploration and production (E&P).

About Fundación Repsol:

Fundación Repsol is one of the means by which Repsol fulfils its commitment to social responsibility, acting as a channel for the group’s social and cultural work. Its objective is to contribute to social wellbeing, improve people’s quality of life, and achieve greater social, educational, environmental and cultural development, especially in the regions where the company operates.

About FundaciónRepsol Entrepreneurs Fund:

Fundación Repsol Entrepreneurs Fund is a startup acceleration program that supports innovative technological projects in the field of the energy industry, mobility and circular economy. The initiative is part of the commitment on the part of Repsol and its Foundation for the development of a more sustainable energy future. The selected projects receive financial support, specialized training and advice from a team of mentors. In addition, the entrepreneur teams will have access to Repsol’s multitude of experts in the difference facets of business, as well as the develop pilot test projects at the company’s facilities. This support is executed in a disinterested way, without participation in the company’s equity nor rights to intellectual property. Since its launch in 2011, 48 startups have accelerated through its doors.

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The EIC Corporate Days promote business opportunities between big corporates — which are always looking for innovative solutions to improve their products and services — and the SMEs funded by the EIC pilot.

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In Hamburg, Finboot shared its solution MARCO Track&Trace, a digital solution to make supply chains smarter, safer and more efficient, to top representatives from comdirect, Commerzbank, DAK-Gesundheit, Commerz Real, Lufthansa Technik, Main Incubator and Salesforce.

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Sabine Schoon, Head of Corporate Strategy and Consulting at comdirect, highlighted the quality of the companies attending: “I saw very different companies. On one side, I saw several companies I can imagine we can cooperate with in the future. On the other hand, I also saw a couple of companies where we can possibly follow up with an investment. But we will need to get more detailed discussions and get more information.”

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Jana Koch, Head of Business Development & Innovation Management at comdirect, also shared her feedback on the event: “The SMEs I found here were very open minded. They’re trying to find solutions that cross industries and that’s really amazing to see. The atmosphere was fantastic.”

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Juan M. Pérez, CEO and co-founder at Finboot, expressed “comdirect’s Corporate Day was an excellent opportunity to raise our visibility in the German ecosystem. We were very impressed and fascinated by the willingness of these leading corporates to engage with smaller innovative groups.”

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This Corporate Day was promoted by the EIC pilot Business Acceleration Services.